Almost done....

Well, since it's been almost a month now since I last posted, I thought it was about time I updated on what's going on here.

I'll do a more in-depth update tomorrow, but I thought I'd at least post some pictures of the work on the church building. It's incredible to see the progress that's occurred over the past two and a half months.

Here's some of the most recent work:

The room in which we've been meeting for services had to be cleared out so that the floor could be prepped for carpet. Here's Ingrid's classroom acting as a temporary closet until the floor was finished.

Before the carpet could be laid, though, the floor had to be leveled out with new cement.

Here's a view of the men's bathroom on the ground floor before...

...and after tiling. Rüdi and Bianka did the wall tiles, and Ralf and Stefan laid the floor tiles. Mark put in the ceiling. One small room but an excellent example of the partnership that's gone into this work.

Last Saturday, Jana and I were given the task of sanding the stair railings and the sides of the steps in preparation for painting. At the point the picture was taken, we were probably about a third of the way finished, but we were already filthy. By the end, our hands were almost black. And yes, I'm wearing a tie-dyed t-shirt. Yes, I made it myself (chemistry class, 11th grade). No, I'm not sure why I brought it with me to Germany (it's been put to good use, though).

Florian, Deann, and Rüdi adding the plaster treatment to the walls in the Versammlungsraum (where church services will be held). This was not an easy task, but thanks to Mark and Karen's friends, Don and Deann, the walls were finally finished this past Tuesday. They had come to Bremen from Arkansas to visit the Abercrombies but were gracious enough to spend part of their visit working at the building. We really appreciate them!

In my last post I included a picture of the beginnings of the baptistry. Here is what it looked like as the steps inside were being finished and the floor around it had been leveled...

...and here it is after it was finally finished! No water yet, of course, but it turned out really well.

This is one side of the Versammlungsraum, as of last Wednesday night. You can see the covers over the baptistry, as well as the handrail which can be removed. The ceiling is also finished and looks really nice. The walls in this room were the ones that received the plaster treatment. It's finally looking like a real room!

Here is the other side of the room. That's Florian and Rüdi cleaning. After Bible study on Wednesday, a bunch of people stayed to clean up this room, I assume in order to get ready for carpet. I guess we'll see what it looks like tomorrow. By the way, those little white specks are dust floating in the air. It's going to take forever to free the building from all the dust that's been collecting over the past couple months.

For comparison, this is what the room in the previous picture looked like just a few weeks ago. That's a big difference!

And here's a view from the opposite side of the room. Not only have the walls and ceiling since been completed, that door has been replaced as well. It's a nice feeling to know the construction zone is now gone, even if things aren't yet totally finished.

*****

On a side note, thank you to all of you who sent me birthday cards and emails last week. I really appreciated them. My birthday was not nearly as difficult as Christmas, but it was still nice to know people were thinking about me. I didn't have German class that day, so Karen helped me do some shopping for things for my apartment that I still needed, and then she, Mark, Don, and Deann were brave enough to help me try out a new restaurant that opened about 2 weeks ago not far from my apartment.

All in all, it was a good day. :-)