What a building!

For my post today, I kind of just wanted to talk about how support of people and churches can really impact others, and how support can help any mission field. Nett Lake Baptist Church was first built in the 1950s, and was still standing until March 2003. Needless to say, it was falling apart. When we first started going to Nett Lake, we used to sleep in the church, so we saw everything. The kitchen was in the basement, and it could only get so clean, not the most comfortable looking place. The entire place smelled like mold. When I first walked in, my dad told me that I would be grossed out, but the next time I saw it, I would breath in and I would love it. He was right, and even though there is a wonderful new building, I still find myself missing the old one.

The church bought the land for the new building for $1 from the tribe, and the church members began saving money to build a new church. They managed to collect $150,000 by donations from other churches and money they had gathered themselves. In June 2001, the first hole was dug for the basement. My team was up there, and a few guys stayed behind to help dig it. Through the next two years, members of many teams came up to help build, and many more donated materials. There were over 15 different groups that helped make this dream possible for the Nett Lake church. In March 2003, the new building was dedicated, and at the ceremony there were over 100 people, anxious to see it finished and ready to see what God was going to do through it. When I first went to Nett in June 2001, there were usually 5 to 10 people at church every Sunday. Today, there are an average of around 60 people, a huge blessing.

The entire building process was started by Mark Salmela, who was the Pastor at the time, and was finished with Wally and Shirley Olson, who have worked with Native Americans for over 40 years. Kevin Lasley is now the Pastor, and is doing amazing things with the new building. If the same building were to be built down here, it would cost over $750,000, praise God for everyone who helped build it up there! This was only completed through the power of prayer, and the people God brought into the picture.