Shawi Discipleship Center Update

Things have been moving along at the Shawi Discipleship Center. Next week we begin our first discipleship course and we are almost ready. New Shawi believers will come from all over the district to be taught God’s word in their native language. We do not know how many will come but it could be as many as 40 people. We have been working around the clock for a month to get ready.

First we had an old house with a thatch roof in bad need of repair. We took off the roof and removed all the interior walls that were full of termites and other jungle creatures. Then we built a new metal roof with a small porch. After fumigating and cleaning we now have a house for people to stay.

Next we had a kitchen and dinning room area that needed repairs. We sanded and refinished all the wood windows and rescreened the entire room. Having screens makes it a nice place to eat and hang out and not get attacked by mosquitos.

Then we needed water. This is one of the biggest problems at the center as there is no well. There was a water collection system that stored rain water in large tanks but all the pipes were broken and all the gutters were clogged and falling down. It took a few days to redo the entire system but we got it up and running again. Then we hooked it up to the old showers and rehabbed the showers. The tanks were full and everything seemed to working great when Thursday a cow got loose and somehow went into the water tank room and destroyed all the new plumbing. To make things worse we did not realize it until almost all of the 10,000 litters of water drained out of the tanks. We repaired the plumbing but suddenly had no water. We talked through back up plans that included bringing water from the river a mile and a half away. Then Friday it rained all day filling the tanks. God provides. But we still have an urgent need for a well.

Then there was the issue of power. There is no electricity at the center but there used to be power lines connecting a generator to each of the buildings. All the wiring in all the buildings was unsafe so we had to rewire lights and outlets in all the buildings. Then we had to install new poles and reinstall the power lines. After buying a small generator we have power for the facility.

It has been a lot of work but the work has just begun. Next week Shawi brothers and sisters will travel from remote villages to the center and the important work begins. Please join us in praying for this time. Prayer for safe travels of the brothers and sisters. Pray for the facilities. Pray for the provision of food and for the cooks. But most importantly pray that these new believers understand God’s love for them and would be equipped to return to their villages to share this new knowledge with their neighbors and friends.