March 18
Sunday morning breakfast was at 7am and by 8:30am the Isnag believers were arriving at the church and a time of singing began. After the song time there was a time of testimony and sharing by the Isnag people. After the time of sharing there was a challenge from God’s Word by Rudy and Mark. Nard and Karl from SIL in Waxhaw arrived at noon in the R44. The afternoon was a time of rest and visiting with the Isnag people. Sunday evening was a time of sharing with our team members. Two members gave their testimonies and told how the Lord had worked in their lives to make a way to be on the team in Dibagat.
March 19
Monday morning began as other mornings with the team members and the village people working together on the column forms for the right side of the church and jacking the trusses on the left side of the church and supporting the roof on that side with triangular braces made from solid beams taken from the right side of the church. The floor on the left side was cut with a diamond blade and the existing footings were chiseled to a level for the new footings. The forms were installed for the footing and rebar was installed including the rebar that would extend into the columns on the left side. Later in the afternoon the forms for the columns on the right side were completed and concrete was mixed and poured mainly by the Isnag men. The footing on the left side was also poured. The Isnag men and the team men worked well together helping each other with the assigned projects.
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| Cementing the left side footers |
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| Jeremy on the metal trusses making sure it's plumbed! |
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| Ben, Nolan and Jim working on the next column! |
March 20
Tuesday morning the forms were removed from the right columns and the forms were reused on the left side with modifications as the structure was slightly different. The cement blocks were laid on the right side by team members Vernon and Nolan who are brick layers from the USA. The right wall was complete to within a course of the top by the evening. Vernon and Nolan worked on the outside of the wall while Karl and Chris took on the task of making the top beam forms on the inside of the right wall. James and Ben worked on replacing the water heater in Rudy’s house so there would be hot showers once again.
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| Cement bucket brigade pouring the footers on the left side of the church |
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| Pouring cement on the columns |
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| Blocks walls going up next to columns |
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| Vernon and Nolan put up the blocks in no time! |
March 21
Wednesday construction of the forms on the left side of the church continued as did the top beam on the right side. The rebar cage was placed on the top of the columns on the right side and the columns on the left side had the forms completed. That afternoon the columns were poured with the Isnag men doing most of the work but Jeremy helped with the shovel mixing the cement and Nolan watched the materials put into the concrete mixes to make sure the mixture and consistency was proper.
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| They are fast at making cement! |
March 22
Thursday the forms were stripped from the columns on the left side of the building and blocks were laid by Vernon, Nolan and assistance from the Isnag men. Karl, Chris, Jim and me worked on the form for the top beam on the left side of the building. The rebar cage was welded by Ben, Mark, James and Nard. This welding created a square cage of rebar that the stirrups were wired to for the left top beam.
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| Top beam rebar |
March 23
By Friday the end of the church was removed and rebar was epoxied to the concrete footing and welded to the existing straps that extended out of the footing. The forms were put in place and that afternoon the concrete in the columns was poured. I noticed that the amount of concrete was running low because of the cement blocks being filled with cement so a call was placed to Kabugao for more bags of cement on Thursday and more arriving Friday.
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| Reggie brought his laser beam to level the trusses and make sure columns were set right! |
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| The old Dibagat International airport! Now closed since SIL Aviation no longer operates in the Philippines! However, this airstrip served the Bible translation work since 1964 to 2010! PTL The School is in the lower right side, and the church is off the picture to the upper left. |
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| A closer look at Dibagat! Church is upper left. |
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