Prayer Letter
March 2010
Dear Oakes Family and Friends,
Well, it has been an exciting and challenging month at The Oakes! A lot has been done. With the arrival of Cory, David and Jason from America, work suddenly jumped forward apace. We move into March having lifted and sprayed all but three of the intended floors, two lots of steelwork have been completed, and a third lot is 50 percent complete. Maintenance work has been done on the car track. Planning for the summer theme has begun. The picnic tables that do much good service throughout the year have been dismantled and planed to remove the rotten parts. Hopefully there will be four reconditioned benches by April. Work has also started on the new team kitchen.
Clearly there is much for which to be thankful! God has provided the right people at the right time. Many thanks for Paul Clifford, a structural engineer, who not only is providing his expertise but is putting much effort into sorting the steelwork. The company spraying the woodworm has been great to work with. Their schedule has been flexible to meet our needs, and the job has required crawling into some seriously small places. Let’s not forget the hard working team who have worked like troopers doing all manner of tasks - some quite monotonous. Hoovering 300 year-old dust out from floor joists is not that much fun!
One month remains to get it together. Please pray for the fourth and final piece of required steel. The details are not yet finalised due to the complicated nature of the position of the beam needing support. It lies above a wall between Slessor and Livingstone dormitories and involves one of the listed ceilings and wooden panelling that cannot be touched. Once plans are sorted, time to construct the steel becomes a critical issue.
While we have been doing all this, contractors have been working on the main extension. So far it is on schedule. Give much thanks! Issues remain that need resolution in order to be operational for the 13-16 April Easter camp. Please continue to pray for our witness to the builders and that good working relations will be maintained - particularly as pressure builds to get finished.
Finally give thanks for God’s provision of finance. Although much has been received, more is needed to do justice to the work and pay the bills.
May the grace that comes through Christ be with you.
Tom, for the Team