We Have a New Church Building!

In the short 18 months since we arrived we've watched our church organization grow from a branch to a ward to being so big that we had to relocate to a larger villa to accommodate all the members.  After searching for the right building, (it was a home being built as a "spec" home by a local contractor), making the appropriate changes, and finally moving everything across and off the island, we are finally settling into the new villa.  Today was the first day of meetings in the new church.  It was exciting to be able to feel the roominess of the place but to also realize how many people were in attendance.  It was a huge congregation.

In order to help many of the members get to the church and home again there is a bus that leaves from a central part of the island in the morning, delivering people to the church and then returning after the 3 hour meeting block.  Taxi's are hard to find once people get off the island and can be quite expensive.  Since so many members depend on taxi's for transport, the bus was packed full.  

The villa is beautiful, brand new, and there is room for every class to have it's own room and for everyone to fit into the chapel for sacrament meeting services.

Yesterday, the Primary had the first party in the place.  We kicked off the new theme for 2008 with a cinnamon roll breakfast, games and a craft for the kids.

It's been a long, busy week for Brad trying to coordinate the move of everything and manage the final touches on the stand and pulpit and arranging for caretakers to move into the building.  Hopefully, things will slow down a little now.

Believe it or not this is just part of the huge kitchen in the villa.  And, there is another (normal) size kitchen on the main level.  I don't know who the contractor thought would live in this house but it seems he was inspired to create...perhaps a new cannery for the church????

The Abu Dhabi Ward Primary party at the new church villa.  It's a new year which brings a new Primary theme.  This year it's I am a Child of God.  Each child created a book about them with a picture of them on the cover showing them wearing a crown as a prince or princess.

Cairo with her project.  Her book about her.

All the kids had a great time creating a book about them.  They cut out pictures of things they liked to do and eat and pasted them into the book to tell about themselves.

In our previous villa we had a stand with a microphone attached.  In the new villa we have a nice stand so everyone, even the back row, can easily see the speaker and the others presiding over the meeting.  It's surprising what a difference it makes to be able to see people!

Finishing touches are made to ready the chapel for church on Friday, Jan. 11th.  The first day of church in our new villa.  Yea, we have room for everyone to sit in one room for sacrament meeting!

The view from upstairs.  Looking down on the chapel and the baptism fount (swimming pool).

Lots of last minute cleaning of floors and laying down carpets in the chapel.

Busy Bishopric

Brad, Brother Rene (1st Counselor) and Bishop Stone were busy watering plants, polishing floors, dusting railings, monitoring the Party and assuring things were ready for our first sabbath in the new church villa.