Hymn of Thanksgiving

Good things come to those that wait...and our little church community has been waiting for a long time!!

Months after we thought our new temple would be finished, we are finally ready to start building. It's been a long process, fraught with setbacks, but the plans now have the City's official stamp of approval and we should be breaking ground any day. Yay! Earning the city's approval meant meeting a lot of additional requirements, and those unexpected extra expenses have come with a hefty price tag. As a result our building fund is now falling short of the actual costs. Donations would be most gratefully accepted, with eternal prayers for our benefactors offered in return!

Last week, we gathered before the Cross erected on the future site of our church to pray a service of Thanksgiving that we have reached this point.

Our little monkeys were happy to be out in the fresh (?? "hot" is more like it!) air and enjoy a little loser discipline than usual for church services. Sometimes it feels like we've been overrun with little girls! (not that we mind!!!)

This next photo of my sister's eldest was snapped literally a split second before she noticed an itty bitty teen tiny scratch on her hand. Some kids are very stoic and take such injuries in stride, while others are more dramatic. And that's all we'll say about that. ;o)

Through all of it, the service continued. (For those that don't know - my dad is our priest. That's him below)

We ended with a procession around the property to bless it with Holy Water.

There may have been a bit of sprinkling little girls with water too. But only maybe - not that the laughter of the girls below would be any clue.

It sure will be wonderful when the grassy field has been replaced by an actual church building.

May God grant that the next phase of construction will continue smoothly, and we can meet our goal to be in the new temple by the end of the year!