First of all, the Brethren in Christ Church of Malawi would like to send their greetings and gratitude for the funds that have been donated thus far. This church building construction would not be possible without those provisions.
As an update to the previous post, the rough construction of the retaining wall is complete. The construction will finish nearer to the completion of the building where a vertical knee wall will be added along with proper surface water diversion and pointing to the mortar joints. The General conference was a success, and many people saw the need of the building, as the rented tent (that was packed with people) took up one third of the building footprint. There were about 350 in that tent. Numerous people came from all over the country, and a lot of them had to also sleep in the tent. I was told that there were times when they were cold throughout the night, and that they were really looking forward to having a warm place to sleep during the future general conferences.
The next item, and probably one of the most, if not the most, important sections is the foundation. In order for any building to stand for a long time, a strong and solid foundation needs to be built. Therefore in some areas almost 2 meters had to be dug down in order to reach solid ground. About half of the foundation footers have been poured, along with the setting of four column bases. The whole perimeter is almost entirely dug. There is about 10 meters remaining to dig which right now provides access to the interior of the building perimeter to supply building materials. Since the rains will be coming in about a month, the main focus has been the lower foundation wall, which is nearly complete. As of right now, there is enough money to complete the perimeter of the building, but not enough to finish any of the interior walls or column bases. Because of this, priorities have been forced to be shifted. Otherwise the time and energy would be directed to digging and completing the next interior wall that is just as deep as the one being completed now. If the footer for this wall cannot be completed due to cost, the trench cannot be dug because once the rains come the trench walls will collapse. These deeper trenches are very hazardous
because the top layers are comprised of the looser soil relocated from the upper end, so there is a good chance of cave-ins. If money comes in within the next two weeks and we (Tim Jones or Jonathan Lloyd) are notified, this section could be completed. This would be a huge accomplishment and stepping-stone for the church because that would mean there would be a chance that throughout the rainy season work can be completed on the upper sections and possibly bring the foundation up to the slab level. The BIC Church of Malawi is trusting that God will provide a way for the global church to partner with the church here. They are looking forward to the day that they can have services, conferences and meetings in the building.
Again, a huge THANK YOU to those who have donated already, may God bless you abundantly!!
If you would like and are able to provide a part of the Malawi BIC Church Center foundation, please don’t hesitate to donate. You can donate online at http://www.bic-church.org/wm/give/partnership/malawi/ and scrolling down to "Maone Church Center." You can also send a check written out to BICWM with “Maone Church Center” in the memo line, and sent to either BICWM, PO Box 390, Grantham, PA 17027 or BICWM, 2700 Bristol Circle, Oakville, ON L6H 6E1.
