New Iowa Suite bathroom After returning from our week away, we got back into the swing of things at Faith. The end of the month was the deadline to have the new room in Peeler ready. While Pat and Fred made the finishing touches, we made progress elsewhere.
New Internet architecture in telecom closet Backing Up
The internet at Faith is used more and more by different groups using the campus. So, when it is not available, it creates problems. To help increase its reliability, Dave developed a plan to run an ethernet cable with the necessary switches and routers to the outbuildings that are most vulnerable. With help from Ron and Sheila, who ran the wires from the Office to Peeler to Wesley to the apartment and then to A building, we were getting closer to activating the new routers.
The internet at Faith is used more and more by different groups using the campus. So, when it is not available, it creates problems. To help increase its reliability, Dave developed a plan to run an ethernet cable with the necessary switches and routers to the outbuildings that are most vulnerable. With help from Ron and Sheila, who ran the wires from the Office to Peeler to Wesley to the apartment and then to A building, we were getting closer to activating the new routers.
Cathy dusted off her skills at fitting the 8 wires into the Cat6 and Cat5E connectors. We re-activated some existing wires that had been in disuse for several years, and once in place, the secondary routers were put live and were working well. We then moved back to the office telecom closet to sort out the 2 feeds. By installing a new shelf, we were able to split the wires into the 2 different feeds. To make a fail-over easy in the case of an outage, Dave installed some short cables to allow the change from one router and switch to another. With some new instructions for how to make the switch, hopefully a failure will not be difficult to manage when we are away.
While we were at it, we responded to some complaints that the wifi in the campground was not very strong. In addition to fixing a few problems with existing routers, Dave had Ron run some new ethernet wire to a closer position to the campground and we installed a router in Asbury nearer the campground. It seems to work better than before, but the jury is still out.
While we were at it, we responded to some complaints that the wifi in the campground was not very strong. In addition to fixing a few problems with existing routers, Dave had Ron run some new ethernet wire to a closer position to the campground and we installed a router in Asbury nearer the campground. It seems to work better than before, but the jury is still out.
Dave learns how to copy keys Locking Up
Locked out.
Due to a combination of errors, the new pre-school had locked themselves out of their rooms on their opening day. We were asked to help get them back in, which was more complicated than just unlocking the door. We actually had to remove a door to get them in. To make it more complicated, the volunteer who had been working on re-keying the locks had gone into the hospital. We decided to start learning how to become locksmiths.
The school had 3 doors, and although there were 3 knobs keyed to their new key, each had a problem. The first door’s key went in fine, but just spun around in the lock. We learned that there were 2 different length “tails” within the lock mechanism, and this one had the shorter tail incorrectly inserted. By switching to the longer tail, the lock worked fine. Just one problem. Try as we might, we couldn’t get the door knob back on the lock. After much trying, Dave accidentally succeeded in putting it on. Just one problem, we couldn’t get his key back out. After a frustrating afternoon of trying different techniques, we set the knob aside. Maybe we could create another key case in another knob for the same key and use that instead?
Locked out.
Due to a combination of errors, the new pre-school had locked themselves out of their rooms on their opening day. We were asked to help get them back in, which was more complicated than just unlocking the door. We actually had to remove a door to get them in. To make it more complicated, the volunteer who had been working on re-keying the locks had gone into the hospital. We decided to start learning how to become locksmiths.
The school had 3 doors, and although there were 3 knobs keyed to their new key, each had a problem. The first door’s key went in fine, but just spun around in the lock. We learned that there were 2 different length “tails” within the lock mechanism, and this one had the shorter tail incorrectly inserted. By switching to the longer tail, the lock worked fine. Just one problem. Try as we might, we couldn’t get the door knob back on the lock. After much trying, Dave accidentally succeeded in putting it on. Just one problem, we couldn’t get his key back out. After a frustrating afternoon of trying different techniques, we set the knob aside. Maybe we could create another key case in another knob for the same key and use that instead?
Pins needed to key locks That took us down a whole new set of paths. We learned more about master keys and operating keys. Setting pins in lock cases is detailed work and we fell into a lot of pitfalls as we were learning. Since we were making no progress getting any doorknobs on or off, we decided to learn some by taking on another task – re-keying the various gate padlocks to accept an operating key for the tenants as well as a master key. This proved more successful. Of course, it did take us all of a morning to do one lock, but once we got the hang of it, we managed to do each successive one in much less time. With our better understanding of the master – operating key relationship, we decided to order a half dozen operating keys to stage the re-keying of more locks in the future.
With the padlocks done, we had to return to the doorknob issue. Using some videos and an already disassembled door knob lockset, we finally figured out the “trick”. Once we got it, there was no stopping us. It was Thursday when we returned to the school and installed the doorknob we had first removed on Monday. The 2nd door had no knob installed, but the re-keyed knob was available. We assembled and installed it without incident. Two down! The last door had a minor problem that wasn’t critical, but because we were now full of ourselves, we removed the knob to flip the lock, since it had been installed upside down.
We started to get carried away. Another door in the same building needed to have its lock changed from one master to another. Done. Fred wanted a lock on the back room in Peeler. Sure thing. Door knob on and off. Done. We were on a roll! Of course, now we just had to go back and fix the 3 padlocks we had broken in the process of learning how to re-key them. Oops.
We started to get carried away. Another door in the same building needed to have its lock changed from one master to another. Done. Fred wanted a lock on the back room in Peeler. Sure thing. Door knob on and off. Done. We were on a roll! Of course, now we just had to go back and fix the 3 padlocks we had broken in the process of learning how to re-key them. Oops.
Dave fitting A/C Drain on Wesley roof Draining Out
Since we had (mostly) finished painting the Wesley Hall roof, it was time to re-install the A/C drain to route the water off the roof and minimize the risk of water ponding on the roof and deteriorating the recent paint job. There are 2 HVAC units on the roof. Each would be connected via ¾” PVC to a long 3”PVC run toward the SE corner of the roof. We also had to ensure there was some slope to the pipe to ensure the water would continue to flow. It assembled pretty easily, since Dave had planned and purchased all the couplings and pipe required. Once in place, we could turn the AC units back on. However, since the weather is still pretty cool, we haven’t had a chance to test the new drain to see if it performs as expected. But this is Florida. That day will not be too far in the future.
A few days later, Cathy painted the pipes and the supports to protect them from UV and lock the supports down to the roof. Now, we just have to wait for hot weather. We're not in too much of a hurry.
Since we had (mostly) finished painting the Wesley Hall roof, it was time to re-install the A/C drain to route the water off the roof and minimize the risk of water ponding on the roof and deteriorating the recent paint job. There are 2 HVAC units on the roof. Each would be connected via ¾” PVC to a long 3”PVC run toward the SE corner of the roof. We also had to ensure there was some slope to the pipe to ensure the water would continue to flow. It assembled pretty easily, since Dave had planned and purchased all the couplings and pipe required. Once in place, we could turn the AC units back on. However, since the weather is still pretty cool, we haven’t had a chance to test the new drain to see if it performs as expected. But this is Florida. That day will not be too far in the future.
A few days later, Cathy painted the pipes and the supports to protect them from UV and lock the supports down to the roof. Now, we just have to wait for hot weather. We're not in too much of a hurry.
Moving In
Faith UMC lost a few tenants last year and that has made their finances more difficult in the intervening months. In order to better utilize the bunkhouses, which can be rented to church or mission groups visiting the area, we had been working on remodeling a room in Peeler, the first of 3, that would accommodate volunteers and / or youth leaders with a bedroom / bathroom, similar to an hotel room. Pat and Ron had been staying in the men’s bunkhouse since December, but we had a group arriving on February 29th, which meant they had to move out before then.
Faith UMC lost a few tenants last year and that has made their finances more difficult in the intervening months. In order to better utilize the bunkhouses, which can be rented to church or mission groups visiting the area, we had been working on remodeling a room in Peeler, the first of 3, that would accommodate volunteers and / or youth leaders with a bedroom / bathroom, similar to an hotel room. Pat and Ron had been staying in the men’s bunkhouse since December, but we had a group arriving on February 29th, which meant they had to move out before then.
Fred puts finishing touches on plumbing under sink in Iowa Suite bathroom With a few days to spare, Pat and Fred finished their work in what had been christened the “Iowa Suite”, in honor of Ron and Pat’s home state. Ron had refinished a wardrobe that just fit into the corner of the bedroom. He ran the cable to Peeler as well. Over the course of several days, they moved out of the bunkhouse and into their new “suite”. There are common rooms (TV room, kitchen, etc.) that are still being worked on. With construction still going on in the back of Peeler on rooms 2 and 3, the building is still a work in progress, but the progress being made is a good thing.
The gym is another untapped resource for the church, since its long-time tenant moved out in May. Sandy and Bobbi continued working to clean it up, and made some amazing progress, which seemed to pay off. Some short-term tenants have come to rent it, which makes better use of it and brings in some much-needed income.
Planning for Summer School
With the disbanding of World Relief in Jacksonville last summer, several organizations have been trying to fill the void left behind. One of those is Kim’s Open Door, which held an open house to inform and recruit new volunteers for the Summer School still scheduled to take place on Faith's campus this summer. (And also another reason for running the internet cables to A building.)
With the disbanding of World Relief in Jacksonville last summer, several organizations have been trying to fill the void left behind. One of those is Kim’s Open Door, which held an open house to inform and recruit new volunteers for the Summer School still scheduled to take place on Faith's campus this summer. (And also another reason for running the internet cables to A building.)
So, on a Monday afternoon, we took a trip around the world, meeting former students from summer school and enjoying some food from their region of the world. With the help of this event and other outreach for funds and volunteers, we are optimistic that another summer school will have its continued positive effect this summer.
