We have been property owners now for almost four weeks, and a lot has been going on!

We have gotten several bids for major projects ranging from repairing the concrete in front of the church, to repaving the parking lot, to installing wi-fi in the building. We are now contracting for the major tasks that we cannot do ourselves. We hope to get most of the work done by mid-May, but we will be subject to the contractor’s schedules as well as the weather.

Earlier this week, we met with the planning director for the City of Wildwood and received approval from the city to remove 11 trees. There are five dead trees to be cut down, five smaller trees and one large pin oak next to the handicapped ramp. The pin oak must go because its roots have heaved the concrete so we need to remove the tree before installing the new concrete ramp.

Many, many thanks to all of you who have been coming out for our work-days on Saturday and throughout the week! You have helped sort through all of the furniture, kitchenware, toys, Christmas trees (more than you can imagine!) and other materials that we inherited with the buildings. Most of the furniture that we will be keeping has been washed and sanitized.

With many hands present, landscaping work has proceeded quickly – the jungle is being cleared and the old gardens are being recovered and restored. More work remains to be done, but you can see real results from the effort so far!

One major task – removing the basement floor tiles, and getting the glue removed from the floor – has gone slower than anticipated. Main problem: the tiles did not want to let go and now the glue is proving difficult to remove. With perseverance, (and many hours of labor) we are winning the battle! As soon as we get the rest of the glue removed, we can proceed to painting the basement floor, repairing some wall-board and repainting the large basement room and classrooms.

Saturday work-days will continue over the next four weeks. Please come out to help if you can! They start at 10am and lunch is provided. You’re welcome to stay as long as you want. This Saturday (April 17), we especially need some strong backs to dig a drainage trench along the west side of the church. This area does not drain well, and the wet soil is contributing to wet areas on the basement wall. So we need to hook the gutters into a 6-inch drain pipe and divert the run off from the building roof to an area behind the building. This will be a major task – so we need a good number of people willing to dig the trench and install the drainage pipe.

In the weeks ahead, we will have lots of painting to do as well as other various tasks. So, please come help if you can. Again, thanks for all of you that have helped thus far!

If God be for us, who can be against us? -Romans 8:31