Update-November 4th 2010

Hi everybody. I am working on setting up a seperate page for photos or posting them here soon. I have some of the kids (faces obscured) to post. Things are busy here so it is on hold for now.

We have two teenage girls in the house now, one just came yesterday. Their situation is such that we are focussing our attention and time on them right now and putting the finishing construction of the women's ministry on hold until they are settled and all their needs met. We anticipate starting that construction again in the Spring.

Please pray for our family and household as we are working hard to meet their special needs. God brought them both here and we love them dearly and it is a wonderful fit but complex issues for both that require a lot of prayer; for healing and God's will with them since family members are involved. One will be staying forever and the other one is still being decided.

Thank you so much! We need your prayers as we are demolishing strongholds here!!

Blessings,

Cheryl

House Renovation photos

Copy and paste the below link to your internet browser and you will see the photo album we have of the house renovation from beginning to end including the finished interior rooms we have now (or click on the link to automatically direct you there). Many people didn't make it to the thank you party, blessing, and tour of house and this lets you see the house as well as the process to build it.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=2015102&id=1335695958

Few pics from yesterday

Thank you everyone!!

Everyone had a wonderful time celebrating the awesomeness of God and meeting one another yesterday. We want to thank everyone again for all their support, thank those that came to join in the blessing of the house and celebrating with us and everyone that helped us with the side items of food! God bless you all!! We definitely feel part of a team as God keeps bringing His people to help Faith Home Ministries in various ways at various times and it is so beautiful to see (Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done!). Undeniably this property, house, and ministry have God's hands all over it! I can't wait to see what He does with the women's ministry once it is up and running!

To all of you who did not make it yesterday, you were with us in spirit and we are sorry you couldn't make it :( I hope the rain in the morning did not confuse anyone; it was absolutely beautiful by 11am and perfect weather for the day. We had a nice gathering and prayer time, lots of food and a presentation of trophies to the top six people who spent HOURS working on this house. It was a great time. Mixed in there were tons of tours of the house. We are sorry we missed you.

You are all very special to us and we thank you for joining us on this journey!! If you want to receive future blog updates from us just go to the main blog: http://www.faithhomeministries.blogspot.com/ and at the top you have the option to click "follow". Then you will get future prayer requests for new kids about to come, etc. Or, you can reply to me and I will add you.

Blessings,

David and Cheryl

List of Current Needs per request:

· Patio and walk way for women’s ministry entrance from outside
· Upgraded electrical for women’s shelter
· Patch walls and ceilings for womens shelter (after electrical upgrade)
· Paint walls in women’s shelter (after electrical upgrade)
· New flooring in womens’ shelter (just cement now)
· Fix chimney for women’s shelter before winter
Also:
· Anyone with a time share home they don’t use much that would be a good place to take the kids during holidays or school breaks, donating a day or a few days or a week would be much helpful!

· Anyone who wants to come help the kids with their homework after school and form a relationship with them is most welcome.

· Any group wanting to do a fundraising for FHM for things like pajamas for kids ages 5-17, boys and girls, we could use that in our attic shop for when kids show up with nothing but clothes on their backs; likewise we always need toothbrushes for such occasions.

· Anyone with gently used clothes for boys and girls ages 5-12 we can use them in the attic shop for kids that show up with nothing but clothes on their backs, shoes as well.


THANK YOU FOR THINKING OF US!!!!!!!!

We have had six kids since August! Most recent update

Thank you everyone that has supported us!!! Come to the celebration and blessing of the house!

We are so blessed by you all and so are all the kids that come here! I have e-mailed invites to those I have e-mail for and mailed invitations. There are several Waterboyz that helped that I have no addresses for but I asked Bernie to spread the word. If you have come to the house and helped us build Faith Home Ministries in any way, please come to our thank you party and blessing of the house!!

New link to Faith Home Ministries

By Friday people will be able to donate to Faith Home Ministries via the non-profit organization we are affiliated with. A Pay Pal account is being set up with codes for each ministry and you pick which ministry you want to donate to and pay via Paypal.


We are still raising money for the flooring for the women's shelter and any additional funds we get will be in an account to pay for weekend activities and vacations for the kids. The more kids we have the bigger the house we will need to rent or more hotel rooms, for vacations so we will need a fund for that! Our goal is to enrich the lives of the kids in every way possible, providing them with opportunities and memories they would not otherwise have.


http://avoiceforthenations.org/

more before and after grass growing

THANK YOU D & A DUNLEVY LANDSCAPING!!!!!!!! GOD BLESS YOU!

House after landscaping! The grass is growing!

They graded and planted seed and drainage pipes for two rain gutters underground. We still need plants but will worry about that later.

Landscapers are here! Thank you D & A Dunlevy Landscapers!

Here are some most recent photos of the interior of our house, taken today. They still need to finish the stair cap on our stairway so I am leaving the lamp shade covers on over the kitchen table until they do but the living room, mudroom and kitchen are mostly done. I will post photos of rest of house in the future.

They are doing landscaping right now! They are grading and seeding and ditching for underground drainage from the rain gutters. They will come back and do two patios when they have more time. Eventually I need to get cement where they will put gravel for parking off the side of the driveway. Cement is expensive though so it will have to wait because we are still saving up for laminate flooring for the whole basement for the women's shelter!

You see hints of construction stuff still; coffee set up for construction workers and old coffee pot, unpainted corner piece, but we are almost done. I will be working on that stuff tomorrow. I need to bring my nice coffee maker upstairs; it is still in our basement where we lived.

First guests coming tonight!

We managed to clear the living room and have it presentable for them yesterday! Today I got their two rooms thoroughly cleaned and all the beds made. It is a family of four coming. I put some stuff in the attic but still have a room of stuff to unpack and organize what goes where. The guests will be touring DC in the day and I will keep working on that. Our guests leave August 8 and our first foster child comes August 13 pm. She will be with us two weeks while her foster mom in out of state. I am still working hard on being thoroughly unpacked by end of August to start the work on the women's shelter and start taking all the kids.

Thank you Mike and Terry for your awesome help!!!!!!!!

The attic is finished and painted!

Tonight we are buying numerous shelves to put everything on in the attic. Tomorrow we are assembling those wire shelves, free standing, and installing blinds in two of the kid's rooms (five windows). Our goal is to be able to sort through the piles of stuff we have on our first floor for foster care and organize them on the shelves Thursday or Friday and unpack the remaining stuff Saturday. We are working hard to have the two stories and attic all finished and organized by the end of August; preferably the middle of August before school starts.

To give you an idea of ALL the stuff we still have to unpack from storage and find a home for, including the piles of foster care clothes, I have attached a photo. The other photos are of the attic being finished.

Camp Sonshine came to help out today!

Camp Sonshine sent a bus of teenagers over to help clean the windows, no small feat in a house this size. With so many of them it went by fast--what a blessing! They also did a fund raising car wash for Faith Home Ministries and used the money to buy us ten board games for the kids to play and some new underwear and socks for us to have on hand for the boys and girls who show up with nothing. THANK YOU EVERYONE! It was a great day and you were such a blessing to us.

Still finishing the attic!

Finishing the attic took way more work than I thought. We had the insulation and drywall up but it takes three coats of joint compound and lots of taping; THEN we have to prime then we can paint the walls and ceiling. I don't know what we would have done without Terry (well, we would have had a poorly finished attic David and I tried to do!!). Thank you Terry for all your work! Terry has been here from the raising of the original roof of the house. I have more photos but this is just one collage of Terry working. Today he is sanding his third coat and I am installing hardwood floor in a small section at the base of our basement stairs since we had left over wood.

Blessings to all,

Cheryl

www.faithhomeministries.com

Thank you for your continued help, prayers and support!

People are asking what needs to be done before the women and kid's ministries are completely finished and ready for people as some people want to donate money towards that end. We are continually blessed and so grateful as this speeds up the time we can finish since we are currently saving up for the few remaining items needed to finish; landscaping such as grading, seeding, etc, thorough whole house duct cleaning before the kids come, some electrical work in the women's ministry living space and the laminate floor for the women's ministry (about 900 square feet). We are saving up for this and currently working on finishing the attic so we can put the stuff from storage that is now on the first floor up there and I am slowly unpacking the numerous boxes and bags of stuff from storage and finding homes for it. Our hope and prayers are that we will have the entire house finished by the end of August or at least all but the electrical work and drywall repair that ensues. We want the house in order to be ready for however many kids God brings!

We have come so far since we started years ago having to deal with the sewer issue (since we were on a septic system and had to find a way to hook up to the sewer)! We are very excited but know this is a big house and things take time, especially when we are doing a lot of the work ourselves (I will be installing the floor--just need to purchase the material). God's hands have been and continue to be all over this and it is an awesome thing to see and we continue to trust God's timing for completion and God to bring the kids!! We are hoping David will get to work from home more so that he will be available around 5pm to help with the homework while I cook dinner and who knows, by September that might happen! Let's keep that in prayer!!!

Grateful to all,

Cheryl

Plugging along!

We are currently working on finishing the attic; joint compound then painting, so we can install shelves to organize and unpack all the foster care clothing we have and any other storage items that will go in there.

Our big task is unpacking all our boxes and bags from storage, cleaning the two floors upon completion of that (filthy windows and floors et al), and then installing the flooring for the women's ministry and doing the electrical upgrade for there. We hope to have everything in its place and the flooring done by the end of August.

Meanwhile, we have one bedroom in need of a second coat, several doors in need of two coats of paint and some baseboards if anyone is interested in swinging by and helping for a few hours. Some people are still here during the week on and off and a few of us regularly work every Saturday until we are done.

Thanks for thinking of us!
Cheryl

We have the final permit--no more inspections!!

The permit is finalled out and now we are just working on finishing the attic so we can unpack all the foster care clothes we have and store them up there in labeled boxes. We plan on having our first foster child in August as we will be working on unpacking and finishing the little stuff like painting all the doors etc. through July. This is a different collage showing before and after photos of the front and back of the house. Thank you everyone for all your support and may God continue to bless you for all you do for others and enabling us to help others with our home!

June 18 2010 photos--

We are very close to finishing; just need a couple things to get the final inspection, grading the yard and some painting of the trim both inside and outside. We hope to take kids in August and then work on the electrical and flooring for the women’s shelter. Upstairs we have seven beds to fill; one room with two twin beds for female teens, one bedroom with three beds for whomever but is designated the boys room if we get boys and one girl room with two beds for girls and then Faith’s room so if every bed is full we will have eight kids.

The inside is still a work in progress but close to being finished. After we get the final permit allowing occupancy we can unpack everything from storage and finish each room. I will send photos of the interior when that happens; probably end of July-some time in August. When everything is done we will have a large bbq for everyone involved in the house in some way--there have been so many wonderful people supporting FHM through the long process! We are forever grateful for all the love and support.

Blessings to all,

Cheryl

Todays Photos

click on this photo to enlarge it and you will see the wood (under the siding in other photos) says "Blessed be the name of the Lord" and "Bless this home". The wood under the siding on the front portico says, "Bless all who enter here" too.

Photos are out of order. The ceiling for the wrap around screened in porch is finished, wood swing hung, siding installed on side gable of porch (can click to enlarge any photo--note the cool note Peter wrote on the wood gable before installing the siding), stair rails to open deck finished, fancy stuff added to front columns, shakes on the front portico gable and new door installed but not finished. We are moving along; so much to do!!

Todays photos (so far--10am only)

Flowers planted in the planter and two urns and I mulched the front under the planter. The guys are putting the screened in porch ceiling up. Time for Mike and I to work inside, second story (sooo much to do still). If you click on the photo you can see it larger.

Have a wonderful day!

Cheryl

Photos of work done today

The deck rail was finished (just need to do the stair rails), rest of shutters on the house installed and planter on the stone bump out (need plants now).

Thanks everyone!!

God is great!

Per prayer, we have an awesome carpenter working at least until next week. The screened in porch rail is finished, just need the screen on. Thank you Peter!!

Getting closer to moving upstairs!

We are very close to being able to move upstairs but our carpenter has not been able to come. We need to finish our porch rail in order to get occupancy. This is our prayer request; for a carpenter that can finish the porch rail as soon as possible. We are working towards the final plumbing inspection Monday and taking it from there.

Thank you for the prayers!

Cheryl

Prayer Requests!

We are working hard to be able to move upstairs and be finished April 17. ( and get all our permits including Occupancy April 12-16). Please pray for our plumber who keeps having scheduling conflicts as we need him to finish his work by this Friday to get our final plumbing permit Monday.

Please pray the other contractors have the time and good weather to finish their work as well so that we can move upstairs April 17, Lord willing of course.

Thank you! We really need prayers for workers to come and finish; plumber, electrician, carpenters, siding installers and rain gutters.

Week of March 29th

I want to thank everyone who showed up last Saturday for the trim painting party. We got a lot done and are very grateful! However, there is still a lot of trim to finish before the hardwood floor is installed this Saturday, April 3rd. Anyone who has time and wants to paint during the week, day or evening, come join me. I know a couple people who will come during the day for a few hours and my husband has Wednesday or Thursday off to paint, paint, paint. He will put in an hour or two in the evenings as well. Just give us a call or email to let us know you will be coming.

Blessings,

Cheryl
301-528-8505
bengaline@comcast.net

March 20-Saturday paint day

Saturday we are having a gathering to work on finishing the painting of the house. Some walls need a second coat, some a first, and there are a lot of doors and trim to paint. We have invited our church and some people from other churches that have been helping us some Saturdays. Come one come all but RSVP please as we need a head count to provide enough brushes and food to feed everyone. Bring any paintbrushes you have but we will have some extras here.

We are trying to move upstairs (we are living in the basement still) in four weeks and if we can get the siding and rain gutter guys to finish before then we just might make it. The month of February put it all to a stop and now they are busy fixing people's broken rain gutters etc.

We have to finish the deck rails to get our Occupancy permit too so anyone interested let us know but we have someone who will be working on that soon; anyone can join him though.

So we are moving along! The tile is done and plumbing will be done in one more days work and electrical is being worked on next week. Thanks for the prayers everyone, and all the support and helping hands.

TO RSVP: 301-528-8505 or bengaline@comcast.net

Moving right along

We still have too much snow to do the outside work but the stone work is finished. We need to thaw out before outside work can be done; finish siding, install rain gutters, build rails for porch and finish two side entrances and build front portico.

The tile work is being finished this week and then the plumbing for the second story. Then we just need the hardwood floor installed. Our biggest need, aside from the hardwood floor installation, is for painting all the trim work. We have several doors and lots of trim to paint and then finish the last coat on some walls and install the hardwood and we are done.

If anyone would like to join us on Saturdays for a trim painting party please email or call: bengaline@comcast.net or 301-528-8505. We hope to get a gathering from our church and another church set up soon and anyone is welcome to join us as we are working every Saturday. The sooner we finish the sooner we can move upstairs and start taking more kids.

We are so grateful for all the wonderful support via prayers, work or donations! Thank you so much!!
Cheryl

The stone on the front being installed Feb 2 2010

We still have to finish the siding (but back is done and some of one side), and build the front portico and finish side two landings for entrances but we are plugging along. All the recent snow we got (and are about to get more) is delaying work outside. We are still finishing tiling and other work inside (the Dutch door to mudroom is up :).

Photos from January work--Thanks everyone!!

Faith wanted a blue and purple room; she got it! (Built in bookcases and window seat are in her room)

Thank you everyone! January 20, 2010

Wonderful progress! Since the last blog entry the window seat is almost complete, Dutch door is almost complete; it needs some bondo and sanding and painting and one bolt and door knobs. The pocket doors are installed (just needs hardware). The mudroom is tiled and grouted and one bathroom floor is tiled. We had 25 people here last Saturday; THANK YOU EVERYONE! The attic is 75% insulated and drywalled and the wall for the mechanic room built. Many people helped caulk and paint the bedrooms as well. It was a wonderful Saturday of fellowship and service.

This weekend we are working on continuing to tile the bathrooms until they are finished and painting all the trim work around the new doors and windows (there are many so it will take a while depending on helpers). We still need to finish the attic, we still need a window installer to install one last window and a carpenter to finish the Dutch Door. The window seat should be finished tomorrow--it is beautiful--Thank you so much Peter! Photos coming. Siding will begin to be installed this Saturday too; we are getting closer to the end of the line!

Current Needs Jan 6, 2010

• Still need people to help install tile for bathrooms and mudroom
• Need a window installer to replace a small window in a bathroom
(last window needing installation!)
• Need carpenters to help finalize trim work and pocket doors and
built in window seat-second story
• People to help install hardwood floor on the second story
• Painters for second story
• Help installing drywall in the walk in attic

Thank you!

Jan 6, 2010

Happy New year everyone! I finally posted collages showing work done September through January 5th (well a couple were before them; Dave and Our House collage photos). If you want to see the collages larger just click on them and you can see each photo in the collage larger. If you want to be emailed every time I enter a new blog entry (usually with current needs but also photos and current status), let me know and I will add you to list of those who are emailed the new blog when I enter it.

Blessings,

Cheryl