Our last week here

Well, I wouldn't say we have had a quiet week of winding down.
We have been lifting in cages and setting them up in the holes, pouring concrete and filling the concrete with rocks to reduce the costs.
Stephen Sutherland volunteered to climb down each hole and stamp the rocks in whilst we continued to throw in more. I told him his name was unfortunate because when asked what we were doing each day, we simply replied, "stoning Stephen." He wore a hard hat and it was just as well he did because one loose rock bounced off it.
22 holes later, many of us are walking very stiffly with sore arms and legs and backs.
But, the job is done! All the bases and guy cable anchors are in.
Now, we move on to preparing the curtain for the 96m towers (TCI) antennas.
We are still praying that God will sort out the Native Title issues with clearing for power lines to lot 3000. We will continue to prepare the towers and antennas expecting that the rest will happen in His timing.
The TCI antennas when operational will send a much stronger signal to India. This is the largest group of people that HCJB Knx is involved in reaching with the Gospel, and the Gospel is sent there in 14 languages each week.
Jodi and I packed the roof rack last night and are taking a last look at any other items we need for the trip home on Tuesday morning.
Although we are obviously very excited about coming home, we are also sad to leave our new found friends. Right now, this has left Jodi in a kind of limbo. It's easier for me because there is so much work to do, not much time to think about it. For Jodi, all the school books are packed, the house is just about empty and time is moving very very slowly.

Consider the cost

Whenever we look at Luke 14:28-30 from now on, we will see it in a new light. In constructing a tower, there is more to consider than just the materials that go into it.
I have been learning that on a whole new level this week as Steve Sutherland has been calculating the stresses on all points of the towers and stays in no wind and cyclone conditions to work out the best cables to use, and the tensions that need to be put on them.
Together, we are working on new ways to calculate those stresses etc using access and excel to reduce the time involved (normally around 2 months a tower).
The work has been very welcome for me as a way to re-activate my brain, and God has been blessing us with good results. It's amazing how fast a day goes when we have worked on this stuff!

For those wondering what we are up to, we have accepted a position at Camp Wattle Grove (formerly Keswick Convention Centre) as co-caretakers. This work also has a strong ministry component and we will be continuing to ask God for guidance and an ongoing vision for the ways CWG can be used to further the Kindom of God.

Lord willing, we will be leaving HCJB Knx on June 29th and will take around a week to head back to Perth. We thank God for the experience of working for Him here, for the new friends we have made here, for the overwhelming support of so many back home with finances and prayer, and for answering our prayers about what to do next. Our cup truly overflows!

We are so excited about coming home. We miss you all.

Going Bananas

Early this week, Joel and his family arrived from Kelmscott.
His mission in the week they have here is to complete the work in the banana patch - so, there we are - large knives in hand, slicing and hacking throughout the rows of bananas and enjoying relating about the possibilities for ministry in Perth.
Every now and then, we both put on our headphones and listen to sermons and Christian songs. This has been a great way to engage the mind on the things of God whilst engaging the hands on a very repetitive, itchy, dusty, juicy, sticky job.

El Questro

We have not seen the whole park yet, but we did get to enjoy the hot springs there last weekend. We forgot the camera - so here are two short clips from my mobile phone

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow

We are still digging the tower bases and guy cable anchors - preparing for the concrete. All on site worked very hard this week and are sore and tired, but satisfied and encouraged at the progress.

We still await God's timing for the approval of clearing of land with Native title for the power lines. The clearing will be done by us, and then Horizon Power will do the installation.

There is still plenty of work to do here, but with the safe arrival of more staff and volunteers, we personally feel our need to 'stand in the breach' has been lifted.

To that end, we have been praying that God would provide us with work when we returned to Perth that would provide for our family and also allow us to continue to be involved in His ministry. We did not know what direction our Lord would lead us, we just prayed for His guidance.

We believe that our prayers have been answered in the most spectacular way. Praise God!!!

We will keep you posted as things unfold, as we complete our work here and as we set a date to return to Perth

Last weekend, we had a great time with many from HCJB - visiting hot springs and the cold Emma Gorge again. I will post photos shortly. Internet is not very stable right now.

This weekend, we stayed on site for most of Saturday whilst I and Chris worked on the starter motor on our 4wd. All went well and we ended the day with the men and their sons going to the local speedway. What a fun night! The women and those who do not enjoy speedway stayed and played games together. A real feeling of unity and joy is present on site. We feel very blessed for having the privalege of serving God here at HCJB Knx and thank you all for your ongoing support throughout our time here.

Please continue to pray for Brian and Katrina Walker as they mourn their loss of their son Adrian who died in a motorbike accident in Feb this year and Brian's father who died of a heart attack a day after they left Tasmania to travel to HCJB. They arrived safely here just over a week ago and are a great blessing to the staff and volunteers here.

Please also pray for Daniel and Raquel as they continue to raise funds to work here and plan to return in early July.

Love

Don

The week just gone

Wow, what a blur of a week!

With good weather (14 to15deg at night and 28 to 30deg in the day), we spent the week in lot 3000 (out back at the new antenna site)
With the dingo and the backhoe, we drilled and dug holes and then the hard work began - chisselling the holes square with crow bars, shovels and jackhammes, and shaping undercuts at the bottom of the holes to double the effect of the concrete.

We all have blisters on our hands, sore legs, arms and backs, and a great sense of acheivement.

The scene looks a lot like how I imagined Kalgoorlie would be in the gold rush.




Our kids had a go at the jack hammering and also Lex had a go at driving the backhoe (under close supervision) what a great experience for them!!!

More volunteers have arrived and the whole place has begun to hum with renewed enthusiasm and joy.

This weekend, we have had the pleasure of catching up with old friends - Peter and Beth Bailey.

We also heard that Bill and Joan Grosser are coming through as they catch up with families here who have been training their children using 'Growing kids God's way'. Joan's auntie was instrumental in giving HCJB the land here.

Rain

Today again, the heavens opened and all is being refreshed. I just dropped everything and walked out into the rain. The days are still warm and humid, and the rain was just the right temperature to be refreshing. Night comes at 5pm now, and sunsets are very quick. I drove into town on Wednesday on a very dark night and thought I was late to a meeting. It turned out to be only 5.40pm.

Steve Sutherland and his family have arrived safely. This quickly led to new friendships with the kids. Within an hour of their arrival, I saw Jasmine with Alisha and Carolyn walking down the path with their dolls, combing their doll's hair and oblivious to the surrounding commotion of mowers and tractors.

We had the privilege of meeting and working with Frank and Tony for two weeks, and we already miss them as they have continued on their journey through the north of Australia. This has caused me to ponder how it will be at the end of our time here. We have become good friends with many of the staff and volunteers here and will miss them. Our children have also established freindships with the other kids and I know it will be hard for them too.

Hence, the mixing of the words: 'sweet sorrow' has taken on new meaning for me. We sorely miss our friends back home and will be sad to leave here, but chomping at the bit to see you all again.

Whilst the rain continues, I will be welding jigs to hold the 'hing' bolts in place when we concrete the tower bases. Chris and I will be assessing the backhoe and auger attachment for drilling the square tower holes once things dry out again and who knows, I may even have to fire up the dingo to help with that.

Below is a photo of some of the cages I have welded for the tower

guy cables.

Here are the two air cond units Chris and I moved for the TX

building. They are 2.5m off the ground - so we had to lift them

into place using the backhoe.

Quite a few volunteers will be arriving in the next few weeks so we look forward to the vibrant atmosphere they will bring with them as they look to serve God in this place.