It is time for another blog! Our last one in May seems so long ago. We spent the better part of summer and fall 2007 at home. I was working for the church helping with a major renovation project for the children’s ministry. Between times we went to camp for two weeks (Rosie’s 28th or 29th annual cooking adventure up at UPBC), two trips to Ontario, the holidays with some of our family, and a basement family room project for a friend.
Now we are in Horsleys Green at the UK headquarters of Wycliffe Bible Translators. They recruited a group of volunteers to help in a major renovation of a housing area on the second floor of the dining hall, meeting room, coffee shop and gift shop. About forty people are here now from many parts of the USA and Canada; many of them strangers to us until arrival, but some familiar from our time in Orlando last winter.Everyday Rosie works in the kitchen for about five hours, takes walks and visits with other women, among other things. I work upstairs on the construction site about seven hours (including two coffee breaks!). The first days I was assigned to help pouring and troweling concrete.
After two days of that I was shifted to drywall work. Now I have four people who work with me putting up what seems like tons of drywall, 
Yesterday we started mudding (joint compound) a few bathrooms that they want painted ASAP so the plumbers can install all the fixtures.
Many men and women are working on different phases or parts of the building project -- tearing out old walls, erecting new walls, steel work, cleanup, plumbing, electrical, design, When finished there will be 29 bedrooms with private baths. They will be used for better accommodations for Wycliffe personnel training for Bible translation; also for local conferences, training and retreats.
We are not suffering over here! The accommodations are quite adequate with a private room and across-the-hall bathroom. There is another couple and a single man in the same “flat.” The meals are very good and plentiful; and the fellowship around tables is excellent. There are so many people that we can identify with - grandchildren, missionary experience, travel, etc. The weather has been cool, cloudy, rainy and two days of some sunshine, but we are having fun and enjoying the involvement with very dedicated, sincere Christians from many different backgrounds. I wish some of you were here, but they have already turned away about forty people who volunteered (too late) for this project.On Saturday we plan to take a bus trip to Oxford, about 20 miles up the road. We will tell you about it.
Our love to you all.
Abner and Rosie
8 comments:
Dear Rosie and Abner,
It's so cool to see your blog. Please put more pictures there.
--Anning
Hi Ab and Rosie. It's great to see how you continue to use your gifts for others around the globe.
Craig and Beryl
Way cool! To see your pix and know you are OK and doing well. And way cool here with -7 last night and high of +10 today in the NW suburbs.
You are missed at ACC.
Dale & Anne
Good to see that you are doing well and that the work is going well. Not surprised to see a pic of Rosie in the kitchen!
Becky W.
Don't work too hard, Ab! You have to leave something in the tank for when you get back Stateside ... Still work to do at ACC!
Hi Mr. & Mrs. Bauman!
It's great to see they let you back into the kitchen after your first day!! Hope there was no delayed bruising, etc. Mr. Bauman looks very agile up there. Must be all the work he did here before you left to prepare him!
Daddy is in Germany now (he threw up two times in the airplane bathroom on the way over!) and Grandma G. is here to help while Daddy is gone. It's supposed to snow with ligh accumulation almost every day this week, so we will stay in Chicago and not go to Iowa as we had hoped. But maybe we'll get to shovel the driveway, which we love to do!
All looks well at 121!
Grandma and Grandpa D. don't have internet access yet so that's why they haven't contacted you, but are very grateful to you and hope to be able to communicate before the end of the month. Plans remain the same as before you left!
We look forward to future blogs!
Love,
Nate, Chris, & Benjamin (Mommy & Daddy, too!)
P.S. For some reason your messages went to our "junk" folder and we actually checked them today and saw both your messages! Will have to correct that!
nice to hear from you all. you'll be home before you know it!Brother Carl
Glad to see you are both well and still serving our Saviour. We may try to get to Black Forrest Academy in March and Scotland on the same trip. NSBC is doing well thanks to prayers from folks like you, and HIS provisions for us.Sandy and I spent last summer at camp but we hope to have a new director in place soon. Denise Landrum may be our next food service director. Are you going to be in Europe for a while? Will be looking for your updates. In HIM, Chuck & Sandy Bartholomew
Post a Comment