Abbie Lane July 2013 Report – Construction: It has now been 6 months of construction on The Raven’s Nest. And we are still not finished. We experienced a number of delays for various reasons. It can be frustrating when you want to so badly finish something but certain elements are out of your control. The painting is mostly finished with a few touch-up spots to be done. The electrician is now doing his wrap up work of putting in switches, light fixtures, etc. He also has to bury underground the service line from the transformer to the main house and barn. We are waiting on the granite counter tops to be installed; then the plumbing fixtures can be finished. The floor and tile person is working this week to do his thing. The brick layer is supposed to also come soon and build three sets of steps. All in all we are prayerfully looking at completing the project and move in at the end of August or the first of September. Outside work: While our grandkids were here we mostly built our outdoor kitchen pad areas. We laid about 6,000 bricks. When the youth from Fairmont Park Church came last week they cleared out a large section of undergrowth and trees from the front of the house. This helped to create a clearing between the house and Highway 71. We are located about 600 feet off the road way. We now have a very large pile of brush and trees to get rid of either by burning or chipping. I’m still working on how to handle this pile of rubbish. The youth from Fairmont also helped to clear out an area where we will be erecting 3 crosses on a hill. We will be building a total of 7 points of inspiration (chapel, burning bush, 3 crosses on a hill, an empty tomb, 12 memorial stones, an Old Testament style altar, a prayer garden). We so appreciate the work these young people did and the church supporting them as they came and toiled. In July I bought a ZTR (zero turning radius) lawn mower. It has reduced my grass cutting time from 2 plus days to about 2.5 hours. It is amazing. I bought a Bad Boy; it really is a ‘bad boy.’ Moving: Nancy and I have decided to clear out our house in La Porte so we can rent it. In doing this we are bringing some of our furniture to Abbie Lane and selling some of the items. If you are interested in looking at some of our furniture, contact us. Purchased furniture will be delivered to Abbie Lane from Gallery Furniture in Houston on August 20. They are kind enough to pick up our bed room suite and my personal office furniture so all will be delivered on the same day. Phase 2: I am currently dealing with our contractor about beginning our next phase of construction. God has been so good to us; we have enough money to finish our current phase of construction and to start the next phase. Phase 2 will consist of 3 cabins, a chapel, a 2 story garage (upper story for multi-purpose use), the entrance, road way and parking area, plus multiple areas of landscaping (including zoned irrigation). We will build as long as we have money. When we run out we stop. In the meanwhile we are praying for God to send the resources we need. We believe God is in this Abbie Lane Ministry or we would not be where we are today. Pray specifically for $350,000 to finish our capital building campaign. Transition: We are in transition with our Board of Directors. Nancy, Dee and I are serving on the current board. We are revamping the board; Dee will go off and we are enlisting 6 new people to serve with Nancy and me. We are hoping to complete the transition sometimes this fall. We also hope to have the new board in place as we begin serious preparation for ministry to our clientele, February 2014. There are so many things to do in order to prepare for ministry. We have to get the facilities built and ready for use; we need to establish an operational fund raising campaign (some people are already giving monthly); we need to establish an online website; we need a registration and record keeping system; we need to do some legal work with a lawyer; we need to find a CPA and establish a bookkeeping system; we need to come up with menus for meals; we must enlist and train our Host/Hostess teams; we need to do PR work with key connecting people. And I’m sure the list will grow from there. I say this to say – Pray for Nancy and I as we begin to transition out of the physical building phase to the ministry building phase. Giving: For those interested in giving to the Abbie Lane Retreat Ministry we would appreciate your support. However, we do not want you to take from your church tithe to give to what we are doing. We would like many individuals to give small amounts on a regular basis (like monthly). Give at a level it will not hurt your financial condition. Give at a level you will be able to give long term. Give on a basis so you are reminded to pray for the Abbie Lane Retreat Ministry. Checks made out to Abbie Lane Retreat Ministry can be sent to PO Box 194 Coushatta, LA 71019. We have established an operational checking account at the local Bank of Coushatta. We believe our start up budget will require about $150,000/year. Of course this is an estimate and will be adjusted over time with the oversight of our Board of Directors.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 10:44:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015