7-26-09 It's getting more and more difficult to keep up with the blog everyday. Our apologies. We are running a hectic pace as we try to fit more things into our schedule. We may need to break Friday, the "Sarah Palin" day, into a couple of entries. Sunday we head on to Denali. The uncertainty of Internet connectivity may put us out of touch for a few days. Sorry about that.
Although our original mission to the church fell through, our secondary work at the church is going well. The addition to the church is on hold as the construction plans for a required firewall have been stalled in the permits and approvals process. Our sign team has refurbished the St. David's sign on the road. The sign was in desperate need of some loving care; cleaning, painting and landscaping. The church had a plan to landscape around it that was six years old, so our team was able to bring that dream into a reality. The addition that is being added swallowed a big section of the original parking lot. Although a new parking lot area had been created in the construction process, it was in rough shape. Our team has moved large rocks and stones from the parking area itself and used them to make a rock wall outlining the area. We have also thinned and cleared brush, weeds and trees for general house cleaning and so that the church can be seen from the road.
Our final project at the church has been the planting of a community garden to serve as food ministry. Presently St. David's has a firewood ministry that provides free firewood for those in need. Many of the people that we have met have told us about how cold the summer was last year. It rained almost every day with temperatures only reaching 70 degrees twice the entire summer. One parishioner told me that they used their heat system every single day of the year last year. St. David's has a huge firewood pile (which we also helped to stack) in preparation for the upcoming winter. The dream is also to do the same with a vegetable garden to aid those who are in need of food. The dream that they saw and the one that we envisioned coming here were two vastly different things though. St. David's church and Wasilla are in the midst of a magnificent Birch tree forest. Lush would be an understatement. The church has seven acres of land and when Ralph took John on a hike to show him the intended garden area, John and ALL of our crew, expected the path to open up to a nice meadow or field or open area for the garden. But that was not the case. Ralph stopped in the middle of the Birch tree forest. This was the "garden spot". Our project took a giant turn in its scope. We rented a backhoe for the week and Ron became "the man" as he cleared a road to this garden area, knocked down trees and removed brush to cut a garden in the middle of the forest. What most of us thought was an impossibility is now nearing reality. The area has been cleared and leveled and topsoil spread.
Although our original mission to the church fell through, our secondary work at the church is going well. The addition to the church is on hold as the construction plans for a required firewall have been stalled in the permits and approvals process. Our sign team has refurbished the St. David's sign on the road. The sign was in desperate need of some loving care; cleaning, painting and landscaping. The church had a plan to landscape around it that was six years old, so our team was able to bring that dream into a reality. The addition that is being added swallowed a big section of the original parking lot. Although a new parking lot area had been created in the construction process, it was in rough shape. Our team has moved large rocks and stones from the parking area itself and used them to make a rock wall outlining the area. We have also thinned and cleared brush, weeds and trees for general house cleaning and so that the church can be seen from the road.
Our final project at the church has been the planting of a community garden to serve as food ministry. Presently St. David's has a firewood ministry that provides free firewood for those in need. Many of the people that we have met have told us about how cold the summer was last year. It rained almost every day with temperatures only reaching 70 degrees twice the entire summer. One parishioner told me that they used their heat system every single day of the year last year. St. David's has a huge firewood pile (which we also helped to stack) in preparation for the upcoming winter. The dream is also to do the same with a vegetable garden to aid those who are in need of food. The dream that they saw and the one that we envisioned coming here were two vastly different things though. St. David's church and Wasilla are in the midst of a magnificent Birch tree forest. Lush would be an understatement. The church has seven acres of land and when Ralph took John on a hike to show him the intended garden area, John and ALL of our crew, expected the path to open up to a nice meadow or field or open area for the garden. But that was not the case. Ralph stopped in the middle of the Birch tree forest. This was the "garden spot". Our project took a giant turn in its scope. We rented a backhoe for the week and Ron became "the man" as he cleared a road to this garden area, knocked down trees and removed brush to cut a garden in the middle of the forest. What most of us thought was an impossibility is now nearing reality. The area has been cleared and leveled and topsoil spread.
.
