Closer, but not there yet

A couple of weeks ago we were past the stage shown here in this exciting photo taken in the darkest days of the bathroom replacement project. Two weeks ago the new tile was in and the shower stall in place; the good news was that there was no leak into the neighbor's kitchen below us, but the bad news was that there were leaks from the stall itself into the bathroom. That, too, was eventually resolved (had to call the plumber back three times before he got it right), but then we discovered that at some point around the time this picture was taken, while they were digging up the old floor and relaying the sewer lines, the workmen punched through an electrical conduit in the ceiling of the neighbor's hallway directly below. The wiring was severed and the tube so damaged that we can't run new wires through it. I've tried calling the plumber to have him come make it right, but he won't answer the phone... Maybe(?) the next time I write, the bathroom project will no longer be a news item.


On a brighter note, we have had Gabriel and his brother Stephen to help us get the outside walls painted. They were in dire need of painting. Fabio came and helped them for a couple of weeks, too.




There are more pictures here.


These other pictures below of Stephen and his brother Michael and Fabio were taken at the church outing today.


























For more detail about how those pictures came about, check out the album with pictures of the church outing, which includes this interesting one:



This was definitely not a hands-on discussion.

We enjoyed the participation of Pastor Paulo Pascoal (below, with José Carlos) and his family, who are spending their vacation time on Madeira this year. He is the director of the Baptist Seminary in Lisbon.



More photos of the outing can be seen here. The weather was great, and so was the fellowship. And the fellowship will be great in the Lord's house later today, we know.

41

A year ago today was our 40th wedding anniversary, so what does that make today? Sunday. No special celebrations; we enjoyed being with God's people, rejoicing in their victories and praying for them in their distresses.

Jackie and Jaime are on the mainland, as I mentioned previously. She took her test results to a doctor there, who told her basically what the doctor said here: there's nothing they can do for her, no medication they can give her. Simply put---for some unknown reason, the cells in her body are dying. Her kidneys and liver are going, and that's only the start of the list of her problems. She was told to lead a quiet life and eat simple, healthy food, and above all, avoid stress. Doctors have given up, but God's people continue to do what they can by praying.

Tânia went to the mainland a few weeks ago to have radioscopic surgery (as best we understood what was to happen) due to brain tumors. Even before she left, she said that she knew God had touched her. When she got to Porto, the doctors said there was nothing to operate on and she could come back home. She was back today and pleading for the opportunity to be baptized and to give her testimony. We'll probably schedule the baptism for early September when most of our folks who are away on vacation will be back.

The dusty, dirty part of the bathroom remodelling work is done. Alas, the wet and not-so-wonderful game of hide-and-seek-to-find-the-leak is not. We had a shower cabinet installed, but the plumber apparently didn't get silicone sealant in all the right places. We had a flooded bathroom floor Friday night when we used the new shower for the first time. The plumber had to come back yesterday to seal around some of the parts. It didn't leak there this morning when I took a shower, but it did leak in another area of the cabinet. Had to make another date with the plumber for tomorrow. We're going to have to stop meeting like this. At least we haven't heard any complaints from the neighbor below us that water was leaking into his kitchen. That's progress.

Not translations this time

My standard excuse for not posting is that I have been swamped by translation work. Not so, this time. I do have an on-going job due for the end of September so there's no hassle. This time it is more of an in-our-face problem...and in our hair, and nose and lungs, and all over everything in sight. We have had to tear out and rebuild our main bathroom.

For years the neighbor below us has mentioned water dripping into his kitchen, which is partially below our bathroom. For years we have tried repairing pipes (even replaced part of the plumbing, which required putting in a new tile floor a few years ago), caulking every possible joint, but in the end, there was still water leaking. A plumber came and gave the verdict: whatever the problem was, it was right under the bathtub.

Couldn't fix the problem without taking out the tub; couldn't take out the tub without tearing up the wall tile and destroying the floor tile. Solution: all new tile on floor and walls, and put in a modern shower stall. Simple. Messy!

Sure enough, after the tub was removed, the poor job done by the plumbers 20 years ago came to light. But removing the wall tile and preparing the wall for the new tile turned out to be more of a job than we were counting on. The old plaster fell off the walls in big chunks, and the walls had to be replastered to be ready for the new tile. And in his enthusiasm at getting the drains the way they should be, the worker cutting a groove in the wall with an electric hammer punched all the way through into the living room. Oops! We hadn't counted on extra bathroom ventilation that low and into the living room, so they'll have to patch the hole in the living room side, too.

In the meantime, we have been sleeping upstairs, where the working, extra bathroom is. And downstairs, where the kitchen and dining room are, we just make sure we dust everything off before we eat it. And I dust off my computer, or my books and papers, before I start working. And just before getting in the car to go anywhere, it's a good idea to knock all the dust off any part of our clothing that may have touched something before we got out of the house. Like the time we had the parquet floors sanded so we could revarnish them... but that's another story I won't dust off and tell here. All I can say is, we can't wait to have the ordeal over with.