Third Phase Progress

May 21, 2018: NOTHING LITTLE ABOUT THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF OURS The guy we have been working with for lighting was working and Randy asked him for some ideas for a coffee shop, foyer including all around the soffits that were built… This guy designed the whole thing for us. He is a Christian man […]

May 19, 2018: WORK DAY We and a great crew of men working. We were thrilled to see such a great turn out especially on a day when many of our church and school folk were at a huge graduation party for 10 of our grads. Randy never believed we would get done as much

May 15, 2018: WOW! CLOSER TO THE BUDGET We had a man working for us for a short time. He called Randy and decided to give back everything he made working for us…$12,000. That’s cutting into that $45,000 we are over budget!!

May 18, 2018: THE FLOOD So I was sitting in the conference room this morning. I hear a collaborative squealing of voices the kind that makes you stop everything you are doing and just listen to see what’s coming next… then I hear a huge rush of water followed by Mike Blan saying, “oooooooo mannnnn”…then

May 17, 2018: SOMETHING ONLY GOD COULD DO Oh, my goodness. Soooo. Only God…the sound guy called and needs $30,000 for sound equipment or there will be a delay in ordering the parts necessary to get us up and running by our deadline. Our money was put into a CD to gain interest and can’t

May 16, 2018: WHAT A HEADACHE! WHAT A BLESSING! Oh my, here it comes…we are starting to tear up the floors in 1st and 2nd phase on Wed. It is going to be a mess, a huge pain, a headache, and possibly a nightmare…but HOW EXCITING! THESE ARE GROWING PAINS! Please be patient as we

May 11, 2018: LONG TIME COMING! The door guy has been working frantically right along with us. He has completed all the doors in phase 1 & 2…working on 3rd phase still! They look great. They also added glass to the doors in the visitor center and they look amazing!

May 9, 2018: A BLOODY DAY Yesterday I was reminded of how we need to continue in prayer for our project, finances, building, but especially our men that are laboring. We had a bloody arm ending with some stitches and a smashed, now swollen hand. Both will live, and one will have a nice scar

May 8, 2018: OHHHHH POOP! So the budget went down the toilet today. Some days your pastor is a great general contractor and other days he should be doing a little more praying… before he gets canned. Today was a day to flush away his stinky mistakes. Hate to drop the bomb but there a

May 7, 2018: RAISE THE ROOF Wish everyone could know the feeling of walking through the metal doors into 3rd phase. The fresh smell of sawdust hits you in the face, the sounds of a table saw, the hum of the paint sprayer, knocking of a hammer, the clink of staple guns, the roar of

May 6, 2018: WHY? WHY? WHY? So I asked on Monday Why here? Why now? WHY US? Well, today God took at least one scale from my eyes…a sister school in Romeoville is closing down next year. They are endorsing OUR school as their school of choice. Now there is a whole lot more to

May 5, 2018: ITCHY I can’t even explain how much insulation I see. Holy cow! Billy got his first welding job and asked his brand-new boss if he could start a week later just so he could finish up the insulation job at his church. His boss thought that was cool. So he is trying

May 4, 2018: IT’S DEAD! So. Interesting thing. Tim was way high in that lift again painting the ceiling when the battery died on the lift. (Bahahaha). So. I was amused…not sure he probably was. Apparently, it took some time to get him down. Just saying. Today our carpenters built gorgeous window decor…for lack of

May 3, 2018: WHAT MAN MEANS FOR EVIL Other things happening…2 boys have been working on replacing all the pipes that were cut out. That is the where all the water froze from the damage from the thief…but can we really stop and think about that for a moment. For those of you who know

May 2, 2018: UGH! Not every day smells like roses…Steel prices are going up. Just got a bill for 30,000 more than what was in our budget for water pipes.

May 1, 2018: WAY UP HIGH Mr. Tim painting the ceiling in the auditorium. Think about that. I’m glad he doesn’t get freaked by being in that little blue box way up there. Not my calling. Sure appreciate him showing up here and doing this. Seems like God brought him to us at just the

April 30, 2018: PASTOR CLARK MISSION PROJECT! Scooter and Joe P took today “off” to drive to Jacksonville to look at Pastor Clarks new mission project. He found a building. It is a big Morton building just 1 mile from his house. They took him 40 chairs today and scouted the building. There are no

April 29, 2018: BUSY LITTLE ELVES! I heard some weird noises coming from 3rd phase which is suspicious on a Sunday morning at 8 am. Little did I know that the drywallers were mudding and taping. I didn’t even know they started but there they were finishing one of the last rooms. Cool!  

April 26, 2018: SO EXCITED! So fun to see how far the front office has come: mud and tape, new build out for a welcoming look and more workstations, more electrical for on top of the counters going in and a VISION of what is coming so very soon. And wanna know an exciting secret…we

April 27, 2018: SORRY BOYS! The boys had to take out the phase 3 front doors in order to make room for NEW doors which happen to be bigger than these. Maybe a pain, but a huge blessing in the end. At least that’s easy for me to say. Sorry boys. All that construction and

April 26, 2018: NEVER-ENDING! The boys are still insulating…still! Never saw so much insulation in my life!  

April 23, 2018: HEEEEEEEE’S BACK! Tom is back! It’s a “horrible shame” that he got laid off just in time to finish the foyer and sanctuary! All the classrooms, bathrooms, closets etc are done…but oh wait… do not forget the most important room, the beloved, and humongous storage room. It still needs lights! Welcome back

April 19, 2018: TIME TO HIDE! Our carpenters have been very busy hiding those steel beams! I remember watching as Meco put up that steal structure so many years ago…now I can’t wait to see it covered up, but so glad for a strong foundation! Thanks, Meco!  

April 18, 2018: PASTOR’S OFFICE It FEELS so different now that we have walls. It seems like a “real” room now! Flooring, heat and paint and possibly Randy might have an office! Since he has been here we counted he has been kicked out of his office 5x in the last couple years, since our

April, 17: MORE DRYWALL & INSULATION As the drywallers are finishing up some rooms, we are putting in insulation in the sanctuary and halls!  

April 14, 2018: WE HAVE WALLS?!! A crew of dry-wallers are knocking out this horrible job. We can’t finish the ceilings yet until the heating is in. Monday we are getting our new front doors!! That is exciting!  

April 13, 2018: MOVING RIGHT ALONG?!! This week the insulation has been going in and a whole lot of it! We are waiting on drawings for mezzanine or balcony which gives us the ability to finish the heating system. Our carpenters working on front doors on Monday. Framings We met with a lighting engineer guy

April 11, 2018: DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?!! I showed up this morning and found this! I’m excited!  

April 2nd, Monday: ELECTRIFYING! Tom worked right up until he got called back to his “real” job. He has been so faithful which got our rooms done, inspected and ready for insulation! This looks like a mess of wires to the untrained eye but Tom assured me it all makes sense to him. Looks like

April 1, Sunday: NO FOOLING HERE! April Fool’s Day landed on Easter Sunday. 28 baptized today!! It was amazing! Young and old, some new Christians, some rededicating their lives, mothers, daughters, children, 3 pastors-English and Spanish. It was truly an amazing, glorious day!  

March 31, 2018: HIPPITY HOPPITY! What a great day it was. The weather held for us. Baskets galore, candy by the boatloads and lots of smiles to go around.  

March 29, 2018: A WAR WE LIKE! We are moving forward. Please keep praying. We are in bidding wars right now…insulation is a big one. A couple of these bids could be as much as $11,000 in savings. That is a pretty good chunk of change! We are also looking for bids for heating supplies.

March 26, 2018: ELECTRIFYING DAY! The inspector showed for his first inspection…the electrical—flawless–as we knew it would be…good going, Tom! So guess what is next…INSULATION AND DRYWALL! Yeehaa. We get to finish off the rooms! PRAYER POINT: As we face the spiritual battles and roadblocks against the completion of Phase 3, we ask for a

March 22, 2018: IN AWE So today was the day we have long awaited for. Joe Cook has been gracious to work with us as a type of liaison between us and the village. We have been trying to figure out why the village has been dragging their feet with us…so, Joe got a meeting

March 21, 2018: KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON! Our men are still hard at work. While they wait on a permit to finish up the important stuff, they remain busy building things like cubbies, soffits, stairs, reception area for children’s wing, and working on built-in altars. These guys are top-notch carpenters. And we are so very

March 20, 2018: IT IS FINISHED…at least partially! For many, many months… Too many to even count at this point… We have watched Tom Daufenbach meticulously and steadfastly work on our electric in third phase. He works by himself. He reads blueprints. He pulls wires. He bends pipes (sometimes with his wife’s help-shout out to

March 19, 2018: A B C D…OUR DAY CARE IS GROWING BY 3 ! A is for Amazing, B is for Blessed, C is for Charged (so there wasn’t a whole lot of C words to choose from but CHARGED worked for me!) A friend of a friend got wind that a day care was

March 15, 2018: JUST PLAIN FUN! What a blast! So, the guys are getting creative and just built in our sanctuary an altar across the front of the chapel for us to kneel and pray…AND WHAT MAKES THIS EVEN BETTER??? Scooter is putting hinges on the tops of them so (drum roll)…we will have storage

March 15, 2018: POWERFUL …AGAIN…and AGAIN! So today (again) was something only God could have done and even better to see Him work despite the broken vessels He has to work with. I love when God moves despite us… Spiritual Emphasis Day continued…we had two middle school boys find us on their lunch hour. They

March 14, 2018: POWERFUL! So today was…hmmm…something only God could have done and even better to see Him work despite the broken vessels He has to work with. I love when God moves despite us… Spiritual Emphasis Day is something our school does each year. Only the Student Government knows when it is. We surprise

March 12, 2018: NEW LAID-OFF HELPERS! So maybe the men and probably their wives aren’t real fans of being laid off but, God bless them for helping us while they are! Mr. Tom brought 2 friends from the electrical union today. Not sure how to even express our gratitude for them (but the cheese potatoes

March 9, 2018 Friday: ANOTHER GREAT SURPRISE! Check out the pic…may not look like much. May not look like real exciting…but it is! IT REALLY IS! This is another piece of the puzzle, an important one! Our anonymous donor of drywall and tape and mud just delivered to us PRIMER!!! WOW!!! PRAYER POINT: Father, we

March 9, 2018: FINISH STRONG SO HERE IT IS…the numbers are in. $8000 is what it is to FINISH (yes finish) a room in 3rd phase. Are you in a Bible Study group that is willing to help join together to finish a room? Here’s some throwback pics for ya. These are the underground tubes

March 8, 2018 Thursday: EVEN IN MATH CLASS! And yet… another day of rejoicing! WOW! Sherry and I got summoned to Miss. Jenny’s math class during school today…both of us!!! It was a crazy morning and we were trying to get ready for staff meetings and we just gave each other that look that said

March 5, 2018 | PART II: Prayin’ for the Door Man… The door guy was back sharpening his pencil. I let him know we have been praying for him and his quote. Not quite sure how that made him feel…I didn’t tell him how we COULD pray if his quote is bad. Just sayin… **SOMETHING

March 5, 2018 | Part I: My Disclaimer These are simple notes I started taking because things were happening so fast I didn’t want to forget one thing God was doing. This is not a well written grammar paper, but just my highlights made public. Despite my slang, candor, and tremendous, personal emotion at times,

March 4, 2018: Almost There, Buy a Chair! $170 buys a chair. There is a treasure chest in the back of the sanctuary and pledge cards. If you want to purchase a chair, fill in the card or just drop your money in the treasure chest. All money in that chest is going to the

March 3, 2018: Amen X 17 So Friday night we had a small funeral here at our church. Didn’t know the family or lady who passed but she had some old ties to this church so they called us. Pastor Randy was asked to “say a few words” and so he “said a few words”…oh

March 2, 2018: So Worth It! Seems like every time I get so frustrated with the “job” part of my job, something like this happens… Sherry always tells me I can’t have favorite students. “It’s not right” she says. Well, I don’t always listen to her. Brandon was always one of my favorites. He was

March 28, 2018: CANDY! CANDY! CANDY! Thanks to all for the bags of candy and helping to stuff the eggs! We had a great turn out and we were winding down at about 1 and half hours! Record stuffing time! AND we got the HS eggs stuffed too!

March 1, 2018 | Buy a Chair, or Two! Today we confirmed with the “chair man” he needs to get started! They will come lay out the floor plan for chairs and will be ordering materials soon! The chairs will be $170 per chair, which includes shipping and installation. Ready to buy a chair??? Pastor

February 27, 2018 | Yes, We Need This Building Program This song was playing this morning… “Spirit of the Living God, we only want to hear your voice. We are hanging on every word. We want to know You more and more. We are hanging on every word. When you come in the room, when

February 26, 2018 | If You Feed Them, They Will Work Want to thank all the women and men who are providing lunches for the workers each day!! Food has been amazing! Check out these pics. Can’t wait until the water is turned on and we hear the soft sound of water trickling down those

February 25, 2018 | We ARE Finishing This Building! After all these years, Pastor Randy got to tell the church that we are going to finish this building! Everyone that sat in THE chair, LOVED it. Pastor Randy challenged everyone to buy themselves and their family a chair. Prices to come…and we have been challenged

February 23, 2018 | Chair Sample The chair person dropped off a sample of a sanctuary chair. You can sit in it in the chapel. Try it out. It is the higher priced one with the higher back. The sanctuary will have different sized chairs in it. The sample is a 21″. We will have

February 23, 2018 | Joshua 1:9 Joshua 1:9 MSG “After the death of Moses the servant of God, God spoke to Joshua, Moses’ assistant: “Moses my servant is dead. Get going. Cross this Jordan River, you and all the people. Cross to the country I’m giving to the People of Israel. I’m giving you every

February 22, 2018 | Doors, Doors, Doors Got quote on doors…an unGodly quote on doors. Pray over this one! There are many doors in 3rd phase but… how do we feel about hanging curtains for doors? Branches and leaves? We could go back to the 60’s and try hanging beads for doors. Need another quote

February 19, 2018 | A $550,000 Savings?! Many years ago, when we were starting the 1st phase, we had a man who poured concrete join us. Randy remembers being in the ditch working with him one day early on. This man was cussing up a storm. Shortly after that, the men were called for a

February 12, 2017 | Let the Work Begin! Carpenters started work $750,000 deposited from insurance  

January 2, 2018 | Thankful For Cold Weather… The insurance gave us permission to start working, cutting out the frozen pipes before a thaw comes. The temperatures all week have been below freezing. We even closed school because of the severe cold weather. We cursed the cold but it was the very thing that kept

December 31, 2017 | Happy New Year? Pastor Randy received a call from Tom, who has been working faithfully in the 3rd phase on the electrical. He heard something pop and investigated. The church had been vandalized in the last week or so. They cut out the copper pipes and stole them out of the