Avocado Chicken Salad… no mayo!

Egg Muffins

Sycamores Chapel update from CRM Sanctuary Outpost Director

Just an update of where we are with respect to October meetings and our construction schedule.

Yesterday we completed the septic tank fields that will enable us to host larger gatherings.  We put in 230' of lateral lines and another freeze proof water faucet.  We have begun the painting of the exterior walls and we will soon take delivery on a portable building we will use for washing machines, driers, and freezers to hold the food stuff we are putting up both to feed the mission family this winter and to share with the less fortunate.  The two projects are expensive but necessary and the septic system is fully paid for.  We have a new air handler in the sanctuary thanks to the gift we received from Chris and Vickie Kilpatrick.  Chris put it in and it is a wonderful unit for our needs for now.  We hope to place new split units in the fellowship hall and sanctuary at a later date as funds allow.  The painting is done in the fellowship hall and we have had the carpet installers in to measure up for the carpet to be placed in the fellowship area.  Once again, that will have to wait until we receive additional funds.  We are ready for the metal roof which will connect all of the separate buildings and that is our next large project.  The metal will cost $3,500 and we have the team to install it.  We have had a gift for the chairs in the sanctuary but we still need the tables and the fellowship hall furniture.  The canning and preserving sinks are here but we need a propane stove for the actual pressure cooking.  We also need a washer and dryer for the wash house and the funds to wire, plumb and heat and air condition that space.  As always we will do the actual work to complete it.  We have the propane tank for the propane canning stove and everything necessary to hook that up.

We are holding a prayer meeting on Tuesday mornings at 9AM and a Bible study at 6:30 PM on Tuesday evening and have had three salvations in the two [free] clinics [Eufaula and Onapa] we partner with.

We are planning on feeding the people of this area.  Here are some statistics for you: 675,000 Oklahomans will go to bed hungry tonight and Oklahoma is in the bottom 5 states for hunger related issues in the United States.  Oklahoma Native Americans have casinos and gambling halls on every corner practically and as you would imagine, many choose this way to try to win themselves out of poverty.  They need a Savior.  We are here to introduce Him to them.

Please pray for the needs of this ministry.  We need to complete the construction phase by October. Our mailing address for tax deductible gifts is:

The Sycamores Chapel,

Rt.2, Box 2131

Checotah Oklahoma 74426. 

May God richly bless you as you serve Him.

Dennis and Sally Maloney

The following is a pictorial progression of the work being done to the facilities:

Shortly after we arrived, I took this picture on May 28, 2013.

The porch needs to be extended to the west end of the building with new steps and railing installed.

Also, when we arrived, Dennis had already begin to paint the fellowship hall. Dennis and Sally’s sons, Joe and Nathan, skilled carpenters, came and enclosed the storage loft on each end of the fellowship hall. Dennis later insulated the wall and added doors which helps tremendously with air conditioning.

The bedroom/guest room is ready to be used, but Dennis and Sally later add furniture that they had in storage.

The entrance doors were not normal height. Anyone as tall or taller than Don and I had to duck their head to walk in the door.

Enter wonderful friend from Arizona, Norm Agan, with excellent solution.

Solution: An Entrance Alcove with normal height door!  We are so excited about this improvement!

In the midst of the work in progress, we have opened the door to the community.  Garden work compliments of Sally Maloney.

A break was take from work to prepare 112 pints of cut corn and 75 whole ears of fresh corn on the cob for the chapel freezer.

We need some pigs!!

 

While Norm and Helen Agan were visiting for a very short week, he also installed two much needed windows in the sanctuary.  New chairs have been provided and we also need six or eight 60” round folding tables to be prepared to serve hot meals as this mission point develops.  There are a lot of people who live in this area and the population increases on the weekends and holidays at the RV parks on the lake. The opportunity for ministry is endless and we are so thankful for this facility to be used in anyway God directs. It is a building, but we are not confined to a “box.”  We have a few acres that this building is located on and much vision for opportunities to minister and share Jesus Christ with whoever God brings. The vision for an “outdoorsman ministry”  is developing, as I write.

Please imagine with me that this room is empty. Now, fill it with rows of chairs. Pray that these chairs will be filled with precious souls who need Jesus, who need to be discipled, mentored or encouraged in their walk with the Lord. Presently, there are six trained chaplains here, ready to work with and love these people and another couple coming in the fall.

The painting is now complete in the fellowship hall.

Chaplain Dennis Maloney did most of the painting. I only helped him finish up with the last coat.

The bedroom/guest room is ready with the beautiful bedroom furniture that Dennis and Sally had in storage. 

We are not by the ocean, but we’re doing all we can to set a mood of peace and calmness in the guest room.

 

This past week, the money came in to put in more lateral line to the septic system. Praise God!

While the plumber was working, Dennis was mowing.  There is a great need for a riding lawn mower.  Chaplain Don Baker is physically unable to do any manual labor, but he can sit on a riding lawn mower and he would love to do that.  (From our hearts to God’s ears.)

Dennis also painted the new entrance this week.

Wow! In just one day, the plumber had completed the task of getting the septic system up to par.

The plumber even added a new all weather faucet behind the storage building on the east side.  Now there are outdoor faucets on both sides of the building.

 

The building that will be delivered next Monday will house a fresh food canning area and a laundry facility. (Needed: washer, dryer, gas cook stove, refrigerator, freezer)  I encourage you to do an “internet search” on “church gardens” or “church feeds for free.”  We have room for a garden here!!

http://www.faithandleadership.com/features/articles/fred-bahnson-living-abundantly?page=0%2C0  for example

 

Sally is nurturing tree seedlings to be planted in the fall.

This beautiful sign hangs from the front porch.

So now, you know where we are in this work in progress!  It is not a cathedral or a high-rise office building, but it is adequate and clean for serving this area, for holding CRM trainings, ordinations, and conferences, feeding people, preaching, Bible study, workshops. The acreage is adequate for several RV sites, a garden, a new parking area and outdoor ministry workshops. (Think: fishing; hunting; archery; gun safety, etc.)

“Where there is no vision, the people perish…” Proverbs 29:18a

Work continues at Sycamores Chapel

Sally Maloney has done a great job preparing the “missionary quarters.” Only one thing remains to be done:  replace the blue blinds!

We may not be on the beach, but we are doing the best we can to set the mood of peace and serenity.

 

Here’s another view of the bedroom.

In their storage, Sally found a clock she had given Dennis early in their marriage. This beautiful clock now chimes in the fellowship hall.

We were excited to see the plumber arrive this morning to begin work on the lateral lines to the septic system.

 

After our weekly prayer time together at 9:00 AM, Dennis continued mowing while Don walked across the street to check on a neighbor who had shoulder surgery yesterday…