Sunday, September 23, 2007

Beyond Pipes and Walls

This week found some of the Compton Heights women at the Southeast Gateway Area retreat at Orchard Crest Camp. The retreat keynoter was our own pastor Jacque Foster.




Jacque
, Eva, Janice, Norma and Judi repre- sented Compton at this gathering of about 35 women. The rustic accommodations at the camp are both charming and something we are more aware of as we think about accessibility. Very little of the camp ground is easy access if a person has issues with arthritis or other mobility limits. But we had fun, anyway, and Jacque was a great leader. It was great to share Compton's mission with others from the area--note those Compton T-shirts!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, or church, most of the past week in construction has been about water, how to route it, how to drain it, and how to turn it on and off. Or so it seems. At right, new pipes are roughed in to serve a new sink in the kitchenette.






Both waste and supply pipes that once inhabited the space between the old kitchen- ette and old bath rooms have now been completely rerouted through the floor, up the walls and criss crossing the ceiling to gain access to the upper floor. A marvel of cast iron, copper and pvc.

As they have worked, the plumbers have been frustrated by the lack of working shut off valves in our building. Most of them appear to be frozen open, not a good thing. New this week is this excavation just outside the education building entrance to uncover a supply line that enters the kitchen on the ground level. Yes, it has a valve. The valve is open. It needs to be replaced. Stay tuned.

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