January 24, 2012
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Acquaintances
In Michigan, I would have called someone I knew but was not close to, an acquaintance. For some reason, I discounted having acquaintances. I don’t know why. Probably because I had my friends whom I was close to and I did not need to care about having acquaintances. (I know you are all surprised that such a big word is in my vocabulary!) However, here I have developed some pretty good acquaintances, ones that I think are going to accelerate our ministry and improve the impact that we will have here in Uganda.
I have had quite the experience lately, meeting with different people. I have been encouraged by the people the Lord has for me to meet. I mean, how is it that one would meet a guy from South Carolina, a couple from Nebraska, and some more from Grand Rapids… in UGANDA! There are literally around 1,000-1,500 white people in Uganda, spread across the entire country. And that count includes visitors! It is four one thousandths of a percent of the population (0.004%). Granted one white person in a group of chocolate (a favorable skin color description in Uganda) people kind of stick out! So it is obvious that they are Spirit led introductions.
It is relevant, all of these meetings, to me because of my concern for progress. I have been praying two things specifically about the ministry lately: 1) will we have physical evidence of our ministry when we leave? 2) how will our ministry manage the HUGE gift of the block making machine gifted? And through the meeting of these people from across the US, I have seen answered prayer!
Not many of you know the relevance and importance of the machine we have been gifted. If operated correctly, the block produced will revolutionize the construction of the projects that use it. The block is comparable to a cinder block. However, instead of being made of concrete, our blocks are made mostly of dirt. So the cost of production and the resources needed to make the block are EVERYWHERE. Now the block requires more cost for production than the traditional, kiln fired brick that is in most construction here in Uganda. But the construction cost for building is extremely reduced when you do not need mortar to lay the block for construction. It reduces the cost of construction from 20-50% depending on construction methods. So you can see why we are excited for the blocks to be used in our ministry. They are a great tool to be better stewards!
Ok, now you know why we are excited, and why other ministries are excited to hear of this resource coming to Uganda. Now you need to understand why we needed to pray on how to “manage” the gift. The machine, as you can imagine, is quite expensive, as most good tools are. So the gift entailed the purchase of the machine, with some added training and maintenance parts. We (Neeley’s and WWCS) had to figure out how the machine was going to get to Uganda (estimated cost of $10k). We have to figure out how we can get the rest of the training (another $2k). That just gets the machine here and teaches us how to use it. We really have no idea of where to put the machine. Land could be expensive if the machine and block were put in a retail setting. Not to mention that that complicates the production severely by having to haul in dirt everyday. So that could add another $5-15k to the mix!
The machines capabilities for production is insane! It can make over 2,000 block per 8 hours! That is four times the production rate of the traditional brick. Now that is awesome when you think about how quickly you can make the blocks needed for your project. Take a second and think of it in my rationale… what is the cost to make the daily amount of bricks? That is something that took me a little time to wrap my head around. It costs a little over $500 per day, assuming that the soil and water used is free. If not, 17 yards of soil would be needed daily (think of it as filling your living room with dirt and that gives you an idea of the volume needed). So that is concerning, when we have struggled to figure out how we can get smaller amounts of money just to build.
So now all of you are getting an understanding of how this gift, though it is very exciting, has become a little scary. I knew/know that the only resolve was through prayer. And guess what?!? God answers prayer! Through all of these meetings, if they are finalized like we have been talking, will answer all our prayers! The men from Nebraska want to cover the shipping expense in exchange for block (they will cover the production costs) to be used on their project (a school and 10 orphan homes). The man from South Carolina wants to join with us. He has volunteered to store the machine, but also move it from site to site in exchange for use of the machine occasionally. He also volunteered his team of builders to help in the production of block and construction of buildings when he delivers the machine. This answers more than just the prayer above, this relieves my concern of poor construction to cut corners across the board. This is HUGE!
So now you see that I have a new perspective on acquaintances. I am pumped to see how the Lord works. He has put together a plan that will not only answer our prayers, but will help so many ministries and building projects all across Uganda. Don’t tell all the other ministries that want the block… but in return for them using the block, I get to build! So I am doing what I came here to do. Praise God!
Chad Neeley
Volunteer Construction Coordinator – WWCS Uganda/USA
