The Shop

The shop area of the Mission is a very busy place. It consists of a wood shop and a maintenance area (all kinds of maintenance, from vehicle to electrical, etc.) The first few pictures are of the outside of the main shop building.

The wood in the next photo is for constructing the furniture for the new secondary school that is scheduled to open in January of 2010. All the wood is rough cut and "green"; it must be air dried before it can be used.

The next view is of the inside of the wood shop. Although there is much hand work to all of the projects at the mission, there is a joiner and a surface planer. Drill presses, table saws and power hand saws are also available.

The next photo shows desks and chairs that are being made.

These desks and chairs are in the primary school, but they are the same type that are being made for the new school.

This is another area of the shop. Although you can see several lawn mowers around the mission shop, it is doubtful that any of them are serviceable. No parts are available in Tanzania. All mission mowing is done by hand - sling blades.

This is a parts room.

Next is the vehicle maintenance area. The tractor under the shed roof is separated between the rear axle and the engine. The parts needed cost too much to complete the repair. The white Land Rover "Defender" in the right of the photo is one of two being put together to make one vehicle. Oil changes and tire repairs are done under this shed or on the open ground nearby.

The truck in the photo is known as "Big Blue". It blew a head gasket while we were there because one of the head bolts had been left out. Bill Stinson had to become involved to see that a proper repair was accomplished. In less than a week, Big Blue was going down the road again.

This is a picture of electric generator that Bill Stinson had refurbished on the Mission property to use in the new water pump shed. It will provide electrical power to pump water in the event the public power fails. We saw it moved into place in a new building while we were there.

Next is one of the fire places for burning trash.

We alternated between the shop and the hospital for our devotional each weekday morning at 7:30. (During the school year there are five devos going on every morning at the same time.) Men who work in the shop area usually lead the devotionals and lead the singing; this is considered part of their paid workday. Bill, Chris, Menard, Ezekiel, and a few others also speak. Visitors are commonly asked to give short talks. Afterward, it is also a good time to make daily work assignments and rehearse what was accomplished the day before.

Next is a picture of Eddie giving a devo message with Menard as his interpreter.

The following video that Debbie D. took gives you a view of the shop devo. We did not get a video of the singing, but it was very good each day.