Wow, the air has really changed the last few days. It’s the most important time of year…Football!! Oops, I mean harvest!!! Pastor is on to something with the harvest. I sense God has us heading into that season. We need your help preparing!
Did you notice the teens have put in some demolition time. They have been removing walls in the east wing. We will have 2 large adult Sunday school rooms and a teen area in the east wing. Did you notice the kitchen. Cabinets are in place (thanks Matt) and counters and sink should be installed Friday. A WORKING KITCHEN !!!! Did you notice chairs??? I never would have guessed that through this entire project that getting chairs would require the most faith! Is God telling us to keep going and rest in Him instead of chairs?
Speaking of getting off our…speaking of work day. We could really use the help. We have exterior painting that needs done, flashing to put on roof, soffit and facia to install, a building to move, parking lot work, demolition, washer and dryers to move, and maybe kitchen plumbing and organizing. It sounds like allot, but with many hands it will go quick. We will have a lunch at noon. I hope to see you Saturday morning.

Teens getting started

teens making room

Sam hard at work

Hello All! I would really like to encourage anyone who is reading this that there will be a work day on Saturday to do a few odds & ends. Any and all are welcome, we have big jobs & very little jobs. Hope you can come out & help!

Wow It’s been a year and we are officially moving the offices over to the church!! A HUGE THANKS, TO OUR MOVING CREW!! Your dedication & encouragement will not be forgotten!!

After many Wednesday nights, Saturdays, and numerous other evenings Shawn will be taking a much needed break from this project. Not that he will really be getting much rest, his home project list has been getting bigger (baby #4 is “cooking” now & the day is getting closer). As Shawn’s wife I’d like to say Thank you to you dedicated workers (you know who you are) your devotion to this project & helping seeing it through to this stage has blessed our heart tremendously!! Thank you doesn’t even seem to be enough words, but please know that you are loved by this little family & loved even more my your heavenly father! I’ve seen the Lord work through Shawn in ways that I can only give credit to Him. While I would want to cave in the Lord gave him strength, wisdom, encouragement, patience, self-control all the way. I said one time that I was amazed at all Shawn can do & his patience, & Bob reminded me that amazement is good, but don’t be surprised because the Lord is working through Shawn & the Lord can do anything!! I’m so very proud of him, & excited to see what the Lord has for us next, not only our family but our church family as well!
Praying God’s blessings on you all! Much Love, The DeJong Family

Another week of work under our belt! This week seemed to be a little harder to get up and get going for me! While our hands have been busy physically laboring, God has been doing a work in our heart for people, the church family, the lost, the confused, the sad, the depressed, all his creation, so while we continue to do the physical labor in HIS great & mighty strength, that He has asked us to do I’m glad that He isn’t finished with us yet!!!

So update as to what is going on…… this past week the french doors were hung in the office(thanks Brian for your help), all the carpeting has been completed (Thanks Tom!) Bob continues to labor on the AC vents, (didn’t it feel very nice on Sunday, Thanks Bob!) Shawn worked on completing the nursery by installing the window in the door, sink, counter, & paper towel dispenser with the exception of the bathroom in the nursery (we will keep the door closed for now) & a couple of missing square vents the room is ready to be moved in!! Yea it is going to be great to have that for the kids & the workers! The nursing room is complete, it just needs the furniture brought in! The restrooms ARE COMPLETE, lights above the mirrors (thanks Chris) & extra trim under cabinets (thanks Phil)!!! The fence has been removed around the old patio with hopes of someday making it a second drive up & a little better parking lot, the dirt pile is gone in the back I know my boys were sad to see it go, but still enjoyed playing with skid loader back there (Thanks Tom & Aaron). The signs hung above the Sunday school rooms (Thanks Robert) I’m sure there was even more done, so thank you all! With Wednesday work night approaching, I know that we have trim to hang in the offices & down the hall, work on more AC vents & other small things, which if we can have lots of help it really will lighten the load!!

Thank you to all who have sacrificed of you time, money & of yourself!!! I’m so grateful for the hands & the prayers & the encouragement along the way!! But I’m most grateful that the Lord never leaves me & that he requires me to ask of Him for help, & is just waiting for me to surrender it over & He picks up my battle! It is only through His strength that we’ve been able to fight the battles of self & defeat & won them with great victory!! Glory & all Praise to the Lord of Lords!!

Blessings to each of you this day & everyday, Tonya

This past weekend (08-May-2010) was a very productive Saturday for the work crew at NsFCC. The restrooms are nearing completion with only the vanities to be completed along with door closers. A LOT was accomplished this past weekend as you can see below. And yes, mama robin is doing well. At last check she was incubating 4 blue eggs……

Each day we have numerous ‘hits’ on this BLOG.  I would like to encourage you to take a moment and post a comment of encouragement to those who have selflessly given of their time and talents to bring God’s house into being.  With God’s help and direction countless sacrifices have been made by mostly a handful of the people of NsFCC, they need to hear from you.  They look at these pages as well as everyone else and when they see no ‘comments’ being left it can feel to them as though the efforts that they have put forth are not appreciated.

I personally invite you as a visitor to leave a comment on any (and ALL) of the posts that are made to this BLOG.  After all, this BLOG was created in order to give you an opportunity to receive constant updates on our progress.  This BLOG will also serve as a wonderful book of ‘history’ as we all look back in the coming years to see how the Hand of God was with us and how we used our gifts and talents for His Glory.

If you have never posted a comment to a BLOG entry before, today is your day.  If you need a little guidance with the ‘how to’ of BLOG commenting please refer to the page link on the left hand sidebar entitled “Posting Tips“, or simply click on the link in this entry.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

To my surprise I located a brand new robin’s nest just outside of the back door to NsFCC’s new church facility. You may be able to tell by the darker colored ‘mud’ on the nest that was wet to the touch this afternoon. It will be VERY tempting to the young people should it be noticed, but once a mamma bird has chosen a nesting site you know that the eggs are not far behind. Hopefully we can guard it against any intruders until the young ones have hatched and launched out on their own. It won’t be a cat that disturbs the nest which is located in an old window frame surrounded by brick.

The other pictures are of the improvements that have been made to the master bathrooms since our last post.

And OH!, the carpet has been put down in the north hallway too!

I will not be adding much commentary to this post, but I wanted to share a few pictures (worth a thousand words) that show our progress over the past week. First of all the tile for the floor & walls in the master restrooms is complete as well as the tile in the entryway close to the sanctuary entrance. Secondly, last Saturday, April 10th was the ’staining’ day. Pictured are the doors and trim that was stained.

Come closer! I want to tell you what I have noticed. I went into the church the other night and saw some amazing changes. After about a year I think things are about to come together. The insides are changing…and I think will soon shine to the outside! No…no…not the building. THE CHURCH!!! After the ministry council meeting I was so excited. I am struggling to put words to what I saw and heard. Picture this…when you are camping, the sun sets and daylight is fast escaping leaving darkness. Your all gathered around the picnic table when dad pulls out the camping lantern. He fills it with oil, checks the mantle, primes it, opens the valve, lights the match. When he lights the lantern and adjusts the chimney. It makes that sound…and soon the dim light begins to shine bright and overtakes the darkness. It exposes all around the camp and drives the darkness beyond the trees. Can you picture that? Its like that! Gods people and Christs Church is doing that!
We are making great progress on the building. I’ll tell you all about it in the next day or two. But tonight I wanted to tell you about whats inside that really matters. Thanks

It may appear as though the building project has slowed somewhat over the past few weeks, but for those of you who are curious, we are continuing on with the next phase of the project. Posted here you see the outer structure that has been erected by Pro-Line Manufacturing of New Sharon, IA (http://iowadreambuilder.com). We are grateful to Pro-Line for their workmanship and the timeliness of their crews in bringing this all together.  Below are images of the outer shell and the fully insulated interior.