So much to do!

We are soooooo close to finishing the fixer upper yet so far from being settled into our new home. This past week we had our hot water heater, dishwasher and kitchen sink all installed the same day. It is so amazing to turn on the tap and have an endless supply of hot water come forth on demand. More amazing still is that at the end of the day I put the dishes into the magic box and push a button--by morning the dirty plates, cups, bottles, etc., are sparkling clean. We didn't have a dishwasher growing up and haven't had them/used them in the rentals we have lived in the past 14 years. I'm feeling very spoiled to have all these luxuries in our Mountain View bungalow. I found my camera's battery charger so photos will be coming shortly.

Dad is improving, but not at 100%

Dad had a stroke in August. Amazingly (by God's providential hand) he was not in Mexico when it happened. He was able to get good care at a hospital on the USA side of the border. His stroke was the bleed kind & he also had an aneurysm that had to be dealt with. Right now, 2 months later, we are in awe of his progress. He is walking--not quickly but independently--he is conversing intelligently, he has long and short term memory most of the time. He is not able to sit down and study like he used to do and he is not writing. He is just getting to the point that he knows his limitations and is frustrated by them. We appreciate the prayers of God's people through this trial. We know it has all been part of God's design in our lives and we wait excitedly for the next thing.

Big Changes....Finally!

We have been waiting for what seems like ages (we obtained our special-use permit 4 years ago) to build a church building and move in. Sunday was our last day as a hotel church and on Sunday, October 25, Berean Bible Church will officially have its own place. We praise God for this provision! Now there is lots to do to get ready for our first Sunday in the new place. We'll have a "soft opening" for now and get ready for a big shindig "grand opening" in a few months' time.

Cool Mountain View!

I love living in Mt. View on the Big Island of Hawaii where it is usually a good 10 degrees cooler than tropical Hilo town. After church today I found myself excited to escape Hilo's mugginess to the comfortable retreat of our mountain home. Our minivan themometer registered Hilo's temps at 80 degrees when we were leaving town and 70 degrees when we got home.

This week the drywall goes into the kitchen side of our house. It looks like we only have to "suffer" for a couple more weeks without hot-water-on-demand in our makeshift kitchen. Yippee!

Here's a little clip of #2 child enjoying mud puddles in our yard last week....

Soooooo close.....

The church had its final inspection last week and "failed" the inspection with a list of things to do to get the property in compliance. A group of people fixed everything on the list last week and yesterday. We are waiting for our paving contractor to do the last thing on the list so that we can call for another final inspection. We are sooooooo close to having occupancy!

Still here, still waiting....

I haven't had my own computer since June. I turned it on and it said something about having to power down because of a fan that isn't working, so I wait. Our house isn't finished due to permitting issues, so we wait. We can't move into the new church building due to county construction requirements. We're sooooo close! So, we wait! We are learning patience. All is well. God is good.

The New Sanctuary!

Our first Sunday to use the new sanctuary was Easter Sunday 2009. This week the parking lot is being graded and in the next couple of weeks will be poured. We are getting really close to being able to officially meet at 420 Lama Street in Hilo!