Khuzhir

A couple of years ago our team decided to do a team project together as a way to build unity and physically serve the church and the community.  It was such a success that we decided to try to make this an annual event.  This year we decided to take on a project down in the small Buryat village of Khuzhir in the Zakaminsk region.  This village is an eight hour drive south and west from Ulan-Ude, and we have to get special permission to visit there because it is right on the Mongolian border.  Currently the larger project in Khuzhir is still in the dream, plan and preparation stages, but the idea is to take this couple acre property and turn it into a sort of half way house for people who have come through drug and alcohol rehabilitation or through prison, and to offer them a place where they can learn more about God and get job training at the same time.  This sort of work has helped bring many to Christ across Russia.  So our part was helping to put up a building that will be used as a woodworking shop.  After a very long trip there on Thursday (arriving 11 hours after we left our house) we spent Friday and Saturday working before taking Sunday off to participate in the local church service and then going back to work for Monday and Tuesday.

They had hoped to have the foundation in place before we got there, but weren't able to do that so our first task was to help dig holes to a certain depth (over 1 meter) to get past the frost line.  I certainly prefer digging trenches and pouring foundation in forms that way, but they had decided on a sort of pillar foundation.  We didn't have the best equipment so we used tin cans like this or garden hoes to dig out the bottom of the hole!

Anneka really liked to come out to help and really enjoyed getting down in the hole to help dig things out :).

I couldn't pass up showing this picture.  It was tough to hang our heads down in the holes to do this work, but we were happy to help serve the church in the area that is working on this project.

The first day was the hottest day as we were digging out the holes, and Art here is showing how we all felt at the end of the day :).

After digging the holes and putting some rebar and forms in place we began the process of mixing and pouring cement.  Anneka came out and helped with this for a little bit too.  When she was there I would shovel in the cement and sand.

And then Anneka would pour in the water until we had the right mix.

The first couple days we had beautiful weather, but then it began to rain on us.  We have fewer pictures of the rain, but this gives a little glimpse of how we were working out in the mud.  It reminded me a bit of working outside in the Pacific Northwest.

After getting the foundation to a certain point we were able to lay the square logs that became the bottom of the walls.  Actually typical construction here uses these logs to build log houses.  One reason the local church was happy to have us come was that some of us have experience doing framing which they call "Canadian Technology" here, and that was how they wanted to build this building.

Finally on our last day of work things were ready for us to start framing.  We set up an assembly line of moving boards, cutting them and then stacking them to be put together.

Ella and Ike liked playing with the blocks that we made in squaring and trimming the boards.

Then the moment finally came when we started putting up the walls.  It is amazing that you can spend days of work in preparation and then in just a few short hours put up four walls on a building.  Those last hours are very satisfying, and we were particularly encouraged to see the huge smile on the face of the pastor there who is in charge of the project.  

I got to "volunteer" to climb the wall as no one else was excited about getting up there.  This is a little test of faith in the work we had done up to this point.  Actually I have always liked the different perspective you get when you look around from a little bit higher up.

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Here is a picture of pastor Aleksei checking to see if things look level, and one of the neighbors looking on with interest.  Please pray for Aleksei and others who are living and serving in the area.  One reason they want to do this social outreach work in this Buryat village is to tangibly show love and to be a light that will draw people to Jesus.  Even as we were there for a week we saw how the believers who lived and worked there with us had opportunities to interact with and care for the neighbors, but also how the Buryats there do see people not from the village as outsiders.  This will be a difficult work, but we are trusting that God wants to do great things among these precious people.

Here is a picture of what we left them with when we were done.  Of course we would have loved to help put up a roof and sheet the walls, but we were all very satisfied and happy with what we were able to accomplish.  We are so thankful that we could bless and encourage the local believers and in some way be a light in this land with so little hope.  We trust that God is building something far more grand than this here.

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I just had to add this last little picture of Ike too.  He is always so curious and finds whatever he can to play with.  Here he found a couple of tools that were just "left laying about" and decided he needed to take care of them.