Monday, October 26, 2009
Building a New Computer Lab
I was sitting in class at mission training in September when I got a text from Laura White (a fellow missionary serving CCCD) saying that we just received a $10,000 donation to work on a computer lab at the Kingston campus. Needless to say I was very thankful and excited for the project ahead, praising God for His provision!
I arrived on the island a few weeks later to find men already at work on the new room, which will be located where the old lab was, but under a new roof and with expanded area. The first task was to remove the old roof, ceiling and front wall.
(This is a view of what the old building inside the new looked like before demolition)
Once the walls were knocked into rubble, we hauled it all out.
(before we hauled out the rubble)
(Akeem Bowen is an ornery but helpful young boy, and he helped carry the rubble out, bucket by bucket)
New block walls were built and rendered, we installed a new ceiling grid and plywood, and lights were put in place.
(Before ceiling grid in place)
(After grid and ply installed)
We then poured concrete to match the expanded area with the height of the original floor.
(the mixer broke, so we mixed it all by hand on the ground, Jamaican style....10 wheelbarrows of sand, 8 of rock, then add 8 bags of cement mix, drench it in water, and mix)
(the fresh concrete poured up to flush)
(taking a break at lunch, me, Rohan, Richard and Alfonso)
Then we painted the ceiling and wall, and began laying tile.
(let the floor begin)
Ladrick Dryer is my good friend, and I’ve been working with him since 2005. He is one of the most skilled workers I know (yes, he is deaf), with the ability to do all masonry type jobs (concrete, block, and tile), woodworking, plumbing, etc. He is also an extremely patient man, hard working, and longsuffering. I enjoy working with him largely in part to the fact that he always gives me something to do that helps me learn the trade, and he always is ready to explain why he’s doing something, not just how to do it.
(cutting tile)
We began putting in the tile floor mid last week, but unfortunately Ladrick got sick with the flu so the rest will be installed later. Please pray for his recovery.
(Ladrick and I)
(where we ended on Thursday)
The new computers were also ordered and placed on an ACWR sea container (it left last week!) in Goodfield, IL, but unfortunately there was a mix-up between FedEx and Dell, and the monitors never made it to Goodfield. So for now, we’ll use an old monitor to set up the towers and keyboards (when they arrive), then wait for the Lord to bring the monitors at a future date. Please pray for the safe arrival of all the donated lab equipment.
I arrived on the island a few weeks later to find men already at work on the new room, which will be located where the old lab was, but under a new roof and with expanded area. The first task was to remove the old roof, ceiling and front wall.
(This is a view of what the old building inside the new looked like before demolition)
Once the walls were knocked into rubble, we hauled it all out.
(before we hauled out the rubble)
(Akeem Bowen is an ornery but helpful young boy, and he helped carry the rubble out, bucket by bucket)
New block walls were built and rendered, we installed a new ceiling grid and plywood, and lights were put in place.
(Before ceiling grid in place)
(After grid and ply installed)
We then poured concrete to match the expanded area with the height of the original floor.
(the mixer broke, so we mixed it all by hand on the ground, Jamaican style....10 wheelbarrows of sand, 8 of rock, then add 8 bags of cement mix, drench it in water, and mix)
(the fresh concrete poured up to flush)
(taking a break at lunch, me, Rohan, Richard and Alfonso)
Then we painted the ceiling and wall, and began laying tile.
(let the floor begin)
Ladrick Dryer is my good friend, and I’ve been working with him since 2005. He is one of the most skilled workers I know (yes, he is deaf), with the ability to do all masonry type jobs (concrete, block, and tile), woodworking, plumbing, etc. He is also an extremely patient man, hard working, and longsuffering. I enjoy working with him largely in part to the fact that he always gives me something to do that helps me learn the trade, and he always is ready to explain why he’s doing something, not just how to do it.
(cutting tile)
We began putting in the tile floor mid last week, but unfortunately Ladrick got sick with the flu so the rest will be installed later. Please pray for his recovery.
(Ladrick and I)
(where we ended on Thursday)
The new computers were also ordered and placed on an ACWR sea container (it left last week!) in Goodfield, IL, but unfortunately there was a mix-up between FedEx and Dell, and the monitors never made it to Goodfield. So for now, we’ll use an old monitor to set up the towers and keyboards (when they arrive), then wait for the Lord to bring the monitors at a future date. Please pray for the safe arrival of all the donated lab equipment.
# posted by Blake @ 5:47 PM 
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