IBC Gourndbreaking

The International Bible Church of Bonaire has received the building permit for our new church building. Sufficient funds are in hand to do the foundation and probably erect the steel structure and roof. (which are already here on Bonaire) Close to ninety thousand guilders has been contributed to the church building fund so far. Above we see Pastor Baran digging the first hole. (We already knew that Pastor Baran wields a mean shovel from his performance in our chicken manure project, which has generated over three thousand guilders so far.)
The lot where the church will be built is basically solid coral rock, so someone thoughtfully provided a strategically placed pile of dirt for shoveling purposes.

Lucho read some scripture passages and led everyone in a song based on one of them.

I threw together the same PA system that we use for our Easter sunrise services up on Seru Largu, so we could hear the guitar, singers, and speakers ok. We had distinguished visitors, munched on cookies and punch, and I think a great time was had by young and old alike.

Pastor Baran presented a few remarks about faith and led the group in dedicating the site and the new building. I have more pictures on my Picasa site. I put up a lot of pix today, but will weed some of them out at a later date. The slide show mode seems to be the best way to view the Picasa pictures.

If anyone in the States is interested in contributing to the IBCB building fund, a church in Nashville is handling donations for us so that you can get a tax receipt for your contribution. Here is a link to a form to send the church.