Day 28...countdown!

The team only has today and Friday to work at the job site. They have all 3 buildings blocked and are now working on the central octagon. Two walls of the octagon are 11 courses high and 5 other sides are coming right along. They have to leave one undone for dirt work, etc, inside. The Africans have been working together with our guys to get this project as far along as possible while we are here and will continue after we have gone home to finish up. It's been a tough job all around. Fatigue has been a challenge, as well as the rain. The blocks are not uniform which makes laying them difficult and the uneven ground along with the mud makes just walking from place to place a challenge! Despite all these things, though, the team has done an amazing job and the place looks more like a Bible school every day!

I wish you all could see the beautiful grounds of the Malabo Bible School. Rolling grass covered hills are highlighted about with lush greenery. Coconut palms, banana, papaya, carambola, and avocado trees dot the property. Giant Ceiba trees that can grow 230 ft or more are also scattered over the landscape. They are straight, with a mostly branchless trunk that culminates in a huge, spreading canopy and buttress roots that can be taller than a grown person. I've never seen anything like them until we came here two years ago. It's not a sight I'll likely forget!

Local women wash their clothes and bathe at the small river that runs through the property. They scrub the clothes and slap them on the rocks to clean them as best they can, while young men wash cars downstream where the river runs by the highway. A hen and her chicks meander the property while a battle worn rooster crows throughout the day. Pastor Carrol has 8 pretty little goats that graze the fields during the day and are put in their pens for safety at night. Lizards are abundant and run everywhere over the place. I saw some that were large, beautiful pastel blue and green and yellow running up and down one of the palms the day we went there to see the goats.

The school property is a peaceful place. I imagine Bible students walking from place to place on campus or sitting on a bench beneath a Ceiba tree reading and studying or praying. This Bible school is one of the prettiest places in all of Malabo and will be a light shining in the darkness, training the many people who want to come study God's Word.

The days are passing by--28, so far. We've marketed many times, cooked many meals, prayed many prayers, slept many nights, made many phone calls home and missed our families tremendously. A man cut the grass yesterday. The Deal's five puppies are growing up fast. The team has laid nearly 7500 blocks so far and are working hard today to get as much done as they can because our time is coming to a close. Each day done is a day closer to home. Gayle is fixing a turkey tonight and if it's as good as the last one, we're in for a treat.

It's a good day here in Malabo.

Father, thank you for your strength in this assignment. You are blessing the team with good health and strength and good results. Thank you for Pastor Carroll's and Gayle's vision to build the Bible school and for the strength to see it through. It's going to be good, Lord. Real good. I love you and appreciate your grace and mercies that are new each morning.

Suz