New Home for the Bible College

If you have seen any of the pictures from classes at SOW, you can see that the students are squeezed into those two rooms.  The good thing is, a new place has been planned and is in process.  Steven has had an architect draw up plans for the entire campus, and the plan is to begin with the classroom building.  We took a trip last week to see the location - we thought we were going to see a piece of land.  We had no idea that things were already in motion!  Here are pictures from our day.

 




Right away we noticed all the blocks around the perimeter.  Steven tells us that first, the foundation had to be dug (by hand, of course) 1 1/2 - 2', cement foundation poured, before they began building the walls. 


 It is critical to get the entire area walled up as quickly as possible.  Once they have it contained, they can get the papers to become tax-paying landowners, and will be able to continue as an entity no matter what the government situation is, they can show that the land was developed prior to any other rules coming down.  
                     
Many blocks are stacked up that have recently been made, piled behind the pile of sand that is used for making the blocks.  They make about 700 blocks per day, I believe. 

This 2-room shed is used for storing blocks, shelter from the heavy rains, and sometimes for Steven or another worker to spend the night while working on the property. 

 Steven knows first-hand how difficult it is to pay for school fees.  He helps young men at every opportunity.  These young men are earning their fall tuition fees for SOW Bible College by working during the summer making blocks.  They shovel layers of sand and concrete into piles, then douse with water, and keep shoveling until ready to form into blocks.   

Steven and Dick surveying the blocks and the operation. 

 


David is thinking.  "Steven, you only have one mold for the blocks.  How much does it cost?"  He is imagining how much faster the process would go if they had two molds.  





Steven has done this himself many times. He explains that it takes 3 guys - one with the shovel, one with the water, and one with the block mold. [At least I think that is how it goes ... at any rate, one more mold would not double the rate of output, because it takes 3 guys to do the operation.]  





 We were looking at all the mint growing abundantly on the property, and at the cashew trees all over.  We found this cow hiding under one of the trees.  [I know it looks almost like it is fake, because of the sun, but it was a real cow!]
 

 Here is the bore-hole well where the guys get water.  Steven says that the pipes are sunk down in, and - to answer David's question about why they don't cave in from all the sand - Steven says they line the outside with a layer of granite to keep it from collapsing. 

 

The cow has come out of hiding. 

We see lots of monkeys on the adjacent property.   We are amazed at how much has been accomplished already.  Steven wants to have the guys begin to burn a lot of the brush, so the land can be tilled up for farming.  We have to leave to go buy some matches. 
We pray over the land, asking God to protect this place for His glory, and also to enlarge the land and give them adjacent areas for the school.