During the first week in December, we went to visit my (Tim's) Parents (Michael and Catherine Brooks) in
Blois, France. They have been living there for nearly 7 years now. They are missionaries and God had called them to serve with
France mission in this area in the Loire valley. They have been working with a group of churches there. The main congregation has been worshiping in a "foyer
des Jeunes" (YMCA hall) in
Blois. It has never been the best of setups as it is quite hard to find, they are not
guaranteed of having that room every Sunday and it is getting too small and ill equipped.
After a long time searching, they found a radiology center that was being sold. It needed a lot of work to change its use from medical to a place of worship, but it was just the right size and about the right price. This time last year, the church completed on buying the building and plans started to convert it to a place of worship.
Progress has been very slow and punctuated with problems. But the end is in sight...
the building is on 2 levels: on the ground floor you enter by the lobby, through to the main hall. off the lobby are also some toilet facilities which will need tiling and painting at some point. The ground floor also has a kitchenette (tiling, painting and a worktop and cupboards to be fitted) and an office area.
Upstairs, there are a few rooms for Sunday school and meeting rooms. there is also a fully equipped bathroom with shower!
Outside, there is a garden, most of which will have to be made into car parking spaces. there will need to be some serious space planing and possibly earth moving for that!
There are still a few issues to do with heating, doors and windows not quite fitting. The main hall and the lobby will be decorated by a professional, but they (with a bit of help) will try and do the rest.
Ever since the building was bought and I was aware that it would need work done on it, I have thought that it would be great if a group from
Ebe might go over to help out... a french "noise!" maybe something could happen at Easter or in the summer of 2007... a work/holiday week... let me know what you think!
