Modifications Submitted

Modifications were submitted today (Monday, 26th Oct 2009) to the local city council for wonderful "amendments" to the original design for the basement area of the new CEF national office.  

Recent recommendations from an engineer were for us to consider building the "basement" entirely above ground.  In so doing, it will eliminate the threat of water seepage in the lower level.  By building the basement now as a ground floor, we are now planning to convert this large area into accommodations for guests as well as for students who will attend our extended training courses.  The ground floor will now house a kitchen, three "guest rooms" with shower and restroom facilities, a large storage room as well as a room for gardening tools and equipment.  

We would ask you to pray now that the scheme plan for these modifications will be quickly approved.  We continue to wait upon the Lord for His provision of the  F$600,000 (US$330,000).  Of this amount, we have approximately F$32,000 (USD$17,000) on hand.

We are living with expectancy of the miraculous!  We fully anticipate God's provision of these funds any day now. 

Growing & Using What We've Got!

We praise the Lord that our "teacher training bure" [boor-ay] is being well utilized. Located behind the CEF office, it also serves as the venue for our weekly Good News Club held on Monday afternoons for 50-60 school children.

We've recently expanded the floor space of the "bure" and have plans to extend it further to accommodate our need for a larger training area. We're praying that all of this is just "temporary" and that funds for our new office and training center will soon be supplied.

Psalm 9:10 "And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee."

Plumbing Issue Resolved

For the past 19 months, it has been necessary to filter and boil drinking water for the CEF office and to transport it from home to the office daily. This has proven to be a HUGE task for my wife who spent hours and hours filling water bottles. All of this was necessary because of badly corroded lead pipes in the building which would have caused lead poisoning had the water there been consumed.

Recently, however, we were able to install two new water filters and install a portion of new PVC pipes giving a direct access to "clean" water bypassing the corroded lead pipes. We realize that this is only a temporary measure, but it surely brings relief to all of us. We can now drink directly from the water in the office itself. Praise ye the Lord!

We were especially blessed by a young man named Salesh, a plumber, who did an outstanding, professional job for us. God bless this dear man!

The "Ball" is Now in God's Court

What a wonderful day this has been! June 3, 2009 will go down as "historical" for CEF Fiji because God gave us our BUILDING PERMIT today for our new office. This has been long in coming and how our hearts rejoice! I was thinking this morning about our "journey of faith" in this building process. We have done everything that we know to do on this side of heaven to prepare for the construction of our new CEF office and training center.

Now the "ball" rests in God's court and we wait only for the funds to come from heaven in order for construction to begin!

Therefore, as Psalm 100:4 says, we have entered "into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name."

Share our joy! Rejoice with us, for indeed, this has been a wonderful answer to prayer. We are eager to see God at work in the CONSTRUCTION of this new building.

Thank you for sharing our vision for missions among the children of FIJI. There are so many here who need the Lord and we were too late to reach an 11-year old Indian boy in Suva who died yesterday after being hit by a car on his way home from school.

First Permit Issued

We are so pleased to announce that the first BUILDING PERMIT of TWO has been issued. This permit grants us permission to construct the beautifully-designed border fence around the property of the new CEF Fiji National Office and Training Center.

This is indeed a MILESTONE and we praise the Lord for bringing us this far. We are working diligently with the local authorities in hot pursuit of the actual BUILDING PERMIT for the office itself. We are getting very close and praise the Lord for two men that God has brought across our path who are working on this permit as well.

Please continue to pray for God's provision of the needed funds to build. We anticipate that the cost will be somewhere close to F$600,000 (US$330,000) and that construction will take up to six months.

We're trusting in the GOD who PROVIDES... Jehovah-jireh! Thanks for praying!

God Gives PROPERTY TITLE

After 14 months of waiting, the Property Title to CEF's new property was finally placed into our hands on Monday, January 19th. We are jubilant in that it has been a much sought-after document...one that has been missing, one that was once "lost", one that was buried under stacks of papers and files on someone's desk since April 2008 and now one that has finally been put into the hands of its owners!

This marks the crossing of one of the two remaining "hurdles" in pursuit of the Building Permit for CEF's new office and training center. Now that this document has been secured, the final step is to submit it to the local city council who should now issue the building permit within days, if all goes as planned.

Then, the FINAL "hurdle" is God's provision of the funds to build. Mind you, it's only a "hurdle" for us, but not for Him! We anxiously await His bountiful provision. Pray that God will help us to know how to assist Him in promoting The Moriah Project.

Moving Forward By Faith

We praise the Lord that "little by little" progress in being made in the construction process. Several tall palm trees were successfully removed and the workmen worked so hard to landscape the ground and place drains back into place. There is an air of expectancy as we wait upon the Lord for His financial provision to actually begin construction.

The building plans are in the hands of city council officials and, by faith, we anticipate a building permit to be issued by Christmas time, the Lord-willing. Please continue to pray with us about this matter. It will be such an incredible milestone to have the building permit in our possession.

The other important matter that needs prayer concerns the issue of our property title. Government authorities, for whatever reason, have still not issued CEF's title to the property that was purchased almost a year ago. We will deeply appreciate your prayers for this important matter as it has been requested by the city council so that a construction permit can be issued. Thank you so much for praying!

The Trees are Down!

We are pleased to report that all seven palm trees were successfully cut down. Workers are on site at the office today digging up and removing the tree stumps which are huge. We thank the Lord for His protection and precise falling of these big trees. Thank you for praying for God's protection!

SPECIAL PRAYER REQUESTS

• Please pray for God's protection around the men and workers who will be cutting down SEVEN extremely tall palm trees on Tuesday, 28th October which border CEF's property. Ask God to guide the falling of each tree so as to prevent personal injury and damage to property. Ask the Lord to provide the necessary finances to have these trees removed.
  

• We were thrilled today to resubmit the architectural plans for CEF's new national office and training center to the Lautoka City Council. We expect the approval and issue of a building permit by Christmas time. What a GRAND GIFT that will be!
  

Hurdle Crossed...Thank the Lord!

Late this afternoon, word came that the National Fire Authority and the Occupational Health Services Dept. have granted their official approval for the architectural design of CEF's new office and training facility. This has been long in coming and we praise the Lord for this victory! Siki, who serves on the staff of CEF Fiji, labored long and hard in Suva this week, in soggy, wet weather with a cold to secure these approvals. How we praise the Lord for Siki and his perseverance!

Please pray now for the NEXT STEP which is to resubmit these drawings to the local city council in anticipation that a building permit will soon be issued. We plan to submit these documents to the local authority on Monday, October 27th.

Cent-A-Vote & Buy-A-Brick Cards Available!

We have begun distribution within Fiji of our 10 Cents-a-Vote & Buy-A-Brick cards. We're so excited to have already received $70.00 in just the first couple of days. This may be small in light of the thousands of dollars that we need to raise, but it IS a beginning.

It is especially thrilling to see boys and girls raising the funds that will help us reach other children for Jesus Christ in the years to come.

It has been exciting to witness the enthusiasm of the adults, too, in helping us to raise the necessary funds. Please continue to pray for God's provision!

If you would like to have your own 10-Cent a Vote card (valued at $10.00 per card) and/or a Buy-a-Brick card (valued at $100 per card), please email us (form to the right) and we will gladly send some to you.

Drawing Attention: The Signboards are Up!

We are so thrilled to have the new Moriah Project signboards up at the front of CEF's property! PRAY for the eyes of God's people to be drawn to these boards and that they will respond by giving and praying!

God has no economic woes!