It is Summertime for most of you. We hope you have the opportunity to relax and enjoy Gods’ creation.

The last weekend of July we had our summer Bible campaign at Lawa. It was very special to sing, study and listen to sermons about the Holy Spirit. A few years ago Roy Lytle taught a Bible school course about the person and the work of the Holy Spirit. The elders used this material to teach the whole congregation. It was a blessed time with approximately 500 guests in the village of Lawa, coming from villages up stream and down stream. Every night we would come together to sing praises to our Lord. 

The contractor of Builders Connect has completed the construction work. Since last Tuesday we were able to have the mechanic training in the new building. It’s nice to see how everyone enjoys the workspace and how people appreciate the project as an asset in the village. We see the motivation among the team grow. They are so proud of what they have learned and can apply in practice.

The first customers already arrived and with the engines that were brought in, we were able to add an new dimension to the training. Now everything gets ‘real’. Pay attention, do not make mistakes, the customer expects good service and expertise. The trainers look for leadership qualities in some of their trainees, who will be a ‘first mechanic’, ‘assistant mechanic’ and apprentice. We enjoy to see how our trainers are very experienced in taking care of these trainings.

People who had no idea about three decimals measurements 5 weeks ago now work confidently, with a correct workshop manual in hand, and complicated repairs. Marco remembers the time in the Netherlands when he has repaired an old landrover as a hobby project. That was also something he had to do by the ‘book’. Then you get a good result. Here it is the same with the outboard motors. The guidance by Yamaha experts makes it even better. We are proud of our team.

Next week the board of the local foundation Mulokot becomes involved. We will hand over the entire project to them. Then the training is over and the real work begins. This week a specialist on Quick Books will visit Lawa in order to teach the administration team to use the computer program for all the financial issues.

The system will be connected to a central computer in the city and an accountant will keep an eye on how things are going. This high-tech contribution gives an extra impulse to work well. A number of people on the team are not yet living in the village. They’re making plans to move over to Lawa. This gives the workshop an important place in the village. We are happy and grateful when we see how everything develops. The official opening is planned for Saturday September 8th.

The whole process requires a lot of reflection time and consulting together, but also with the trainers. The past week we have constructed the water system together. This coming week we will work on the electricity via the solar panels. After another full day of work we’re tired in the evening, but we are very grateful that we’re able to do this and can participate!