The Steel Arrives

One very important reality about our upcoming trip to Mozambique is that we must have the building materials to work with, or all our travels could be for naught. So you can imagine how excited we were to hear that the steel for the maintenance shop roof is now arriving on site!

9 men to carry one I-beam...wouldn't it be nice to have a crane? (photo by Dwight Lagore)

The last section of walls going up. (Photo by Dwight Lagore)

As you can see in the photos, the shop walls are coming along well, thanks to the hard work of ASAM Field Director Dwight Lagore and his mission staff. We can't wait to get there and start building the roof trusses and support beams.

What is critical now are the electrical supplies so that volunteer Don Bryce (our electrician) can install the electrical system and bring power from the generator shed to the shop.

For those in the Summerland area, there are some great fundraiser events coming up that you may want to attend. First, there's a Pampered Chef night, followed by a Menu Auction. Also March 23rd will be our annual Garage Sale for a Garage. The funds raised from these events will go towards the shop project.

For those who want to just make a general donation, you can send it either through Summerland Baptist Church or directly to SAM Ministries. Please mark your gift as for the Mozambique Shop Project.

Less than one month before we get on the plane...is it really coming up so fast? Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement; we appreciate all of you so very much!

Final Details

Our travel date is rapidly approaching - the team flies out of Kelowna on Saturday morning, February 23rd.

The stops along the way will include Calgary, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, White River, Biera, and Chimoio.
Countries touched on will be Canada, Holland, South Africa, and Mozambique.
Modes of transportation will range from jumbo jets to Cessna small planes to 4x4 pickups.
Accommodations could include (semi) reclining airline seats, airport hotels, guesthouses, and tents.
The experiences will be endless and life-altering.
The results...eternity will tell.

These recent photos from Mozambique show the progress being made on the shop walls - they are nearing completion in anticipation of our arrival.

You can read more at Dwight Lagore's recent blog update at this link: http://samministries.org/current-projects/the-multiplier-effect/

Our thanks goes out to everyone who has made donations both large and small to the project - your gift is making a difference! The steel for the roof structure will be ordered this coming week, but there is still a need for funds to buy all the electrical supplies and roof sheeting in advance of our arrival.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible gift towards this important project, you will find details on the SAM Ministries website (see the link above). Donations can also be made through Summerland Baptist Church.

In anticipation of our month-long trip, the team is taking welding lessons from a friend who is an instructor at our local trades college.

Instructor Sherwood Brocke with Bob Brown and Bob Denesiuk

I'm told that my metal skills could use a little work - something about welding in a straight line? But the others are doing amazingly well, and we look forward to passing on these skills to the fellows we'll be working with for the month of March.

Thanks for following along as we once again put some dust on our shoes for the Lord, and for the people he loves.

Welcome to 2013!

We are into the new year already, and the plans for our next trip to Mozambique are rapidly coming together. Here is the latest information:

Travel dates: February 24th to March 29th

Purpose: To continue working at the Maintenance Shop project at the SAMM mission base. We hope to assist the local staff in building the roof trusses and installing them, along with wiring the shop for electricity. As always, our goal is to pass on our skills, and this building project has been an excellent opportunity for teaching construction skills to the local men.

Team: Our team of volunteers is now four in number! They include myself, Bob Denesiuk, Don Bryce, and Bob Brown, all from Summerland Baptist Church.

Bob Denesiuk and Rick Cogbill

Don Bryce

Bob Brown


A huge thank you goes out to Sherwood Brocke, a personal friend who is a welding instructor at Okanagan College. Sherwood has been giving the team welding lessons on his own time so that the metal roof trusses we'll be fabricating in Mozambique will be good and strong!

Thank you as well to all those who have been contributing financially to this important SAM Ministries project - we are close to reaching our goal. This facility will play an important role for years to come, especially in the area of teaching automotive mechanics.

May God bless you richly for His purposes in 2013!