Sunday 26 January 2014

Construction

Nine years ago we were blessed to be able to buy an appartment.   "Buy" in the sense that we took a loan from a bank and have been paying it back for the last decade - and have at least another decade to go in payments.

Our home on the 7th floor of building No. A-9 of the "Happy Valley Homes Building No. 9 to 13 Cooperative Housing Society" was a great blessing to us in many ways.  Airy.  Relatively quiet.  With a view of the hills (until 2 big buildings were built there of course).  And located right next to our then Jeevan Sahara Kendra clinic. The set of events which ended up with our moving in in Feb 2005 was nothing short of miraculous on a number of counts.

Enoch was only 2 when we moved and the first night he stood up in the middle of the night and pointed in the direction of the front door and plaintively said 'home!'

After 6 happy years at our 'Happy Valley' flat - we moved to a rented place a stone's throw away from our Jeevan Sahara Kendra centre at the old Lok Hospital building.

What should we do with the 'Happy Valley' flat?  We wanted to rent it to people who really needed it - and who would use it for God's glory.  Rahul and Anu Thomas fit the bill.  This young couple were working with a local church - and often had young people over. Our pattern of having meetings in the home continued.  We were thrilled by these lovely recently-marrieds.

When they had to leave, we were so happy that the flat blessed another new couple - the very freshly married Anshuman and Alankrita Singh who are serving at field staff of the Evangelical Medical Fellowship of India.   In December Alankrita gave birth to a beautiful daughter - Anandita.  Alankrita and Anshuman both went to his native place in West Bengal for this.

Two weeks ago we were in the flat when we saw that the paint was peeling and the floor tiles were bulging in different places.  The idea came into our head about doing renovations to the flat while Anshumnan and Alankrita are with their daughter in Bengal.   Some prayer, then checking our finances, then calling our contractor Ashok.  The more prayer.  Taking a small loan.  And we finally took the gut decision to 'go for it.'

Before we knew it, Ashok and his mighty men were already hard at work.


The tiles were soon broken up, and large new tiles are being laid the floors.   Next up was scraping off all the paint from the walls , and applying a plaster layer - and then primer on the walls - and finally a make-over using off-white paint.

Here are Ashok (middle) with two of his men.  They have now worked steadily and currently only the bathroom / toilet floor remains.   We are hoping that it that the flat will all ready before Anshuman and Alankrita and baby Anandita arrive in early February. 

We are pretty sure that it will look so much more spiffy than this - but we know that this kitchen has been such a blessing to so many over the years - and hope and pray in its new 'clothes' that it will continue to bless in and through do so with Alankrita and Anshuman - and our new little friend  Anandita come back to Mumbai / Thane! 


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