Guest Post by Debbie Parker
Three weeks ago, tomorrow, we arrived at Egbe. This construction is happening beside our housing. You can see the great progress that has been made in three weeks. It has been amazing to watch. The blocks are made on the compound so that the quality is good. It cost more and is more labor intensive but the building is better. The foundation is sure and block by block the walls come up under the hot African sun. Makes me think of The Church. Blocks, we are, especially crafted to be excellent in quality. Mortared together to form a church.
Lenny Miles is the “Oga” (boss/sir). He has been know to knock down a few pillars and demand the work done over if it is not done perfectly. The foundation is important, the blocks are important, the walls are important. All together, the building is excellent. Let me say what I have been thinking. We are all a part of the building, living stones, that make up the church. One block is a contractor in Africa. One block is a bank executive, in the city, helping the homeless find shelter. One is a real estate entrepreneur that seeks schooling for orphans in a distant land. One is a praying pastors wife in a small town of Western Kentucky. See, what is important is that all the stones are fitted together making the building-The Church.
Sometimes, our greatest challenge is to see the value in the block that is mortared right beside us. Or to see that without all of the blocks, the whole building would not be. I am thankful for all of the blocks. That they have been made special and put together with excellence. Nothing less. The Oga knows what He is doing. With every block he lays, He is mortaring together The Church.