Passing of a Spiritual Mentor

 A dear friend and spiritual father moved on this week.

Going back to 1988, I was unemployed and struggling in my walk with the Lord. An old basketball friend had moved to South Carolina and had a good paying job in a factory making auto parts (rubber molding). I went down but only survived the job a couple weeks as it made me sick. I looked for another job and found one in Charlotte, N.C., with a computer service company. It was a great job. During that time, I attended Garr Memorial church and a couple men there, took me under their wings. One was Bob (and Mary) and the other was Hugh (and Virginia). They gave me a good bible foundation and got me involved in children's and youth ministry. Eventually that led to me going to the ship MV Doulos for 2 years. That is also why I have continued in missions ever since. I owe them so much.

 Bob passed away many years ago. Hugh just this week. He was the perfect example of a meek and humble man of God who always served others. He saw the best in me when he could easily have seen my weaknesses and failures instead.

Hugh Weiss

 

I encourage you to invest your own life in a young man like me, who may not be the most gifted or strongest, but who wants to love and serve God as best he can. And, by Gods' grace his life will find meaning and bear fruit.

Car Troubles & Upgrades

 We have been unable to sell our Toyota, so I have been doing some upgrades to make it more attractive. It took about a week to put in a new stereo. We need to sell it soon.

I lost my keys to my replacement car, an old BMW. The keys were lost somewhere at home. I have searched and searched and finally gave up. New keys will come in about a month and not cheaply.

Animals

We have a pug (Bobby), which was given to us a few years ago. We just got a baby girl in hopes that in a year, we can sell puppies as income.

Bobby

Lucky

 

Our chickens are getting low and we got our incubator back from a friend, so I am hatching again:

Drain Finished, Slab Finished

 Finally completed the main drain area.

The last poured slab is very rough. I did the cement mixing while my sons smoothed. By the time I got to smoothing, it was too dry. So, it is very messy. I probably will need to sand it down.

 

I Have been slow moving of late. My left hand is still swollen, esp when I wake up. I made the covers for the ditch, need to get to the rest of the ditch in front of the new slab.

Truck Delivery

 We ordered a truckload of sand and gravel and so, we will start mixing our own cement for the work form this point. It will be more work but save some money and without experiencing problems with sometimes ordering the wrong amount of cement.

Rebar ready!

Sealing Pipes at Roof

 Not much done today... Sealed the pipes with cement at the top. Then, took down 2 levels of scaffold and cleaned up some of the tools/work mess. Finished some missing tile and sealed some cracks.

Yesterday was car repairs... disassembly of the door to fix the electric window motors. But after putting everything back together the door lock is jammed. I will try again.