Things were going full speed ahead today. Most of us have all our materials
and tools and we are really progressing.
For
those that may not be aware there is a private school in Oakville by the
name of Fern Hill that has a connection with Oakridge through Jacquie
Stothers. Headed up by Blake Stewart they have been very generous to collect school uniforms that are
no longer in use and donate them to the school here on the property. The
ladies packed them all into the big hockey bags that we bring with us each
year and sorted them into size and gender once we arrived.
Today
was the day to give them to the children and make an official presentation
to the Principal of the school. As you can see the kids were very excited to
get some new clothes. Even the teachers were impressed! They said their
young men looked like executives!
Ronald Jolin put one of the jackets on and said he wanted to enroll in
the school. We said "Ok, as long as you start in Kindergarten!" Pictured
above right is the presentation to Donna and the Principal with a number of
the children gathered around wearing the new uniforms.
I understand that more uniforms are being collected and will be sent
down. This will be appreciated as there wasn't always the selection of sizes
for all the kids so those that were most needy were given priority at this
first event.
A
container of goods arrived this morning and for the first time I saw all the
activity that occurs as they get it unloaded and stored into the warehouse
that our team helped build two years ago. Those of you who were on that trip
will notice the lookout tower on top that has been added since w
e
were here last year. This is for the safety of the guard that has been hired
to stand watch over night. He climbs up a ladder to the stairs that go to
the top and pulls the ladder up after himself. This is necessary because the
warehouse has been broken into several times.
Pictured
here is a sweet little girl that was asked not to come back to school until
she got glasses! Can you imagine that? The sad part is that she was able to
get her eyes examined but her family could not afford to pay to have the
prescription filled. They had gone to a free medical clinic and would have
had to wait approximately six months to get the glasses. She would have been
out of school all that time.
They had tried other charitable places and were more or less brushed off.
They came to Larry & Donna and got the help they were seeking. They came
back today to show us her glasses - in less than 24 hours! It was very busy
when they came by as we were giving out the uniforms. Donna apologized
explaining it was very busy. He said he could see it was a bad time but was
very thankful that they were welcomed and hadn't been turned away in spite
of all the activities in progress.
Over
in the Medical Center Eric & Greg have been making unbelievable progress!
The ceiling is about 90% done in this picture and has only another 3 feet to
go. Greg said the only reason it wasn't finished today was because they are
waiting for the wall to be built that it ties into. I wonder who has that
job? I guess we'll light a fire under them tomorrow and "git 'er done"!
Ronald
& Gerard
have been busy constructing the washroom facilities which are just off the
main waiting room. As mentioned before, a large hole was cut in the side of
an old shipping container and you can see the platform that was built to
allow the plumbing to go in - otherwise the concrete floor under the
container would have had to been cut out. You can see the sinks installed
and tomorrow the rest will go in - the walls included.
The
painters have been hard at it! The courtyard is all done and they have made
it all the way around to the main house. There is a combination of brick and
stucco - both of which absorb a lot of paint and have many nooks and
crannies that have to be done by hand. Some of us have been lending a hand
while waiting for materials or tools to be available.
A number of us went to the Women's Prison today to minister in song and
give words of encouragement. The ladies were glad to have us back again. Four
of them got up and took the microphone and led five or six songs. When we
finished up they were all given a special "Care package" that contained the
items that many of you donated. They were very grateful. I had five Gideon
Spanish New Testaments and two in English. They were all given out and I
only wish I had brought forty more. Unlike last year we were not allowed to
take any pictures. Sorry, I guess you'll just have to come with us next
year.
The
new computer room is ready after Howard has finished building the desk tops
out of old doors. They are being mounted on steel frames that were welded by
Graham Johnson. The wiring has been installed by Doug & Grant and all we're
waiting for now is to bring the computers over from the warehouse.
Most nights after dinner we gather around in the living room with our
resident "jukebox" Greg Penny. I don't think there's a song that he doesn't
know! Well, it's time to upload this and go to bed. See you tomorrow!
