If you’ve driven past the new building anytime in the last months, you’ve noticed that not much has happened. The parking lot is graded, but not finished. There are portions of sidewalk near the building that are poured, but, again, not finished. There’s a bit to be done yet to bring the project to completion.
There has been a long pause in work for a couple of reasons. First, our general contractor, Lefever, had a retirement in their company. No, the entire company didn’t shut down and go to the Bahamas to celebrate, but the company’s license to contract work in Denver was held in this person’s name. As a result of their retirement, the Denver license was never renewed. Without the license, work on our project came to a halt.
The second issue that has caused a delay has to do with our construction permit. When the plans were put to the city for inspection and approval, the city somehow overlooked a signoff from their Right of Way department. It was discovered when an inspector who was inspecting sidewalk work near the building realized that the sidewalk plans were never approved as part of the initial building permit. Our plans had to be resubmitted to the city to undergo approval again.
The good news is that after months of delay, both of these issues have been resolved. Our final building permit (with changes) was again approved, and Lefever just recently regained their Denver contracting license. We are very hopeful that construction will begin again in the near future.
Please continue to pray for our building project. The delays have not come without increased costs. Besides increases in pricing due to inflation, etc., the city will require us to replace much more of the street sidewalk than originally budgeted.
Still, we know God’s promise is to be with us always and to work good in every circumstance for those who love him. We are thankful that we have been so warmly welcomed by our brothers and sisters at Christ Lutheran Church and have had such a wonderful place to worship these past years.
Psalm 121 says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.”
What comforting and encouraging words from our God! Where does our help come from? It comes from the Lord, mightily and full of grace. In this season of Lent we look to the cross of Christ as God’s love is displayed for all to see. If He did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all (Romans 8:32), we can be assured of his powerful love and his perfect care. And so, we pray that the Lord will bless these final stages of construction, and we look forward to worshiping in our own church building soon. God be with us!