Bob the Builder

When Bob’s dog , Lucy, was sick Bob built an IV pole in true Bob the Builder fashion.

Perhaps your kids watched that show, “Bob the Builder”.   While I can’t say I ever just sat and watched the show all the way through I certainly remember the chorus because it seemed it was sung 20 times in each episode.

 

“Scoop, Muck and Dizzy and Roley too
Lofty and Wendy join the crew
Bob and the gang have so much fun
Working together, they get the job done”

When we moved to Papua, Indonesia we learned to appreciate Bob’s attention to building things right.   The house the General Conference commissioned to be built for us to live in is a testament to doing things right.  You can read my wife’s blog about this house. or here or this one and another.   You get the picture Bob’s building got a lot of attention from this family.

In 22 years of living in Papua it is rumored that 51 churches, schools or pastors houses were finished or assisted with under the direction of Bob Roberts the Builder.   I’ve heard of 14 teachers houses being remodeled or built by Bob and team.   In addition to that Adventist Aviation Campus has at least 11 new buildings and 2 remodeled buildings as the result of Bob the pilot, builder.   Adventist Aviations flying helped pay for many properties that those churches or schools were located on.   To say that he paid for it all would be unfair to the hundreds who personally sacrificed.   But it seemed Bob was always helping with a building somewhere – not just financially but often himself or a staff member went to help.   

While some funds were donated from donors from abroad most came from Bob’s constant flying.   18,000+ hours of flying in Papua alone.  Bob not only housed and gave work to dozens but he helped send students to schools by the dozens every year.   Bob was a real teacher when it came to building.    He expected things to be done right.   If it wasn’t you needed to tear it out and do it right.  

Tinibil:  The Church (right) and pastors house (Left) that together are about 60% finished.   Bob flew here on April 6 just 3 days before his crash on April 9 at about 9:15 a.m.   This Tinibil trip was Bob’s last missionary flight.   He flew the next flights and even the one he crashed in to support missions.

There was one church Bob won’t get to see finished.   It was getting close to finished.    It’s located an hour flight away from the base here in Doyo Baru high in a Mountain village by the name of Tinibil.   This is a village lies near the center of the Island along the border with PNG.  Bob had a passion for seeing this church built with a Pastors house and a nice church for at least 200 people.   We stopped in Tinibil on our way home from a 6 day trip of the Southern part of Papua.   Bob was a bit disappointed because this church and Pastors house had cost far more than he’d hoped and still it about 40% from being finished.

One of the pressing concerns we’ve had since Bob’s funeral on April 11 is how are we going to finish this project?     We don’t have a pilot to take us there.  One day in prayer I felt impressed to ask the Roberts family and the staff at Adventist Aviation what they thought of doing a mission trip to finish this church.    So at present we are trying to raise the additional $5,000 to finish this project.   The $5,000 will go to help charter the flight and get the remaining supplies to finish this project.    Adventist Aviation staff and myself will go on June 2-9 and try to finish as much as possible on this project.   I guess this project will have to be finished by us -- “Scoop, Muck and Dizzy and Rolly too. . . working together we’ll get the job done.”

If you’d like to donate to the $5,000 needed please donate to: Battlefield Community Church of SDA (Seventh-day Adventists)  PO Box 5306 Ft Oglethorpe, GA 30742.   Please mark checks for Papua Evangelism Fund (“Bob’s Churches”).

 

Bob Standing with the few members and interests of the Tinibil church on the almost finished side of the church.

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The stage and benches and windows and doors and the rest of the side walls need to be finished and the pastors house is only 20% finished. 

 

The Church in Tanah Merah that Bob was helping with.   This was the last church that Bob spoke in on Sabbath afternoon April 5.    One line from his message to the young people was, “I won’t be around here tomorrow (we left the next day) but you have to work hard and pray hard to finish this work.”   This tomorrow may have been prophetic.

A Church in Amk that Bob was hoping to help with in the near future.   This one will last another year and then the termites will cause it to collapse one day.

Land in Bade that as soon as the official documents could be had, “We need to get going on”, Bob had said as we passed over this land.