Family Keys International

Building the Shop

We are moving back to Eldoret in the next six months.  It is a well prayed out plan that still is lacking fine details but has everyone here very excited.  The first steps have been taken to build a home for us on the same 10 acres that Tumaini currently live.  The property is so long and we are going to be at the bottom in our own isolated little plot.  After living in such close community with people in Kapsowar it is going to be a significant transition.

Of course everything starts at the beginning.  For us, though contrary to some thinking, that means building a shop.  Shop really means storage, work space, car port, clothes washing area, and even temporary housing.  Rachel was against that last bit at first but is now warming up to the idea.

It hasn’t been easy trying to get this off the ground while living in Kapsowar and Josh being very busy at the hospital.  Praise God the hospital has already hired his

replacement so he can now focus on training and moving into the shadows.  This will hopefully free him up to make frequent trips to Eldoret for the ongoing work there.

The efforts so far have been fruitful thanks to some generous help from a Kapsowar missionary and some local guys.  They have joined Josh on a few occasions to work on the shop.  Also Horace has a team of guys he has released a few days to build the fence and dig a 20ft deep well.  All in all the work is progressing.

The first step was to tear down a temporary building that was on the old property Tumaini was renting.  Our crew delicately demolished the 16ft x 40ft structure and delivered it in a pile to the 10 acres in one day.  After a couple of weeks we followed up by clearing the ground and burying treated posts 2ft in the ground

for the support system of a 20ft x 45ft building.  After a couple more day trips under our belt we were able to erect the structure and have it 80% closed in. This is mostly to protect the materials from laying on the ground and being destroyed by the weather.  We will try to finish the enclosure shortly and then next month poor the slab for the floor.

It’s just the beginning and nothing compared to the challenge of the house and guest house to come, but at least it gives us a taste of what it will take to get the project done.