Some of you may remember that Rachael worked for over a year at a retreat house in England called The Oakes - some may also remember that she met Andy there :) The following is a letter sent out by one of her dear friends.
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Hi,
6 days before camp (Wednesday) the kitchen still had builders inside trying to finish off the last annoying bits and plumbing in the machines/sinks.
5 days before camp (Thursday) the kitchen had no hot water (the boiler was broken); a commercial dishwasher not working; the ventilation system having wiring issues; no connected fire alarm system; a food store with little shelving & no freezers or fridges; all the kitchen items (that is everything) in the dining room & covered in building dust; our main oven malfunctioning; and the paint on the walls/ceilings of the food store & kitchen being the wrong type and needing to be re-painted so that it didn't just wipe off!
4 days before camp (Friday) the kitchen was being re-painted; the fire system was connected back in; the ventilation gave up not working and submitted to the authority over it and the boiler was fixed by another willing & timely volunteer, thereby allowing the return of hot water for washing up.
3 days before camp (Saturday) saw 5 spontaneous volunteers turn up, plus some team members to continue the mammoth washing by hand of every single kitchen item, but at least it was now with running hot water & not via the use of kettles. Thats every plate, knife, fork etc, as well as the big items! And we have alot of equipment. By the end of the day the dining room that was stacked full of kitchen equipment was empty! It was now stacked in the middle of the kitchen floor ... but at least it was heading into the right rooms.
1 days before camp (Monday) all the washing up was finished; the dishwasher engineer turned up first thing & fixed it; the food store started growing shelves, freezers & fridges; and all the food arrived for camp finally reaching it's home in the food store very late in the evening. The only outstanding item is the oven engineer to treat the poorly/on it's last legs Combi Oven.
What looked impossible was yet another miracle in God's timing and providence. Providing everything that was needed exactly when we needed it. We needed the kitchen ready for camp on Tuesday to enable the camp to happen and it was finished off 11pm Monday night!
Praise:
*The return of camps & the many school children who will have the chance of hearing the gospel this term
*The kitchen & rest of the house finished in time for our re-open despite many set backs
*The wonderful volunteers who have helped throughout the project & especially in the hectic last days
Prayer:
*That many children's lives will be changed as they return to a relationship with their God
*Energy and health for the team after the building work and going straight into back-to-back camps
*My health & rest after the return of some of my nausea symptoms, whilst going into a hectic summer term
Yours In Christ,
Clare
6 days before camp (Wednesday) the kitchen still had builders inside trying to finish off the last annoying bits and plumbing in the machines/sinks.
5 days before camp (Thursday) the kitchen had no hot water (the boiler was broken); a commercial dishwasher not working; the ventilation system having wiring issues; no connected fire alarm system; a food store with little shelving & no freezers or fridges; all the kitchen items (that is everything) in the dining room & covered in building dust; our main oven malfunctioning; and the paint on the walls/ceilings of the food store & kitchen being the wrong type and needing to be re-painted so that it didn't just wipe off!
4 days before camp (Friday) the kitchen was being re-painted; the fire system was connected back in; the ventilation gave up not working and submitted to the authority over it and the boiler was fixed by another willing & timely volunteer, thereby allowing the return of hot water for washing up.
3 days before camp (Saturday) saw 5 spontaneous volunteers turn up, plus some team members to continue the mammoth washing by hand of every single kitchen item, but at least it was now with running hot water & not via the use of kettles. Thats every plate, knife, fork etc, as well as the big items! And we have alot of equipment. By the end of the day the dining room that was stacked full of kitchen equipment was empty! It was now stacked in the middle of the kitchen floor ... but at least it was heading into the right rooms.
1 days before camp (Monday) all the washing up was finished; the dishwasher engineer turned up first thing & fixed it; the food store started growing shelves, freezers & fridges; and all the food arrived for camp finally reaching it's home in the food store very late in the evening. The only outstanding item is the oven engineer to treat the poorly/on it's last legs Combi Oven.
What looked impossible was yet another miracle in God's timing and providence. Providing everything that was needed exactly when we needed it. We needed the kitchen ready for camp on Tuesday to enable the camp to happen and it was finished off 11pm Monday night!
Praise:
*The return of camps & the many school children who will have the chance of hearing the gospel this term
*The kitchen & rest of the house finished in time for our re-open despite many set backs
*The wonderful volunteers who have helped throughout the project & especially in the hectic last days
Prayer:
*That many children's lives will be changed as they return to a relationship with their God
*Energy and health for the team after the building work and going straight into back-to-back camps
*My health & rest after the return of some of my nausea symptoms, whilst going into a hectic summer term
Yours In Christ,
Clare
1 comment:
:)
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