Updates
Strength.
Peru’s nationwide State of Emergency has been extended again through August 31st, and there are still regions under strict quarantine measures with martial law (due to still escalating covid numbers), but not ours. We are free to drive to town without permits and more than one person per household is allowed out now. Large gatherings are still prohibited – including church. The international borders are still closed without any official word as to when that might change. We are grateful that the hardware stores are open now, so our building projects can begin again!
Vann has finished our dining room table! It is spectacular, heavy and strong. He built it out of Quinilla (Brazilian Cherry – as dense and heavy as ironwood) and it weights nearly 700 pounds.
He cut two slabs off of a log with a 3’ bar chainsaw, then he leveled them horizontally with the same chainsaw (serious skills).
Since the wood is so hard it would’ve taken months to sand them down to level, he rigged a rack and rail system to run the router across the tops to get them exactly even with each other. Genius.
After that he sanded them, filled the cracks with black epoxy, sanded them some more, routed the edges with bits that he used to make the handrails for our stairs, sanded them again...
At that point the whole family carried each slab into the dining room for it to be assembled with dowels that Vann and Ethan made on our lathe, sanded it all one last time, and coated the whole thing with clear epoxy.
This table cannot be moved out of the room without disassembling it – it is there for the ages! I am so very proud of Vann’s ingenuity, hard work and willingness to make such a beautiful table.
May the Lord bless all who gather ‘round it, and may they taste and see the goodness of God!
Vann has happily moved on to other projects now that the rains have subsided. He started on the pavilion roof – cutting and welding the steel frame together when he decided to pause on the upward expansion and make sure that the foundation is strong enough to hold that kind of weight and outward pressure (with an octagon roof). So, he moved a ton of dirt and packed it all around the slab and poured concrete footers for the rock pillars that he will build at the base of each post to strengthen them since the posts are not buried in the slab. It will be beautiful, and I can’t wait to be able to expand our ministry opportunities under shade!
This month has flown by with hosting events every week - a small gathering of neighbors for July 4th, birthday celebrations every weekend at the pool, youth group (even by candlelight once!), and several lovely dinners around our beautiful new table! I am loving all of the people coming and going again, but I seem to have forgotten how much I have to rely on the Lord for strength to manage it all.
We are praising God for his abundant provision for this mission base and camp ministry! Funds have come in for more cabins and camp infrastructure! It is the biggest blessing of our lives to see how He uses us together with your partnership to do what He has set before us to do. Thank you to those of you who have so generously given and are praying for our health and strength – physically, emotionally and spiritually. May God be glorified in all that we say and do!
“True freedom is not the liberty to do whatever we want; it is the strength to do what we should. That is also true bravery. May God grant us that strength.” – Ravi Zacharias