Orphan Lodge: Pine Branch Christian Camp

This week our Ukrainian builders, coming from all over the country, started the frame of the children's lodge at Pine Branch Christian Camp. This is a large building with one section being 2-story to house children on the second floor and kitchen facilities underneath. One section of the building will be shorter and will be the auditorium for worship/teaching and cafeteria. Children for many years to come will walk through the doors of this new center into the loving arms of people who have cared enough to invest themselves now for their future!

Monday the posts go up


Tuesday & Wednesday the parallel girts go all the way around the posts to add stability to the structure. The headers go on top of the posts in preparation for the big trusses to be installed later.


Thursday the 25 huge trusses are made by hand, one-by-one. Every plywood gusset is properly nailed and glued on both sides of the 2x6 boards seaming together to form the incredibly strong triangular roof pieces.


The 3-ply posts made from 2x8 pine boards for the center section are long and heavy. Our all-Ukrainian team of builders, some just learning on this project, are excited to see how fast this building goes up.


Victor, 19 years old, is learning to be a foreman. He attends classes through correspondence at a trade school to learn construction. He says his teachers have never seen wood-frame construction.


Pasha, 25 years old, is our senior team leader. He has been a part of training our Ukrainian builders since 2006.


By Friday all the trusses are built and the frame is ready for the crane to come next week to perch the trusses on top.


Please pray for all our builders and us as leaders. Pray for Andrew & Jenny Kelly, the project owners/missionaries. And please lift up the pastors from past and future projects as they all work through their details to get their buildings built and finished.