Update and Prayer Requests

Hope you had a great Easter. We did indeed. The girls and I are excited about this week and wanted to update you on our project and share some timely prayer requests.

Josh Burg, our builder, has moved our project along much quicker than anyone expected. Within the first week he built the stairs into the attic. Before we knew it, he had finished all of the framing, the new roof, and it was ready for mechanical work and then insulation. At one point, the work was going so smoothly and quickly, we thought we'd probably have Emily's grandmother Oli, who is visiting from Oklahoma this week, as our first guest. She is still coming to Atlanta this week but she won't be staying in the attic addition.

The slow down started when we came to our first round of inspections. We passed the plumbing inspection first try. The electrical inspector passed us second pass. The framing and insulation inspecition looked good at first too. But when he came back for the final insulation inspection he did not sign off. He said we failed to seal off some holes. We looked, and double sealed every penetration we could find. The inspector came pack and failed us again for the same thing. Josh looked over the whole job, resealing even the tiniest openings. Finally, the third time the inspector came, Emily was at home.

The inspector told Emily that he was surprized we had called him again without fixing the problem. Some holes that we had made for wiring in the new ceiling had not been sealed with fire rated caulk. We had been looking in the floor. The inspector was sympathetic to our situation and signed our permit 0n condition that we would send picutres of these holes sealed. They say "the Devil is in the details." Emily and I recently had a theological conversation about that statement and we've been reading C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters. Emily asked whether it made more sense that the Devil would be more in the big things, the motivations, and our relationships than in the details? He probably looks for opportunities wherever he can find them. At this point we are glad this detail has been taken care and we can move forward with the project.

We are now in a bit of a cruch to finish the project. We are scheduled to leave May 18th to serve on Campus Crusade's Miami Summer Project. Here are some specific ways you can pray for our project this week:

1. For efficient and successful work for Josh and his crew this week. They hope to see the sheetrock hung and finished this week.


2. For the final permit we need for the deck and balcony that were added to the project.


3. For the final funding we need for this project, our summer missions assigment, and family expenses this year. We are sending some letters for support this week.


4. For my fraternity house Bible study (just two more weeks) and my completing the work required for my graduation from seminary.

Thanks for praying for us. This is going to be a big week.

Before and after part one

Before shot (before I visited the Paste Magazine Website)

Tonight our house is actually a tent. Three quarters of the roof is gone. The attic insulation is gone. A blue tarp is rustling in the cool (15 degree wind chill!) breeze. But before we bring you up to date on the first part of the building project. We wanted to take you back to why we are going for this project. Here are a couple of before and after thoughts at the heart of why we are expanding.

Before we moved to our current house. We lived in a neighborhood that was roughtly equidistant to the main colleges of Atlanta. We were about 25 minutes South of Kennesaw State University and 25 minutes North of Georgia Tech. Before Samantha, our first daughter, arrived this worked fine.

After we moved to Midtown, just one block from Georgia Tech, we literally had students as our nearest neighbors. Even with the odd hours required to do campus ministry, I can spend quality time with family. It is not rocket-science to learn that missionaries will be better positioned to live among the people they are sent to serve. Before we moved here we did not really realize how much more fun and effective the ministry would be. After the move, we realized the great potential of having such a close proximity.

The more Emily and I talked about the possibility of expanding our home, the more we realized that it was about the future of our ministry. We need room to do what we believe God moved us from Chamblee to one block from the Georgia Tech campus to do, share the gospel and our lives with students.

After Shot: Trent has been Obamiconned!

Expanding - we need your prayers

We want to expand our home near Georgia Tech to be better hosts to the students God called us to serve. On this blog, Emily and I will share the story behind this expansion project and update y'all on how the project is going. Who should read this blog?

1. People interested in how God is working at Georgia Tech
2. People curious how Trent, Emily and the McEntyre girls are doing. (there all sleeping well right now)
3. People interested in the connection between hospitality and Jesus
4. People interested in the building process of expanding a 1924 Bungalow in a period with an attic addition.

Right now we would like to ask people to pray for us to find favor with the City of Atlanta Bureau of Planning. Friday, Dec. 5th at 1:00 pm we have our hearing for the three variances we need in order to get permitting for the project. We have been working on permits since May 2008.

Here is our baby, Kathryn. She's quite sweet. We think she is looking forward to this project getting underway. We'll share more about her and the family in future posts.