Maintenance Shop Progress - August 2013

We just received news today of some recent progress on the maintenance shop project in Mozambique. A volunteer named Richard was visiting from South Africa, and he took on the task of installing the lights, wall plugs, and switches. (The following photos provided by Dwight Lagore)

Ceiling lights installed

Wall plugs and switches

One great piece of news is that Richard was able to work with Revi and Vasco, two men that Don trained in basic electrical work during our last trip out in March of this year. I'm told that Richard was impressed with how much Revi and Vasco had learned, and how much he could let them work on their own. Great teaching job, Don!

Some high ladder work

Richard, Revi, and Rick Neufeld

Vasco and Gabriel running wire

From the following photos we can also see that the shop is now being used for vehicle maintenance.

Jacobo, Richard, and Tome getting ready to service the Toyota

Tome and Jacobo

The new ASAM mission Toyota (the white one) parked inside the shop

It's encouraging to see the progress being made. I'm looking forward to actually using this shop as a teaching facility on my next trip (spring 2014?). Thanks to the ASAM staff and all the volunteers who continue to move this project forward, even when our Mercy Tech teams are not there.

If you haven't done already done so, please take a few minutes to check out our recently relaunched website for Mercy Tech Mission. 

Thanks for checking in!

An "Official" Post

Okay, it's official - Mercy Tech Mission now has Canadian charity status (Mercy Tech Mission, registration number 826932444RR0001). 

Is that the thundering applause of the masses I hear? Cool. I'm with you on it!

How "Tourist" can you get?

I literally had no idea when I first traveled to Mozambique 3 1/2 years ago that I would now be the director of a fully-registered Canadian charitable organization. In fact, the concept of a non-profit group to enable professionals to teach life-changing skills to those living in poverty wasn't even on my mind. 

Thankfully, there is One whose ways are higher than ours. He has bigger plans than we can even dream of.

So thanks to everyone who has encouraged us along the way, especially the field staff of ASAM in Mozambique for welcoming our teams to their mission base again and again. The MTM board and I are excited about what the future holds, and we look forward to even greater things we continue to "change lives, one skill at a time."

2013 Mercy Tech Team (Photo by Dwight Lagore)

If you've been following our projects, you'll know that we have been helping SAM Ministries build a maintenance shop where we can continue to teach automotive skills to young students. Our last trip in March of this year saw a four-member team construct and install the roof support beams and trusses.

Shop status at the end of March 2013

Just this week we received photos showing how the local staff have continued to work on the shop and now have all the roofing panels installed on the main structure. Just in time for the rainy season!

Shop status as of August 2013 (photos by Dwight Lagore)

As you can tell from the photos, there is still a lot of work to be done. We are specifically looking for an electrician to finish installing all the lighting and power outlets, now that the roof is on. And then there is the small matter of trying to invent a reliable door system for the large bay openings...African ingenuity will prevail!

Tome working on the mission backhoe

We especially appreciate all the hard work done by Tome, ASAM's main maintenance man. It's been a privilege to work with Tome over the past few years, and I am personally looking forward to returning early in 2014 for more training with Tome and others, as well as to continue working on the shop.

If you would like to assist with this and other Mercy Tech training projects, either financially or as a volunteer, or would like to find out more about what we do, just contact me at rick@mercytechmission.com.

Your gifts will enable us to continue teaching trades and life-changing skills in places like Mozambique. Tax-receiptable donations can be sent to Mercy Tech Mission, Box 1153, Summerland, BC Canada V0H 1Z0.

Mercy Tech Mission - Changing Lives, One Skill at a Time