Update on the New Saint Martin de Porres Church in Nkanchi
I lack the adequate vocabulary to report on the progress made on the New Saint Martin de Porres Catholic Church in Nkanchi village. The schedule shows that the roofing will be completed by next week. The carpenters are doing a marvelous job. Looking at how far we have gone, I can only render my immense and sincere gratitude to you and ask God to give you your heart’s desires, especially at Christmas.
After the roofing, a lot will still need to be done: the ceiling, the plastering, the painting, the pews, the windows, the doors, the surroundings, the acquisition of different statues, and the church bell. We will still need about $150,000 to complete the work on the Church.
When we began the work on this Church in November 2021, I wondered whether it would ever be a reality. It is now more than just a reality. It is a divinely inspired work of God through the hands of God-fearing people relentlessly donating to ensure this Church's building comes to fruition. I cannot thank you enough, donors of KumboKids and Community, for your generosity inspired by your faith in God. You believe that what you are doing is for God, and that is why God will keep blessing you, and I pray that God should bless you abundantly.
Given all this, I thank you for your commitment to helping me realize this giant project. Thanks to you, it is a great miracle to have reached this far with the Church building.
Installation of the zinc roofing on the new church in Nkanchi. - early December 2024
A Time-table of recent construction:
We began preparing the material for the roofing on November 7, 2023, by buying some trees to saw into planks. The sawing of the planks took quite some time because of bad roads during the rainy season and the constant blockage of roads by the rebels of the Anglophone socio-political crisis. We needed 1,000 2x6 five meters planks at 5,500 FCFA each ($11.00), 1,000 2x6 four meters planks at 4,500 FCFA each ($9.00), and we needed 1,000 poles for the scaffolding at 1,200 FCFA each ($2.4). These sums exclude transportation costs. The poles were the last set of materials to be transported to the building site, and this took place on June 11, 2024. On Monday, June 24, 2024, the able carpenter, Mr. Yufenyuy Bertrand, and his co-workers began the scaffolding.
The work on the rafters continued from June 2024 through September 2024. Alongside this were other materials like nails and a tole list. The rafters were all done by the end of September, but we needed to get some funds to place an order for the zinc roofing materials. We were able to place the order on October 6, 2024. Since we did not have all the money for the zinc, we had to try to get some more funds from the Dayton Foundation to pay the company producing the zinc. Once a substantial amount of money was paid ($26,000), the company released the zinc on Friday, November 15, 2024. On November 21, 2024, six days later, the zinc roofing materials reached Nkanchi village, and the people came out numerously to welcome the materials as if they were welcoming the pope. Even though the zinc truck arrived in Nkanchi at 7:00 p.m., the people did not hesitate to come out immediately to welcome the roofing material. This was a sign of their appreciation, which they expressed in their native language, Kiyone (thank you).
On Monday, November 25, 2024, the able carpenter, Mr. Yufenyuy Bertrand, and his co-workers began the work by putting the gutters around the roof. The work advanced so quickly that the roofing was almost complete. They are left with one side that faces the school. The zinc color is pink, and the roof looks beautiful.
When we began the work on this Church in November 2021, I wondered whether it would ever be a reality. It is now more than just a reality. It is a divinely inspired work of God through the hands of God-fearing people relentlessly donating to ensure this Church's building comes to fruition. I cannot thank you enough, donors of KumboKids and Community, for your generosity inspired by your faith in God. You believe that what you are doing is for God, and that is why God will keep blessing you, and I pray that God should bless you abundantly.
Lambrile roofing in a contemporary church in the Diocese of Kumbo.
We want to do the ceiling after the roofing, which will be done by December 14, 2024. The ceiling material (lambrile—a type of planed plank) is $6,500 ($13.00) per square meter. The carpenter is still waiting to make the estimates, but he has already roughly estimated that doing the ceiling with this beautiful material will cost about $50,000. Then, we also need to do the plastering before taking down the scaffolding to be cost-effective. We already have some sand for the plastering, but we need cement and gravel for the plastering and the flooring. The windows and doors, the pews and the sanctuary, the altar, the tiling, and the statues are some things that need to be done.
Given all this, I thank you again for your commitment to helping me realize this giant project. Thanks to you, it is a great miracle to have reached this far with the Church building. Since there is still much to do, I will solicit your help to finish this great edifice/monument for the Church in Nkanchi, the Diocese of Kumbo, and the Universal Church. We want to inscribe your names somewhere in the Church for the faithful to pray and thank God for you while calling you by name. May God continue to reward you abundantly.
With Saint Paul in 2 Corinthians 13:14, I bless you, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." May the Almighty God bless you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN.
-Fr. Emmanuel Fale Lon, S.D.