Ready for Dental???

Apparently God is!

This afternoon, Cyndi and I had an amazing meeting with our Dental Committee and a representative from Patterson Dental. God is certainly blessing this endeavor! Local offices are donating all the cabinetry (which, if you think about the cabinets in YOUR dental office, is pretty specialized) and a digital Panoramic x-ray machine. There is still a lot to get - we need two dental chairs, sterilization equipment, and all the dental tools - but, if everything goes as planned, our dental setup might be complete by August.

Wow!

Dental is such a big need our community, and we are thrilled that God is allowing us to offer this service much sooner than we had planned. However, there is A LOT involved in offering dental, and we need to be strategic as we enter into this new ministry. Please pray for us:

• that we continue to keep God at the helm of this process;
• that we find excited and committed volunteers to help start up this new ministry;
• that we spend the necessary time in planning for the nuts and bolts of offering dental services (it's more than just gathering equipment!);
• that God shows us where to find solid and continuous funding streams to meet our dental expenses;
• that we find the right balance of staff and volunteer time so that all our ministries can function at optimal levels.

Have a great week!

Gazette Article

Check out the article about His Hands that ran in the Cedar Rapids Gazette this morning:

http://easterniowahealth.com/2011/05/09/volunteers-remodeling-building-for-his-hands-free-medical-clinic/

Pretty great!!

Good Friday Prayer Breakfast

Just wanted to send quick shout out that His Hands received almost $3300 from the Good Friday Prayer Breakfast last Friday! Those funds will definitely be put to good use! What a great and inspiring event - I highly recommend that people attend next year if they can.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the breakfast - Berlinda, Mike, Grant and Trudy, Marion, Jeanette, Amber, and Charles. (6:00am came EARLY, didn't it?!)

Cabinets!

Several months ago, we had been put in touch with Sheryl Konen, director of Kirkwood's Interior Design program. Sheryl's summer Interior Design class will be helping us with the interior design for the new clinic. For the last month or so, Sheryl has been meeting with us and helping us get our proverbial ducks in a row. Sheryl has been an amazing help to us - God truly brought her to us when we needed her!

Recently, Sheryl connected us with Dave Hausmann, Kitchen and Bath Manager at The Ar-Jay Center in Cedar Rapids. Cyndi Ziegler (Clinic Director), Darrell Sanford (Board Member), and I met with Dave and Bill Skelton (an Ar-Jay employee) last week, and they are completely on board with helping us out with cabinetry! They understand that to treat our patients with the dignity they deserve, we not only offer them quality healthcare but also a comfortable and professional clinical environment. They want to help us make the environment the best it can be. With Ar-Jay's assistance, we will be able to put in new cabinetry and include some pieces custom-built for our exam rooms and pharmacy.

Thank you, Ar-Jay!

I am amazed at the work God has been doing with this remodel. There have been so many areas for things to go wrong, but God is proving Himself to be the Master Contractor.

Best,

Sharon (Executive Director)

Building Update: We have walls! (almost)

Yesterday, Cyndi and I went to the new building to talk to the electrician about our electrical needs/preferences. The building looked so amazing that I wanted to share!!

It might not look like much, but a lot of work has been done. As a quick summary, our new building is basically divided into four sections, or bays. (It used to be four separate storefronts, but 30 years ago was converted to one large building.) The floor of each bay was at a different level; for example, the second bay's floor was 4" lower than the first, and the third bay's floor was 3" lower than the second. For the last few weeks, the carpenters have been leveling the floors and framing the walls.

Bay 1:

This picture is taken from what will be the pharmacy, located at the front of the building. If you look closely, you can see the doorways of our four exam rooms. Each exam room is around 90 square feet they are very large and will be very comfortable for our patients, especially when they need to bring a friend or family member. To the right (out of the picture) is a handicapped-accessible restroom.

Bay 2:

As you can see, the carpenters have completed leveling the floor in the second bay and have started framing the walls. Cyndi and my offices are on the left side, and on the right side you can see the breakroom, which will have a small kitchenette and space for volunteers to relax. The are in front is the reception office. The picture itself is taken from the waiting room in the front of the building.

Bay 3:

Here you can see the leveling of floors in action! The floor in the third bay has to be raised around 7". The carpenters are currently in the process of placing the floorboards on our leveled floor. The third bay will house our chiropractic rooms, our physical therapy/massage therapy room, another restroom, and the prayer room. The section in the far back has been reserved for a future dental ministry. (Yes, the purple wall will be repainted!)


We are so excited about our new space and can't wait to share it with everyone! Stay in touch for upcoming open houses. As usual, please contact us for information on how to donate or participate in this relocation.

Small beginnings and big changes...

As you may have heard, we are in the midst of renovating a new building to give us room to breathe and bless us with room for growth. Our contractor Gary has been working hard. A couple pictures from the construction site at 400 12th St. SE:

It may not look like much yet, but we are joyful to repeat the words found in Zechariah 4:10a: "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel's hand."

We are excited for our new building, but only because we are even more excited about the work that God is already doing and will continue to do through this ministry.

Please pray for us as we make our way through this welcome transition -- a lot has been done, but there is still much to do. If you are interested in donating your time or resources, please contact the clinic at 319-862-2636 for more information. Plenty of volunteer opportunities will soon be available for individuals or groups of skilled workers, able bodies, or desiring hearts. Cookie bakers also welcome! :)