My father leaving

Installing the "bubble foil" insulation for the in-floor hydronic heating. Notice the beam and post in the church meeting room.

Tomorrow is a day of mixed emotions. My father, who has been here for about 2 weeks, will be leaving, and then Ryan Wall and Randy Hildebrand will be arriving for a quick few days to help finish the heating and drywall. My father and I got ALL the walls downstairs drywalled and MOST of the ceiling in the large church meeting room. We plan to finish the ceiling tomorrow. We praise the LORD for all the work and for the strength to accomplish it!



Thanks again for your prayers!

Moving on...

The west side of the building, now completed!!

Finishing the gable.

Drywalling the downstairs bathroom. Most of the downstairs in now drywalled!

A rainy day on the job.

Today was rainy and cool all day. Thank God the outside work is mostly done. My father and I spent all day framing and drywalling around the duct work.

The front, rear and side completed!

Drywalling around the heating duct work.

PLEASE PRAY FOR:

• Protection for the building. Last night someone got into the building and stole a cordless drill and large pack of granola bars. We are so thankful to the LORD that they did not do any damage to the building itself. They had to be a bit resourceful to get in by using a ladder to get on top of the boiler shed to reach the emergency exit door which I had forgotten to lock from the inside.
  
• Fuel for the boiler to be piped in so we can fire up the boiler (and the heat)! Temperatures at night are still above freezing, but soon they will be below and we have already filled all the water pipes in the house.
  
• Continued safety for the work being done.
  
  

Some more drywalling completed!

It was another good day of work here in Rankin Inlet. We were able to get quite a bit more drywalling done downstairs. We also had a surprise volunteer come to help. Ruel is a Filipino man that lives in Rankin Inlet, and attends our church with some other Filipinos. (See him on the right in the picture above with my father.) He stopped by for a few hours this afternoon and helped my father and I drywall. I was also able to get all the thermostat wires organized and run to the proper locations. With five different "stats" and two different heating systems, it was a bit challenging.

We also heard today that Randy Hildebrand and Ryan Wall will be returning for a few days to do some additional work on the in-floor hydronic heating. We are so thankful to the LORD for their kindness and help!

Two weeks have gone by

It is hard to believe that two weeks has gone by already! The first five men that arrived on September 4 will leave tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM. We have gotten SO much accomplished, and we praise the LORD for the hard work that has been put in by the work crew. We put in some 12-14 hour days, and worked despite the wind, fog, and rain. We want to say THANK YOU to all the men and women who have helped us in this project. Though there is much left to do before completion, God has blessed immensely and allowed us to get a majority of the work done.

Final supper with the crew.

Colton finishing some work on the cladding.

My father, Richard Jones, just arrived in Rankin Inlet and VERY happy to see his granddaughter Hayleigh!!

We will continue to update this blog...so keep coming back to see more!

Upstairs drywall complete!

Yesterday morning we had Pancakes, Bacon, and Eggs for breakfast. Here the guys are enjoying the mountain of bacon!

ALL THE DRYWALL IS UP ON THE SECOND FLOOR!!

Despite the foggy weather, Crystal Schreiner was able to fly out today. Please pray for good weather tomorrow as my father, Richard Jones, flies in and Bernie Dueck flies out. Also please pray for good weather on Saturday morning as the rest of the crew flies out as well.

Power is on!!

Thank you for checking this blog. Today we finally had the electric meter put in and the power is on!! Our electrician, Frank Kelly, had previously wired some plugs so we could utilize our own power, but this afternoon and evening was the first time for that.

We were able to completely install all of the in-floor hydronic heat tubing and much of the duct work is in place for the downstairs as well. The second floor is almost completely drywalled, thanks to Colton, David P., Randy and Richard! I did ONE piece of drywall in the pantry, but it didn't turn out too well. :o) I'd better get better as I will be drywalling most of the downstairs with my father who arrives on Friday. The water system tested out GREAT with no leaks! Praise the LORD!

Frank Kelly, as well as Pastor Lee Pickett (plumber) left today. We are so thankful for their hard work! They were able to get a lot accomplished that we otherwise could not have.

Crystal, our fabulous assistant cook, leaves tomorrow, one man leaves on Friday and the rest of the larger crew leaves on Saturday morning. PLEASE PRAY for the boiler installation, and that we will be able to complete more of the drywall too! Thank you for your prayers! They are still needed!

To be honest, we're tired...

I guess the title says it all. We are tired, but still had a productive day.

David Krahn installing the in-floor hydronic heating.

Me installing a switch box. (See our older daughter Hayleigh, to the left in the back, walking our puppy in the new house!)

David Parker, Richard, and Randy Hildebrand drywalling the ceiling upstairs. The electrical inspector came by and gave us permission to do a lot of the drywall upstairs, so that was sure a blessing! We STILL are waiting for the electrical service hookup, and have done ALL the work so far using our neighbors outdoor outlet and LOTS of cordless drills, saws etc. PRAISE GOD that though we barely know our future neighbor he has been SO kind to allow us to plug our cords into his outlet.

PLEASE PRAY for the following:

• Electrical hookup to be SOON!
• Boiler installation to go smoothly.
• Strength for us all.
  

MORE PROGRESS to report

Good evening folks. Thanks for checking this blog and thank you for your interest in the work being accomplished here in Rankin Inlet, NU. Today was good day with A LOT being done. Most of the wiring, cladding, and framing were completed today as well as ALL of the insulating.

Bernie Dueck (below) arrived around 1:45 pm and promply "tore" into the work cutting holes for the duct work.

We worked until about 9:15 this evening and had to improvise a light source to get some of the tin on. Here you can see David Parker holding the house lamp and myself and David Krahn installing a piece of tin.

Pastor Lee Pickett did a masterful job of plumbing the domestic water supply, as well as the required circulator pump and meter. Tomorrow is a big day when he will test some of the water lines in the building, and we begin installing the in-floor hydronic heating.

Corey Banman left today to head back to his home. He will be GREATLY missed tomorrow as we begin carrying in A LOT of the drywall. MANY THANKS Corey for taking the time to come and help in the this project.

Not sure if I mentioned in a previous post or not but we were blessed as well to have Nathan Sullivant here from Monday to Friday of last week. He was able to help us get the roof completed and much of the cladding on too. THANK YOU!

Great day of rest...

My wife, Becky, and Crystal Schreiner, who has come up from Uranium City, Sask. to help with the cooking, cleaning etc!

Service tonight in the conference room at a local hotel. We had FOUR first time visitors from the community, for a total of 28!!! David Krahn preached a great salvation message!

David Krahn and myself.

Busy...

It has been a good, BUSY day! Much was accomplished! Please pray for strength for us all as we are getting really tired, and so thankful for a day of rest tomorrow.

Hayleigh Jones and our new husky puppy, Kobuk.

As of this evening, both ends and the front of the building are completely "cladded!" Praise the LORD, it looks SO VERY NICE!!! It was fairly windy all day and it was challenging to install the cladding, but the guys carefullly worked through the challenges. (Aside from Colton standing on a chair on the roof to reach the last few screws) :o(

Frank Kelly, our electrician from Yellowknife, BUSY wiring in the laundry room.

Randy and Richard Hildebrand BUSY framing a closet.

We'd love to hear from you! If you are reading and enjoying this blog please comment and let us know. We will pass the comments on to the crew for encouragement.

Thanks for your prayers...they are making a difference!

Progress!!!

SO SORRY I did not update the blog yesterday, but I just ran out of time. We have been working close to 12 hours a day and that is a LONG day. Yesterday Crystal Schriner from Uranium City, Sask. came in to help with the cooking. She has been a real help already and brought a cooler of REAL Subway meat (a rare treat for us Arctic dwellers).

TODAY is a special day too, because my wife and daughters returned home to Rankin Inlet. They have been gone to make room for the work crew.

Group picture on the shipping container. Front row, left to right, Lee Pickett, David Parker, Randy Hildebrand, Richard Hildebrand, Colton Wall, Nathan Sullivant. Back row, left to right, Nathan Jones, David Krahn, Corey Banman, Frank Kelly.
A human Inukshuk... :o)

The FIRST piece of siding goes up TODAY!! We are about 1/3 of the way done the siding as of 8:30 pm tonight. It's quite a bit of work to cut around the windows.



Richard Hildebrand man-handling a window into place.

Me (Nathan Jones) finishing load number 14 of garbage to take to the dump.

Our skilled roofers!

One side of the roof completed on September 8th, the other completed the next day!! Praise the LORD as they are forcasting rain for Saturday and Sunday.

September progress number 3

Today was a REALLY busy day. I am sorry I am updating this blog so late. The 7 guys from Winkler, MB as well as our plumber from Thompson, MB all moved out of our apartment into a house across town. The family that owns the house is out of town for the rest of the month. We spent some time this evening moving them AND some food, over there.

Since our materials arrived last night, we were able to get A LOT done today. A group of the guys were able to get half of the roof re-done and thankfully there was minimal rotten wood. We also were able to get two exterior doors hung and all the windows in the first floor!! Additionally part of the framing for the upstairs windows was also completed, along with about 4 more trips to the dump with the little trailer and ATV.

There is a GREAT spirit among us all and we are praising the Lord for what he has done so far. MANY folks in the community are VERY interested in the project since it is in a highly visible location on a well traveled road. That has given us some neat opportunities to have some spiritual conversations with some people. We have had one man bring by two fresh ARCTIC CHAR (fish) which we devoured a couple of nights ago. The crew has also sampled some raw beluga whale, known as muktuk. And just tonight we had a local lady bring us some fresh CARIBOU meat too, which will make a nice roast for tomorrows supper.

Below is a picture I took yesterday of the house before the materials were delivered. All the pink you see on the outside is 2 in. foam insulation on top of the exterior plywood. Up here we need ALL the insulation we can get. :o)

Thanks for all your prayers!

Materials on site!!!

Our 30,000 lb container being delivered. (Notice the back tire of the CAT is off the ground)

Container and pallets being delivered.

"Foreman" Randy Hildebrand inspecting our work.

My 4-wheeler and trailer with load #10 headed to the dump.

We also got the food for the crew in a variety of containers!

Waiting...

Well it is almost 5 pm on Tuesday, and we still do not have our materials. There is so much cargo to deliver all around town that and they just haven't gotten to our crates and container yet. We did go and cut open one of the crates and bring two loads back to the site, because we thought the air compressor and nails were in it...but they weren't. PLEASE PRAY that they will deliver our cargo soon!! The weather is great and the crew is ready...but no materials.

September progress number 2

We were able to get quite a bit done today even though our materials did not yet get delivered. We took about 7 loads of garbage to the dump, and were to get some of the interior window and door framing done.

David Parker framing up a window.

David Krahn re-framing a front window.

Corey Banman and Richard Hildebrand, doing a much needed job...cleaning up the mess!

Barge is in!!!

I just got back from the dock, and saw that the barge has arrived!!! Please pray that they can get it unloaded and delivered to the site, ASAP! THANK YOU!

Also, Saturday afternoon and evening we were able to pull off ALL the siding on the house. See the pic below of David Krahn (L) and Colton Wall (R) working.

Artist conception of building

September progress number 1

Main breaker box in the boiler shed.

The meter box...waiting for the meter. Pray that we can get the hook-up SOON!

Our new heating oil tank, costing us, $1574.99.