It took only 35 seconds to destroy the
Cayes Jacmel church (the duration of the 2010 earthquake), but it took about three months to rebuild it. We give thanks for the partnership with
SONBEAM International that allowed the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti to rebuild this church building. The
Cayes Jacmel church
construction project was fairly complex because it was the first roof we have built with pressure-treated wood trusses (until now, the roofs have been poured cement). When we first looked at the truss plans drawn up by
SONBEAM, Zach and the two project foreman were a little concerned. These plans called for over 8,500 self-drilling wood screws to assemble the trusses and several thousand more to install the sheet metal roofing on the trusses. These screws arrived in Haiti in about six fifty-pound suitcases carried as checked luggage by a team from Calvary
CRC of Holland. For those of you who are builders, 8,500 screws might not seem like much. But with no one in the congregation who was familiar with electric drills and no electricity on site, this was a significant challenge. In one of Zach's trips to the
work-site, he taught a few of the church members how to use the drills. Assembling the trusses was slow at first, but it time the church volunteers got the hang of it with the help of the two foreman. Today, the
Cayes Jacmel church can worship in a safe structure which will give their congregation space to grow for years to come. What makes this project even more exciting is that in addition to a new church building, the community of
Cayes Jacmel around the church has received grants from the
CRC of Haiti (funded by
CRWRC Disaster Response) to repair many of the houses which were damaged in the 2010 earthquake. This whole process of construction has been an
excellent witness of the Gospel to the community which sees not only the "household of faith" being rebuilt, but also community members unaffiliated with the church receiving benefits. Please pray that more community members will begin a relationship with the
Cayes Jacmel church and that Christ would be praised through these rebuilding projects.
It took only 35 seconds to destroy the Cayes Jacmel church (the duration of the 2010 earthquake), but it took about three months to rebuild it. We give thanks for the partnership with SONBEAM International that allowed the Christian Reformed Church of Haiti to rebuild this church building. The Cayes Jacmel church construction project was fairly complex because it was the first roof we have built with pressure-treated wood trusses (until now, the roofs have been poured cement). When we first looked at the truss plans drawn up by SONBEAM, Zach and the two project foreman were a little concerned. These plans called for over 8,500 self-drilling wood screws to assemble the trusses and several thousand more to install the sheet metal roofing on the trusses. These screws arrived in Haiti in about six fifty-pound suitcases carried as checked luggage by a team from Calvary CRC of Holland. For those of you who are builders, 8,500 screws might not seem like much. But with no one in the congregation who was familiar with electric drills and no electricity on site, this was a significant challenge. In one of Zach's trips to the work-site, he taught a few of the church members how to use the drills. Assembling the trusses was slow at first, but it time the church volunteers got the hang of it with the help of the two foreman. Today, the Cayes Jacmel church can worship in a safe structure which will give their congregation space to grow for years to come. What makes this project even more exciting is that in addition to a new church building, the community of Cayes Jacmel around the church has received grants from the CRC of Haiti (funded by CRWRC Disaster Response) to repair many of the houses which were damaged in the 2010 earthquake. This whole process of construction has been an excellent witness of the Gospel to the community which sees not only the "household of faith" being rebuilt, but also community members unaffiliated with the church receiving benefits. Please pray that more community members will begin a relationship with the Cayes Jacmel church and that Christ would be praised through these rebuilding projects. 
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