Friday, ten days ago, Mr. Zanea called from Braila and said we needed to have guards hired by Monday evening. A truck arrived Monday afternoon and unloaded the first pieces of equipment. The workers started getting the land ready the next morning. Friday afternoon a man with a surveyors instrument marked out the site, and about 5:30 that evening, a big(!) machine, an excavator, started digging the hole. Today it is finished! We're taking lots of pictures. It's really exciting to see something happening, something being done, after all the waiting! Another crew started digging a well which the construction crew will need for the project. They are digging it by hand with good equipment, and it is going fast. They expect to reach a good vein at about 18 to 20 meters (about 60 feet) by this evening. The water will be at least as good or better than the city water, although the clinic will also have city water by the time the project is completed.
The first of three containers of building materials from Washington State left about three weeks ago and should be here between in late June. The second container will leave sometime this week and should be here in early to mid-July. The third container with the insulation and the materials for the interior finishing will be assembled and shipped only after our World Mission Prayer League Work Fund or Clinic Fund and/or Open Door Medical Ministries have received the necessary additional funds.
We are planning a dedication of the land and clinic project for tomorrow, May 23, at 5:30-6:30 p.m. The architect tells us that by then the project will have the stamp and signature of the chief city architect. He states that we can begin even though the "autorizatie de constructie" or building permit doesn't have the final mayor's signature. Romania will have local elections this June, and the mayor, who is on vacation from his mayor's office during the campaign, is not supposed to sign any documents during this time, but apparently he is doing so. There are 30 some candidates for the mayors offices of Bucharest and its six sectors. We are still waiting for official notice about our citizenship, so we won't be able to vote in the elections, but we have some strong ideas about some that we wouldn't vote for.
We are leaving for the states next Monday, May 29, stopping in New York to visit Linnea and Andrei (Milt's daughter and son-in-law) for 3 days, and then spending another two and a half weeks in Minnesota. We will be staying with Linda's sister, Blue Olson, and her family in Prior Lake. We will be back in Romania June 20, just in time for the first container's arrival.
We again want to thank you for upholding us in prayer and also for your generosity in supporting our ministry here in Romania! Also, if you have internet access, please be sure to check our website in a few days, for new pictures! It is: www.odmm.org.