I can't believe it's March already! I am posting this because Mindy has been threatening me...trying to get me to post this update...so here we go.
Life has been moving fast since we have returned. We hired an engineer who will be helping with drawings, specifications, and quality control and will had a full time investigator/technical officer join the construction team today. We have officially split our project and Dave has moved to Ampara to begin construction work there. I will be overseeing all the projects on the west coast and Dave will be overseeing all the projects on the east coast. My main role is to find the places to build and then our help coordinate our technical staff so they can make it happen.
Our current progress to date:
24 houses complete.
26 houses under construction.
2 community centers in design.
1, 10 house scheme in design.
16 houses will be started in the next 3 weeks.
I am currently looking at as many as 100 - 150 more houses to build, at least three more places to build community centers, two or three places to build or update market places, and possibly a cemetery (keep reading).
We had a community meeting to share our community center design and to get their feedback on any changes or additions they would like to see. These are some pictures.
We will be building the community center here...hopefully.
Sri Lanka is a tough place to live and work. I am serious. Forget the fact that it is a beautiful tropical island and that we have a 5 minute walk to the beach from our house. We have everyday frustrations of working within a system, language, and mentality that is completely different than what we are use to. Everything we do takes a little bit longer…or a little bit more effort.
Sri Lankans see a lot of tragedy…we see a lot of tragedy…and that is tough. In the above mentioned community meeting we were asked if we could prepare/build a cemetery. Mindy and I kind of smiled at each other thinking that this request was a bit unusual but have since thought about it more and realized that death is something that Sri Lankans deal with on a very regular basis…almost too regular. It’s a tough place to live because of the tragedy that these people see week in and week out.
Last month, the husband of one of the families we are building a house for was hit by train and killed while crossing the tracks in his Tuk Tuk (3 wheel taxi). He left a wife and two kids. Two weeks ago in a local community in which we have been running programs, a man with two boys on his motorcycle were hit and killed by a train while crossing the tracks. Mindy and I both have seen and heard of numerous accidents on the road where people have been killed. It’s not just transportation…this country has been in civil war for years...and we all understand the death that war brings. All of this tragedy and we have not mentioned the deaths that occur due to illness, virus, and disease. And don’t forget the reason why we are here…that in one day, within a few hours, thousands died as a result of the Tsunami. These people see death way too often.
So I am looking into building a cemetery. I will meet with local Government officials to see if there is suitable land available in this community…because this is important to them and a very real part of their everyday life.
I say this so you will pray for the people Sri Lanka. Pray for emotional and spiritual healing. Pray that they will find God in times of tragedy. Pray for their salvation. Pray they will find their peace and strength in Jesus Christ. Pray for a peaceful end to the conflict. Yes, this is a beautiful island with beautiful people...but these people are hurting and crying out for help. And finally, pray for us so that we know how to love them like Jesus does.
Thank you for your love, support, and prayers...we couldn't do this with out you.
Adam
Life has been moving fast since we have returned. We hired an engineer who will be helping with drawings, specifications, and quality control and will had a full time investigator/technical officer join the construction team today. We have officially split our project and Dave has moved to Ampara to begin construction work there. I will be overseeing all the projects on the west coast and Dave will be overseeing all the projects on the east coast. My main role is to find the places to build and then our help coordinate our technical staff so they can make it happen.
Our current progress to date:
24 houses complete.
26 houses under construction.
2 community centers in design.
1, 10 house scheme in design.
16 houses will be started in the next 3 weeks.
I am currently looking at as many as 100 - 150 more houses to build, at least three more places to build community centers, two or three places to build or update market places, and possibly a cemetery (keep reading).
We had a community meeting to share our community center design and to get their feedback on any changes or additions they would like to see. These are some pictures.
We will be building the community center here...hopefully.
Sri Lanka is a tough place to live and work. I am serious. Forget the fact that it is a beautiful tropical island and that we have a 5 minute walk to the beach from our house. We have everyday frustrations of working within a system, language, and mentality that is completely different than what we are use to. Everything we do takes a little bit longer…or a little bit more effort.
Sri Lankans see a lot of tragedy…we see a lot of tragedy…and that is tough. In the above mentioned community meeting we were asked if we could prepare/build a cemetery. Mindy and I kind of smiled at each other thinking that this request was a bit unusual but have since thought about it more and realized that death is something that Sri Lankans deal with on a very regular basis…almost too regular. It’s a tough place to live because of the tragedy that these people see week in and week out.
Last month, the husband of one of the families we are building a house for was hit by train and killed while crossing the tracks in his Tuk Tuk (3 wheel taxi). He left a wife and two kids. Two weeks ago in a local community in which we have been running programs, a man with two boys on his motorcycle were hit and killed by a train while crossing the tracks. Mindy and I both have seen and heard of numerous accidents on the road where people have been killed. It’s not just transportation…this country has been in civil war for years...and we all understand the death that war brings. All of this tragedy and we have not mentioned the deaths that occur due to illness, virus, and disease. And don’t forget the reason why we are here…that in one day, within a few hours, thousands died as a result of the Tsunami. These people see death way too often.
So I am looking into building a cemetery. I will meet with local Government officials to see if there is suitable land available in this community…because this is important to them and a very real part of their everyday life.
I say this so you will pray for the people Sri Lanka. Pray for emotional and spiritual healing. Pray that they will find God in times of tragedy. Pray for their salvation. Pray they will find their peace and strength in Jesus Christ. Pray for a peaceful end to the conflict. Yes, this is a beautiful island with beautiful people...but these people are hurting and crying out for help. And finally, pray for us so that we know how to love them like Jesus does.
Thank you for your love, support, and prayers...we couldn't do this with out you.
Adam
Labels: construction update
posted by Adam & Mindy at 1:14 AM
4 Comments:
I can't believe I have been gone there for more than three months. I do appreciate the update so I am glad Mindy finally threatened you enough to make it happen. Sounds like things are rolling. I will continue to pray and I love you guys. How does it feel to be in first place? Paul
Hi Adam, amazing job on the uppdate. Thank you for reminding us why you're there, and reminding me to keep praying. We laugh at the cultural tidbits and are reminded how thankful we are for super-sized grocery stores with built in Starbucks. And yet we sometimes miss the point that it's not about convenience, but about survival. It's about the question of one's eternity and how often these precious people are faced with it's reality... May God continue to stretch your heart and mind to conceive what these people are going through, and may He continue to increasse your capacity for His likeness and His unconditional love and affection.
WOW! Thanks for the update! We continue to think of you and pray for you as well as those you are serving. Thanks for all you are doing.
hey guys! somehow i never got the memo that there was a pierce blog, but i accidentally happened upon it this morning. i love it! i laughed, i cried, i'm coming to visit. thanks for writing. i'm proud to know you both and am grateful for all that you're learning and giving.
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