Jim and Becky Carlton in Peru

Finishing the Walls on the Third Floor

2011-09-09T16:10:00.003-05:00

This was the second and final week we worked on the third floor walls and columns. Once there is a roof, (probably a couple of years from now) this will become an apartment for the pastor and family.

Does anyone know how many bricks

it takes to build just four walls???

LOTS!!!

Tired after a long day of hauling bricks. Couldn't have done it without Jhonny, one of the men from church!!!

Walls and columns going up!

Another picture for those of you who put safety first!

Getting a column ready to pour.

Do you know where this guy is?

I had no desire to help him! I haul bricks.

Getting the cement ready to fill the columns.

The last brickwork around the stairs.

Removing the forms from the columns.

Walls and columns up.

The finished product - complete with graffiti.

First Week - Third Floor Construction

2011-08-29T00:08:00.000-05:00

Monday, August 22 we started the third floor construction project by getting the bricks, rebar, sand and gravel from the street to the roof.

A pulley was a tremendous help in getting the materials

onto the roof.

You might find the Peruvian way of getting electricity interesting. We needed to have three phase current so we borrowed from a neighbor to make that possible. You would have to ask an electrician how this works; I just watched and made sure not to touch any wires!!!

The brick laying begins!

That is the neighbor's laundry hanging on the roof next door.

Scaffolding.

This is probably not OSHA approved, but little on the job would be so using an upturned barrel as a ladder right on the edge of the roof shouldn't be a big deal!

This is our job for tomorrow, replacing the columns that were done incorrectly with these corrected ones. The 3/4 inch rebar will be pretty heavy! If anything should fall, the neighbor's tin roof below doesn't stand a chance.

2011 ARRIBA Jungle Trip to the Amazon

2011-04-13T18:32:00.139-05:00

Each ARRIBA team ends their year in Peru with a mission trip to the jungle. For the past 7 years we've had the privilege to serve the Lord by teaching and preaching in some of the small villages on the tributaries of the Amazon River in eastern Peru. This year we spent two weeks in a small village called 28th of July. (Named after Peru's Independence Day.) This is the fourth year that we have assisted Pastor Felipe in this village by having Bible clubs for the children, ladies' Bible studies, and teaching the men. Special services nightly rounded out the ministry there.

Our team this year included not only the ARRIBA students (Jessie and Kyle) but also two young ladies from our church: Celia and Delsi. After leaving our house in Lima at 3:00 a.m., they still had their eyes open when our flight arrived in the jungle.

Our transportation up the Amazon to 28th of July was the boat in the middle.

"Main Street" of 28th of July. It's also the only street!

We pitched our tents inside the town's "medical center." The tents were to keep the mosquitoes from biting us all night. This was the guys' side. Notice how clean and organized everything is. (OK, I'll be honest. It was the first morning we were there!)

Jessie and Kyle working with the kids on a craft after their Bible story. Most days about 22 kids attended the club.

Afternoons held enough free time to play games with the kids.

Jessie, Kyle and Delsi at the church with some of the kids.

Every afternoon the ladies had a Bible study with Jessie, Delsi and Celia.

Each evening we had special services. Many of the people from the village came even if they did not attend regularly. Kyle and I took turns preaching.

The first three nights my messages focused on Christ, the Lamb of God, as our substitute.

The Sunday morning service.

There were 13 men from three villages who were in the class I taught on Revelation, The Triumph of the Lamb. I had 4 and a half hours a day for eight days with these men. Three of them are pastors. Three other churches had hoped to send men, but the heavy rains kept them from being able to come. Please pray for the churches in

28th of July, Grau and Amazonas.

2011 Church VBS

2011-02-18T20:51:00.005-05:00

This year we had our first Vacation Bible School at El Manantial, February 14 - 18. The average daily attendance was 40 children ages 4 to 12. We thank the Lord for all the teachers and helpers who faithfully worked throughout the week. The theme was, "Who is Jesus?"

Each day there was a skit to introduce the lesson for the day.

Jessie (ARRIBA student) teaches the 4 to 6 year olds.

Kyle (the other ARRIBA team member) taught the 7 to 9 year olds.

Heidi Robbins, a former ARRIBA student who teaches at Fetzer, worked with the 10 to 12 year olds.

Yes, we even had dogs in attendance daily!

Closing time for songs, verses and cheers.

The last day the children all received a special balloon.

2011 Church Anniversary

2011-01-19T13:48:00.000-05:00

Greetings from Lima, PERU. We began this new year celebrating Iglesia Bautista El Manantial's 13th anniversary with special services from January 14-16. One of the area pastors spoke each evening. We enjoyed special music, a church supper and the baptism of two young people.

We had about 55 in attendance on Friday and Saturday nights. Sunday we had several visitors with an attendance of 75.

Special music from the young people.

The Church Supper

The delicious food prepared by the ladies.

We had the dinner on the second floor of the church.

The Baptism

Last June we asked prayer for Jhonny, who had just accepted the Lord. For quite some time, he has been eager to be baptized. In our September letter we mentioned his wife, Karina, who had a premature baby boy, Esteban. We praise the Lord that their little baby is doing fine.

The anniversary cakes.

Some of you who followed our blog during
the church construction might recognize this man.
Julio is a man of many talents - from laying brick to serving cake!

Finally In Our New Building!

2010-05-24T14:15:00.000-05:00

We're finally back! I apologize for the delay of two months. We were able to get the second-floor roof poured the last week of March. However, it was not a problem-free event! The concrete company called and asked if they could send the trucks at 8:00 p.m. (It was getting dark here around 6:30.) They explained that due to the Easter holidays they could only do it at night unless we wanted to wait a week. When they arrived and started to pour the roof we discovered that our architect had underestimated the amount of concrete needed by a third! Praise the Lord that everything was able to be worked out and we finished pouring the roof by about 12:30 a.m.

The finished roof for the second floor. The hole on the left is the stairway to the third floor. The black tank is for water.

Touching up the front of the church.

The door is in place and Julio can once again sleep at home!

The auditorium begins to take shape!

The second floor is ready to be divided into classrooms.

The men from church working together to place the classroom divisions.

The walls and floor are still unfinished, but we are able to use the second floor for classrooms.

Getting the auditorium ready for our first service.

This picture was taken during our first service (April 25th) in the new building. The banner that two of our deacons are holding was used to record the offerings given towards building the first floor. We began this banner in January of 2009 and had the bricks colored in a little less than a year later. God answered our prayers concerning the financial needs for the construction above what we ever expected!

A time of fellowship and refreshments after our first evening service.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and your gifts to help us with the building for
El Manantial Baptist Church.
Pray that God will help us to be faithful to Him.

Almost Ready To Do The Second Floor Roof!

2010-03-21T20:28:00.000-05:00

This week we got most of the roof up for the second floor. We used a different type of roof on this floor. The smaller concrete beams were ordered and brought to the site. After they were placed, the bricks were fitted into the space between the beams. Lord willing, we will pour the roof this Thursday. Please pray the remaining jobs will be completed to meet that time-table!

Julio Lima from church is in charge of the second floor. Where would we be without him?!

I no longer worry about anyone climbing around. They do worry about me. If I had a dollar every time one of the men said, "Be careful Pastor!" we could probably build the third floor!

Getting ready to move the small beams up for the roof.

The roofing bricks begin to go into place.

For those construction men who want to see exactly how this fits together!

The auditorium looking towards the future platform.

From where the platform will be looking towards the street.

Saturday we treated the men from both the first and second floor crews to a chicken dinner! They're eating on the second floor! Can you believe that???

Beams For The Second Floor

2010-03-14T20:33:00.000-05:00

Our four workers for the second floor spent this week forming the beams or "vigas" and framing them in preparation for pouring more cement and preparing to get the second-floor roof in place. Most of the pictures this week seemed pretty much the same.

On the first floor the crew began to get the cement on the walls to cover the brick. Due to their working on the first floor without any windows, I could only get a few pictures of that progress. A lot was done and we're looking forward to the start of a new week tomorrow!

The first beam begins to take shape!

Tying the wires together. Becky is not supervising;
it only looks that way.

Beams are getting framed in towards the end of the week.

The posts will hold the beams up as the cement dries. That takes about 15 days before they can be removed.

As you can tell, "Safety first!" is not the motto here in Peru!

This was the front of the church at the beginning of the week.

The view on Friday.

Getting the coat of cement on the roof.

Framing And Pouring Columns

2010-03-07T20:32:00.000-05:00

This last week saw the columns framed up and poured on the second floor. There was a lot of work involved in this process and a LOT of cement to mix, carry and pour!

Julio finishes laying the brick by the stairway.

Framing the columns involved some acrobatic techniques on the outside of the building!

Getting ready to pour cement into the frame.

This was how ALL the cement was mixed.

The front of the church at the end of the week.

Walls Going Up On The Second Floor

2010-02-28T14:22:00.001-05:00

We decided to start on the walls for the second floor while the first-floor roof is drying. Julio, Cesar, Daniel and our son Rob are helping with this stage of the construction in an attempt to stretch the funds available.

Wiring up the columns was a challenge!

Then came tossing the bricks up to the second floor.

The walls begin to go up!

A few from church came by to see the
progress after the service this morning.

Our work crew from the church:
Cesar, Julio (he's in charge), Daniel, Rob

Wednesday of Our Fifth Week: The Roof Goes On

2010-02-17T19:55:00.000-05:00

I will keep my comments to a minimum. I've added a lot of pictures, all taken today. The roof and stairs are now poured and we have to wait about 15 days before taking the supports out from the first floor. So you can take a break for a couple of weeks (I think) before I will resume a weekly post. Thank you for your prayers. The Lord's goodness to us is beyond comprehension!

This is "Coco," who is once again the man directly overseeing the day-to-day work.

This is what the roof looked like before
we poured the cement.

Becky's dad was a plumber. I wish he could have helped us on the construction. Somehow, I suspect there will be some leaks from this spot in the future!

You're right; we've got the road blocked again!

This pulley (along with the cement mixer) turned what would have been an all day 40 man job into a 4 1/2 hour 14 man job!

The stairs were done first.

We're done and it's still daylight! Praise the Lord!

Weeks #3 & 4

2010-02-14T21:32:00.000-05:00

I am adding the last two weeks of construction together due to being at camp. The advancement made during those weeks has truly been incredible!

Preparing to assemble the beams.

This is what they look like when assembled.

Maybe Becky thinks she should be
the contractor or architect!

The view of the church from the road right in front.

Once again, throwing bricks. This time they're for the roof.

Getting the bricks into place.

Almost ready to pour the cement!

This is what is holding the roof up. (We hope!) The supports are located in the auditorium.

WEEK #2

2010-01-29T21:20:00.001-05:00

Building the Walls!

Getting ready to lay the brick for the wall behind the future platform.

The wall goes up.

Making sure the wall is going to be straight.

This is the Peruvian way to get the bricks up!

Here it comes Julio!

Great catch!

Overview looking towards the platform.

Framing the columns and getting ready to pour the cement.

Carrying the cement to fill columns.
Notice the safety precautions in
"securing" the base of the ladder!

Filling the column.

Juan is the foreman for us on this phase of the building.

Construction Resumes! Praise the Lord!

2010-01-23T14:00:00.000-05:00

This is our first week of resuming construction since we stopped the first of August. Here is what
was accomplished this week.

Framing up for the "sobrecimientos."
The bricks for the wall will go on top of this.

This is becoming a familiar sight!
Mixing cement on the road in front of church!

Moving the cement from the street

to pour into the forms.

MORE CEMENT!!

"Sobrecimientos" are poured!

Now to move the bricks.
You guessed it, by hand!

Finally, starting to lay bricks.

Leave it to the architect to find a mistake!

Julio, one of our church members, double checking.
He's good at this and we're grateful.

Most of the walls are up about two meters. (About 6 feet.)

The pile of boards is where the platform will be
Lord willing, in a couple more months.
Thank you for your prayers!

Update for this week: July 27 - August 1

2009-08-01T18:43:00.001-05:00

Here is the update for this past week. We are stopping the construction temporarily to discuss our options on finishing the first floor. I will let you all know what the church decides in an email prayer letter next week.

Finishing up the cistern.

Getting ready to pour the
top of the cistern.

Plumbing up a column.

This is what the Peruvian plumbing looks like underground!

The crew from the last three weeks. L to R: Cesar, Jorge (Coco), Rudy, Julio Mercedes, Julio Lima. Cesar and the two Julios are members of El Manantial Baptist Church. Thanks men!!

Working on the Cistern

2009-07-25T13:17:00.000-05:00

The last couple of days were spent working on the cistern by the road at the entrance of the church. That was the large hole you saw a couple of days ago. It's now full of rebar and they will be framing it up and pouring the cement next week.

Next week Becky, Rob and I will be going with the ARRIBA students to the jungle of Peru to a camp near La Merced. It is located about eight hours east of Lima. We will cross the Andes at about 16,000 feet and then descend to the "high" jungle. We are going there as part of their biology class. Please pray for our safety on this trip. We'll be back on Friday and I'll try to take a few pictures and post an update. By the end of next week we will be temporarily stopping the construction as the church reevaluates our remaining funds and decides how to continue. Thank you for all your prayers! A lot has been accomplished in the last two weeks.

Columns at the Church Entrance are in Place!

2009-07-24T07:04:00.001-05:00

Here is what happened yesterday (Thursday) after
another day of digging on Wednesday.

The cistern at the front
entrance of the church.

Wiring the final column together.

The last column going up.

All the columns are now in place!

Tuesday, July 21: Pouring the Footers

2009-07-21T22:09:00.001-05:00

Tuesday, what a day!
The foundation is basically done.

Yes, Suber Road Baptist Church was here and did a great job. They dug the footers and got the columns upright and the bases of them cemented into place.

The front wall is down and
we're getting ready to mix cement!

I hate to think of these rocks!
They're gone now though!

Filling in the footers.

Just the back footer to do and we're done for the day!

Three of the church members
who are glad to be finished
with this part of the project!

Friday and Saturday's Construction

2009-07-19T21:55:00.000-05:00

Here's what happened at the church work site on Friday and Saturday. Tomorrow (Monday) will be pouring more cement.

Pouring cement

All this dirt has to go somewhere.

ARRIBA young ladies helped out with the kids' club on Friday

More rebar to wire together on Saturday

Putting up temporary Sunday school rooms at the property we are renting during the construction

Thank you Suber Road Baptist Church, Greer, South Carolina!!! They were incredible!

Thursday's Update

2009-07-16T23:20:00.000-05:00

Today was the day we got the columns in place and began pouring cement into the footers.

Wednesday's Update

2009-07-15T23:47:00.001-05:00

Starting off with a school assembly in Upis.

Some our friends from first grade.

The puppets were a hit!

About 200 students and teachers saw the Gospel presentation and received a CD with Bible stories and a tract.

Back to construction!

Getting ready for the cement work to begin.

Yes, it's going to be mixed by hand today!

Let an expert show how it's done!

Getting ready for tomorrow. I don't think it'll be easy getting all the rocks and cement in the ground.

Tuesday's Construction

2009-07-14T23:24:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, Sore Muscles and All!!

Yes, this is Rob digging. He is being a great help!

There has been some cement to break up.

All the dirt has to go somewhere so we're
piling it up in the street!

There seems to be no end of the rebar
that needs to be formed into columns.

Ending the day with another kids' club with about 50 neighborhood children. Tomorrow there will be a school assembly as well as a kids' club in a nearby neighborhood called Upis. The teens from church are helping the Suber Road team in this outreach ministry.

Monday's Construction & Kids' Club

2009-07-13T23:28:00.000-05:00

This was how the Day went Monday

Ending the Day with a Kids' Club

Moving Out And Taking Down!!

2009-07-13T23:16:00.000-05:00

2009-07-11T02:19:00.000-05:00

A quick history of
El Manantial Baptist Church.
May 2006 - July 2009

This is what the property looked like
when we purchased it in May, 2006!

People from the church cleaning
the property in May, 2006.

The crew, hard at work!

The front of the church property.

Folks in front of church on one of the first services on the new property in November of 2006.

Sunday School - July 5, 2009.