Footers 80% Complete!

That’s right, after yesterdays and today’s combined efforts; those main sections of the footers have been poured! This includes the rest of the building perimeter and the rest of the deep sections (2 meters down). Even this alone was a miracle. This past week we had a hard rain and the trenches were filled with water which had to be bucketed out, and the trench walls started to cave in. Then the concrete mixer’s driving gear is about completely worn, so we tried renting another mixer to find that it wasn’t even working properly. We were also scrounging to find enough money to purchase the materials to complete these footers. But because we serve a God who is all powerful, He brought all these things together at the right time, made the mixer last long enough, just so we could accomplish our goal of completing the pour. God is good! We even had about 35 people come and help with the work. Not only were we able to pour the footers, but we were also able to fill up the other trenches that had the foundation walls already built. The women and children were also a huge help…even had women with children on their backs working! It truly was an honor to see the Malawi BIC church come together and working hard with an excitement of working; and that is tough to find these days.

It seems like the rains are starting to make their way in. If we make a sprint over the next 2 weeks, we can likely complete the entire foundation. We can make this happen if the necessary support becomes available. The estimated breakdown of the remaining work is as follows (with the priority items first):

1. 69cm footer = $300

2. 1.035m footer = $350

3. Column footers = $650

4. Remaining steel for column bases = $800

5. Double brick walls = $1400

6. Triple brick walls = $750

7. Column bases = $270

8. Ant/terminte poison = $700

A little over $5000 will help set the tone for the rest of this project. The work is really starting to build momentum, a momentum that is capable to complete the foundation before the rains come in full steam. This would be a huge step for the church and for the project, first for the people as they would really sense the progress being made and to continue that excitement. Then for the progress of the work it would be perfect because once the foundation is complete, the hardcore treatment is next. The hardcore treatment here is comprised of tamping down the entire site then adding broken brick on top of the soil and tamping those down. It is a huge advantage and aid in completing this work during the rains because the rain actually helps the soil (and then brick) settle into all the spaces to provide a compact and solid base for the slab. Then once the hardcore treatment is complete, the hope is to have enough resources to provide the reinforcing wire mesh and concrete for the slab.

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.

Enjoy the music of a couple church members praising the Lord in Chichewa!