The Miracle of Living Waters

Living Waters Assembly

9095 Glover Road, Fort Langley, B.C

Dr. Ken & Eunice Gaglardi

Before they call, I will answer …

Isaiah 65:24

Now to him who is able

to do immeasurably more

than all we ask or imagine,

according to the power

that is at work within us,

to him be glory in the

church

and in Christ Jesus

throughout all generations,

for ever and ever!

Amen.

Ephesians 3:20,21

Great Is The Lord

And Greatly To Be Praised!

We have come to the joyous occasion of being able to dedicate this wonderful

building that has been given to us by our GREAT GOD!

We pause to give thanks and honour to the memory of the early pioneers, for their

sacrificial and faithful service to the Lord, often suffering hardship so that a

Pentecostal light would burn in Fort Langley.

To all those who have had a part in bringing Jesus to this community we say

Thanks, Thanks, Thanks! Pastors and people working together to see the light

burn, and working to reach those within their reach for Jesus, and He would say to

you, "Well done, good and faithful servants."

The Fort Langley branch of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada was started in

1940, by Rev. Phil & Jennie Gaglardi. The congregation met in homes in the

beginning years. Summertime brought Vacation Bible Shool to the Fort Langley

Community Center.

The property that we sit on with the former church, as well as our new building,

was purchased in 1945. It was purchased as a large parcel of land with an easement

on it, but there was enough land available for two other large lots which were sold

to help defray the initial cost – God's generous provision!

There was enough timber on the property to build the church so the trees were

logged off – God's gift to the church!

The basement was bulldozed by Bruce and Howard McLeod of Langley, and Alan

Shatschneider of Cloverdale hauled the gravel. A man who was an expert at

blowing stumps was brought in, and we understand that man was Frank Gaglardi,

father of our present pastor, Dr. Ken Gaglardi.

A small sawmill was brought onto the property, and the trees from the land were

used for the basement forms, and the rest of the lumber was used for the

superstructure.

The concrete for the basement forms and floor was mixed on sight in a gas mixer

and wheeled up a ramp and poured manually.

Many of our forerunners came and gave of their time, talents, and treasures to

build our Pentecostal light in Fort Langley.

Pastoral History:

Rev. Phil & Jennie Gaglardi

Rev. Bill & Laurene Drury

Rev. Bert Sutton

Rev. Hugo Johnson

Rev. Roy & Gerda Davis

Rev. Ron & Betty Preston

Rev. Roy & Lois Webb

Rev. Larry & Karin Keller

Rev. Art Zaporazan

Rev. Daniel & Rose Anonby

Dave Murdock

John Welsh

Dr. Roger & Laurel Stronstad

Rev. John & Donna Caplin

Rev. Orst Zelinskey

Rev. James & Nives Cornock

Rev. Jerry Ross

Peter Meister & Ralph Wyatt

Dr. Ken & Eunice Gaglardi

We commend the pastors and lay folk who faithfully worked side by side for over

sixty years. Heaven will reward you!

Living Waters’ future is bright as we look at God’s provision – past, present, and

future. Many lives have been changed, challenged and commissioned to sacrifice

and let their lights shine.

Many have urged that we write down the story of the miracles that occurred during

the construction of the new church. One of those is Lorna Adams, who not only

urged the writing, but spent hours putting it all together. We are indebted to her

and our heritage will be richer because of her efforts.

The Bible says in Joel 1:1-3 “The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of

Pethuel. Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. ... Tell it to your

children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next

generation.”

Thanks for prompting us to do it!

Pastor Eunice Gaglardi

Miracles At Living Waters

As We Built The New Church

The first miracle is that we had faith to begin! There were fourteen of us that voted

to undertake building the new church. We had about $100,000 in the bank, enough

property to build upon, the zoning to allow us to build, the promise of some

volunteer labour, and the commitment of the district that they would support our

application to the international office for a mortgage of up to $270,000 (three times

our annual budget). Together those pieces came close to the estimated cost of

$474,000. So, in 1999, a motion to authorize the building on the condition that the

debt limit be observed was placed before the congregation and passed on a vote of

fourteen to one. Faith was expressed in the hearts of the people.

The congregation was encouraged to vote positively because of the miraculous

hand of God that we had seen before the motion was presented. At several points

we had taken the drawings to the Heritage Committee of the Township. At one of

those early meetings we had to face the fact that the plans showed a 55' high

building in an area zoned for a maximum height of 30'. The congregation was

called to prayer and some chose to fast until the Heritage meeting on Thursday. We

rejoiced when the word came back that the committee wanted changes in the

windows, and in the roof line, but they supported the steeple (the reason for the

extra height). When the building permit application was submitted, there was no

discussion of the height of the church. God answers prayer, and did it so that the

congregation began to see that God had not forgotten Living Waters Assembly.

Another miracle that occurred before we began construction had to do with our

budget. God blinded our eyes to the fact that there was no money in the budget for

the furnaces or the duct work – the whole mechanical area. The cost of that part

turned out to be approximately $100,000. The estimate was drawn up by an

experienced builder, checked by several of us in the church, sent to the district for

their checking and from there to another contractor. The contractor’s analysis was

that the budget was probably more than we’d spend. God blinded all our eyes

because He knew how much faith we had. But when the time came to install the

mechanical, God provided the money and two expert volunteers, Dave Page and

Tommy Owens, who donated three months to install the internal plumbing for the

system. Their work is a continual source of amazement to everyone who sees it.

An early sketch of a very modest new building was done by Don Gaglardi. This

building was straight back from the original building. But we discovered that

Hydro had a wide easement through our property and this plan showed the new

building extending into that easement. We thought we could get permission to

build it there, but we were not successful. That lack of success led us to discuss the

plan with Bob Gaglardi and he drew the sketch of what we actually built. He then

agreed that his men would do the drawings. Another miracle of God! At that stage,

we didn’t realize that Bob’s mother and father had played important roles in

getting the church started so there was a natural empathy for the Fort Langley

work. That initial commitment extended into providing the equipment and labour

for the plumbing, for the electrical (a 400 amp three phase system) and then for the

sprinkler equipment. That connection proved to be very important for us.

Whenever we needed tools we went first to Sandman, whenever we needed a

supplier for something we went to Sandman to obtain their prices for our

purchases, and whenever we needed advice, that resource was always available.

We had no idea that God would bless us so generously.

The architect who did most of the work for Sandman, Vic Pimiskern, was also

miraculously encouraged to volunteer his architectural services for the project. In

addition to Bob’s encouragement, Vic, who is from Austria, had another reason for

his inspiration to donate his services.

In the year 1572, a young boy in Austria had an accident and lost the sight of his

eyes. After a time of grieving, he had a vision of God telling him to go up to a

stream in the mountains to a picture of the Virgin Mary hanging on a tree, and if he

would wash in the stream he would get his sight back. He did this and received his

sight as promised. In response to this, they built a church which has many of the

same features as our present church. The pitch of the roof is the same, the steeple

is similar, there’s an extended entrance and it has decorative belts that run

horizontally around the building. This church in Austria needed to be refurbished

about every fifty years because of the weathering and last time, Vic’s family was in

charge of it. So that church got into the fabric of their family. The name of that

church is The Cathedral of Living Waters. When Vic saw that our church was

named Living Waters, this confirmed to him that he should be involved in it. 425

years ago, half way around the world, God planted a seed that would result in us

having an architect donate his time.

We began construction in October of 2000. That winter while we worked outside

was one of the mildest and driest giving us good conditions for that outdoor period

of construction. God’s mercies were new every morning!

Just before the time for the excavation, we encountered Steve Dunton. It was at a

fund raising dinner for what was then Western Pentecostal Bible College. We went

with the intention of giving and God came with the intention of giving back. But

his shovel was bigger than ours. Steve introduced us to Norm Tapp who had

attended Living Waters church as a child. He agreed to organize the excavation

which is described in the next paragraph. We also received a great deal in the form

of Steve’s continued interest and donations. God plants seeds that mature for His

glory and for our encouragement.

In order to keep the cost down, our first plan was to build on grade – on a slab,

without a basement. Ron Sloan wanted us to put in a basement. So I checked on

the cost of framing the basement without finishing it and found it to be $60,000.

We agreed to do it. The best I had been able to arrange was that we would pay to

have the material dumped on someone’s property and we would pay $15 per load.

But Norm Tapp arranged to sell the sand. He didn’t know how much we would get

until he actually saw what was there – the kind of fill we were dealing with. When

he saw it and others saw it, they wanted to buy it, but Norm managed it and we

finally got $38,300 for the sand. The total cost of the excavation was $41,000 so

our first construction cost was $2700 because God provided the balance in the

value of the sand! We didn’t realize the extent of the miracle until later when we

discovered that fifteen feet to the west of the building was “Ft. Langley brown” – a

worthless loam and to the east of the new building, which is around the original

church, is also worthless dirt. But in the footprint of the church there was sand.

Not only was it wonderful to work with as we prepared for putting concrete in, but

it was worth $38,300. Some time later as we dug two holes for the geothermal

piping, you could see two huge peninsulas of worthless dirt. But under the

footprint of the church was only sand.

While we were installing the geothermal piping for the mechanical heat pumps that

give us heat and air conditioning, another miracle occurred. We dug a hole 60' x

80' about 8' deep out back in the parking area. Just as we were finishing that hole

with one more to dig, the BC Hydro people came and told us that since we were

digging under their lines, we’d have to get their permission before we started the

second hole. We finished installing 1 12 miles of piping in the first hole and

buried it, and then we were ready to begin the second hole. BC Hydro was phoned

at about 10:00 a.m. to ask for permission, and we wanted to start at 1:00 p.m.

There was a long pause and it was clear that the normal contact was too busy to

give us the permission we needed. Another inspector was suggested and he was

contacted and made himself available to come and check it out. This inspector had

been challenging for us before, so the workers on site that day gathered and prayed.

When the inspector came up, he drove out by the site, around the power poles and I

met him in his truck. He handed me the forms to fill out and asked how long we

needed to complete the task. He extended my request and drove off. He could

have, but didn’t require that we have an electrician on site to monitor the

proximity of the excavator to the power lines. God answers prayer and we began

digging the second hole before 1:00 p.m. that day, without delay or extra cost.

All along the project we had skilled volunteer labour from the church. Bernard

Paquet had the carpentry skills to solve most issues, Ron Sloan had the vision to

see that we built more than just a plain box, and many others contributed their

skills. During critical times of need, skilled carpenters came to our help. Fred

Heath had just retired from Dominion Construction as a carpenter and he came and

laid out the floor joists. Later, he was there when we put up the walls. When we did

the 14' sanctuary walls, we needed lots of help, and there were six to ten people

volunteering each day. One of the carpenters was David Bedwell, a missionary to

Taiwan. He came back to Canada and had some time just when we were raising the

walls and putting in the roof trusses. When that task was finished, he had to go

back to other work and then back to Taiwan. God provided the workers and the

skills to do whatever had to be done. God brought this help from half way around

the world.

Some of the first outside help came from Christian Life Assembly. A framing crew

came in one Saturday with all their air tools and enthusiasm. They finished the

office floor, the first floor walls and half of the second floor. It was a wonderful

boost to our morale as we again saw God speaking to others and saying, “You can

help.”

Before the construction began, we had the promise of the use of an air spiker and

stapler. We used them so much and saved a great deal of time and effort. We had

them throughout the building project, and it wasn’t until we didn’t need them again

that we took them back. But in taking them back, we saw the rewarding hand of

God. The only theft we experienced was the theft of those two nailers. The

insurance company replaced them with new ones and when we returned the tools

we were able to return new tools. God rewards those who give.

A similar miracle occurred with the scaffolding that was lent to us. We had all the

scaffolding we could want, and there was no pressure on us to return it. But after

we had borrowed all the scaffolding we needed, the remaining scaffolding that the

company had, was stolen. Because they lent us the scaffolding, they got back a

good portion of what they had, so we saw how God blessed those who blessed us.

One more feature of the sand miracle was that it was wonderful to work with as we

prepared the ground for the concrete floor. In addition to this, the ground around

the building had such good drainage that even an engineer agreed that we didn’t

need any drain tile around the base of the basement. That saved us quite a bit of

money and enabled the township to give us permission to install a basement. Our

role was to give them the assurance that we’d not sue them. Ours is the first and

only commercial building with a basement in the Fort. The basement continues to

be a great blessing and a source of the demonstration of God’s miraculous

provisions.

In addition to the sand that He provided multiplied years ago, God also ensured

that the grave area behind the sanctuary was reserved for veterans and so there

were many plots that had not been used. In fact there were no graves within thirty

feet of the area behind the sanctuary. Because of this, the cemetery manager gave

us permission to excavate into the graveyard and install our own protective plastic

fencing and use that area for three years. Having that permission saved us from the

need to instal expensive shoring while we excavated for the basement. We saw that

even before we call, God has answered, and we have a song to celebrate that

miracle.

We installed carpet on the basement walls so that the youth and others could play

floor hockey. It also is very good for the acoustics. But when the fire marshal saw

it, every alarm went off in his mind. It turns out that carpet on walls is completely

different from a fire perspective than that same carpet on the floor. We had asked

for carpet to go on the walls, and now we had to either take it down or prove that it

met the code requirements. The manufacturer cooperated wonderfully and supplied

us with the test results which showed that the carpet met the code, no more and no

less. We are able to keep the carpet on the walls and we can play floor hockey.

The fact that the adjoining property is a cemetery helped the township agree to our

request for a zoning easement allowing us to build within five feet of that property

line. The initial drawings respected the normal zoning setbacks, but we wanted a

larger platform. The request for two extra feet turned into a plan for five extra feet

of sanctuary space which meant we had to apply for that zoning variance. In

answer to prayer, the application was approved quickly and unanimously.

Steve Dunton continued to express his interest in our church. Six months after

construction began, we had the walls up, and the roof on, and the building was

sheeted, but there were the normal construction gaps in the sheeting. In fact there

was a large part on the front sanctuary wall that was not sheeted. We decided to

have a service in the new building anyway on March 25, 2001. The people were

invited to bundle up and to take the opportunity to write scriptures on the 2x4’s of

the building. It was exciting to read them. The Saturday before the service we were

busy cleaning up and moving construction equipment so we could meet in the new

church. Then in came Steve. He had been cleaning his garage and saw a portable

kerosene heater used during construction. God moved on his heart and he filled the

heater with kerosene and brought it to us. God knew we needed the extra heat that

chilly Sunday morning. Steve told us to keep the unit until the construction was

finished because we’d need it when we were installing the drywall.

We met the Clarks before the construction began. Roberta began coming on

Sunday evening but her husband Don refused to come. He had been hurt in a

church before and didn’t want to go to church. But Don had a construction

background and got interested in our building. He’d come and watch, without

wanting to interfere. Because of his interest he was asked to phone around and see

where we should buy the windows, and he said he could build them. The windows

in the church are the windows that Don built. He’d come about 10:00 a.m. and

work until 3:00 p.m. He brought his equipment and made many jigs so the

windows would be just right, and over the course of the work, spiritual life came

back into Don’s heart. The day he came to church alone (because Roberta was ill)

was like a birthday – a special day – time to celebrate new life in Jesus!

During the first couple years of construction, we worked six days a week with a

crew that was rarely less than five – almost all volunteers. The ladies of the church

took turns supplying us with a hot lunch. We dined and feasted as we worked. The

time around those meals played a big part in maintaining the enthusiasm for the

work and the spiritual life that came back into Don Clark.

We needed temporary lighting during the construction. Working in the basement

without windows required it, but at first we had very little. Then Don Gaglardi

came and wired in several large fluorescent panels that Steve Dunton gave us from

a renovation he did in Victoria. The trip over to get the lights was an awesome

experience, sharing about the Lord and the church with Don Clark. We arrived

back at about 10:00 p.m. with the need to unload the truck. We called ahead and

when we got to the church there were about ten guys there waiting to unload the

donated sprinkler equipment, t-bar ceiling, fluorescent lights, and other equipment.

Some of that donated lighting has been permanently installed in the church.

There were lots of walk-in donations, like the time Darrel Kent came with the

question, “Do you want some chairs?” The brown chairs in the sanctuary are the

donation he connected us with. That led to buying the black arm chairs used

downstairs and for the music team. We got 100 chairs for $7.50 each. This also led

to us getting a portable 12-channel sound system. God uses one connection to

generate others and others and others.

Just as we were about to begin construction, the Sandman Hotel downtown was

being renovated and they had many things that we could use. We cleaned out their

outside locked material area and got many things that were useful in our

construction. All the structural steel for the basement floor came from there. That

steel is laid every foot, so the floor is really strong. We also picked up all the carpet

tile that is in the office wing and downstairs. We spent some time cleaning it and

now it is a wonderful gift. Many of the doors and door hardware came from that

renovation, along with some paint, tiles and kitchen equipment. We loaded the

truck at least twice and then they sent out a long truck with the steel for us. Later

we got the alarm panel that is in the foyer from that expansion as well. The timing

of the renovation was perfect for our construction, as only God could put it

together.

God must have wanted this church to say “Wow!” to people as they entered it, for

he prompted John Leasack, an interior decorator from Cranbrook, to volunteer his

skills in choosing a colour palate that would flow through the building and be very

appealing. The special features were then added. From the mural as you enter, to

the stenciling around the foyer and upper room, to tone on tone wall magic down

the hallway, to full finishing in the sanctuary, John did it all. We painted the walls

in the colours as he specified and then he and his son, Rob, came for a week to do

the special features. What an awesome way to say “the King of Kings dwells in

this church!”

The carpet for the sanctuary and the upper room was donated as well. We paid for

the laying of the sanctuary carpet, but Ricardo Dapointe volunteered to lay the rest.

He donated the supplies as well as the stair nosings and the transition strip at the

top of the stairs on the second floor. He came and volunteered at various and

significant times on the church. God kept calling him back to our church.

When we completed the offices and were ready to look for furniture, the phone

rang with an offer of four office desks. They had been given to Campus Crusade

and were surplus to their needs, but Peter Cucheran knew of our building and

called. They were perfect. Two fit in one office with two inches to spare. They are

quality desks that exactly blend with the colours that had already been painted in

the offices. At the same time, a larger desk and credenza had become surplus at

KM Roberts and they were donated for the pastors office. The offices were

furnished by another miracle of God.

Fort Langley has a bylaw prohibiting back-lit signs. But we wanted a cross that

expressed who we are. We asked the Heritage Committee for permission to have

one at the front and God gave us favour. When we saw the favour, we asked if we

could also put one shining over the graveyard, and again the answer was yes. We

never got any variance, just that verbal assurance and now the crosses are up with

their message of hope and a future. The one shining over the graveyard is over

sixteen feet tall because God gave us favour.

During the early stages of the construction we relied on power from the initial

building. Rob Liva, of Liva Electric, donated his temporary panel along with the

heavy duty cable to bring power out to the new building. He also came and wired it

into our system. We used it for at least two years, until the permanent power was

turned on in the new building. Another donation and significant saving from our

God through the hand of one of His servants.

A special gift to us was the organ that had been used by Velma Chapman. That

organ has been in many revival settings and they wanted us to have it. It is

interesting to note that our present church organist, Linda Criss, learned to play on

that very organ many years ago.

We wanted the entrance to be very welcoming and several ideas were considered,

most involving water. Then Geoff Lewis volunteered to build a fountain. It

gradually expanded to the present size and forms a wonderfully welcoming feature

– all at no cost!

In the foyer there are six wing chairs that were given to us before the construction

began. We stored them and moved them as necessary and wondered where they

might fit into the church. But God knew they would be a perfect match for the

entrance colour scheme and be part of making a welcoming foyer.

God spoke to several people in various churches about helping. Several workers

came from CLA, from Abbotsford Pentecostal, Mission Pentecostal and Emmaus

Christian Reformed Church. It was exciting to see those from the Reformed

Church working side by side as we put the insulation in the attic of the sanctuary.

God only has children, and we don’t come with any labels.

We even got help from Dyck’s Lumber. In addition to giving us good prices on

building supplies, Darren, the salesman, borrowed an air nailer for us when we put

the roof on the sanctuary. It seemed that God put more than a simply business

interest in his heart for us.

We moved into the church in December 2001 well before the church was finished

and before we had done any preparation of the driveway. One Sunday it was

particularly wet and so everyone got their shoes dirty as they came into the church.

We resolved that by next Sunday, we’d have gravel in the driveway. Eric Bidell

had been to our church once and expressed interest so he was called and the type of

rock was discussed. Eric agreed to get us a load and said if it were only one load

then the load would be free. In addition he agreed he could bring it that day, which

was Saturday! Everyone but Ken had left the job site when Eric drove in. He

apologized saying he wanted a special coloured gravel that would make it look like

pavement and he had to go out into the valley to get it. Then he proceeded to put

on the chains so he could dump it gradually as he drove his truck. He made two

passes down the driveway, and then backed up and moved in close to the building

and made a final pass. The whole load had been evenly spread leaving just about

twenty minutes of raking to finish. God put it on his heart to bless us and to do it

with class.

We needed some stands made for the heat pumps. Just at the time we needed them,

Ken met Rick Beeksma at the gym where he plays squash. Rick is a welder and

after some discussion, Rick volunteered to build the stands at no cost. Later when a

stand was required for the video projector that the Vineyard church gave a major

donation toward, we went back to Rick and again he built it and donated it. God

used several people who were not connected with any church to be conduits of his

miracles for us.

The design of the mechanical room is another miracle. On site we decided to move

the door to a different location and to enlarge the room by one foot. We didn’t have

a proper layout of the room, because at that point we still had not finalized what

type of heating we’d have. The size was important because the code specifies a

minimum distance between the electrical and plumbing equipment. After it was all

installed, the distance was about three inches more than required by the code. Who

but God could move on our hearts to enlarge the room just enough.

The design of the washrooms downstairs started with one toilet for the men and

one for the women. But on our own we enlarged the washrooms to make three

toilets for the ladies and one for the men plus two urinals. This extra load was

important because all the waste water in the basement has to be pumped out. When

the inspector saw the extra facilities beyond what had been planned he expressed

concern that the sump pump was too small. We checked with the engineer and

found out that he had oversized it for the original need and it more than met the

need of the extra washroom facilities. God knows even our changes.

The steeple adds to the design of the building, but a bell would make it authentic.

The Heritage Committee wanted one, and Ron Sloan found the six hundred pound

sand cast bell and we bought it out of Brooklyn, New York. Most of the cost of the

bell was donated to us. When it arrived, we had the task of taking it out of the

truck, and we contacted Frontier Building Supplies and Jim, the owner, came with

his fork lift and got it out of the truck. God again gave us favour and we were

blessed by this act of kindness.

The initial design called for an open porch as the entrance to the church. Some

wanted to enclose that porch and make a larger entrance. We made two models of

the church to demonstrate the options and we voted. The vote was to enclose the

entrance so we have the larger sized foyer that we have today. Again, God directed

our steps and thoughts.

One of the more used rooms in the church is the upper room. It was not in the

original design, but Ron wanted us to lift the roof and include it, so we all agreed

as long as we didn’t have to finish it, until there was money. But the room is

finished and has been a continual source of blessing.

All the counters and counter tops in the washrooms, nursery and foyer were

donated by a company in Victoria. To this day, we have never met the owner.

Steve Dunton gave us the contact and we called. The owner talked about extra

cupboards in the foyer and perhaps a maple finish there. We agreed to all this and

then asked the price. The answer was, “We do this for churches,” and all the

counters were another miracle from our Lord.

As we came to complete the washrooms we understood that we needed TP

dispensers and towel dispensers. They were all a gift from TORK through Todd

Graves who was saved in our church and later moved back to Ontario. Todd made

many contributions but he was the conduit for this miracle.

The submitted drawings required that we remove the washrooms from the original

church. It was expected that we needed to do this in order that the fire trucks have

an eighteen-foot wide lane access to the front of the church. However we never

realized that the privately owned parking lot next to us has a public easement down

the middle of it. The distance from the church to that easement was within the

required distance so that the fire truck access was satisfied and we never had to

remove the washroom from the old building. This means that it can function as a

stand alone facility. It is now used as a youth center and a youth facility for the

Vineyard church as well. God made us aware of that easement so that we didn’t

remove the other washrooms.

We didn’t have a pulpit in the new church, and so we made do without one. But a

guest came into the church and saw the need and gave us money especially for the

pulpit. The amount given was more than we needed and demonstrated the lavish

way God has blessed all along the project.

The BC Women’s Ministries gave us a donation of $5500 for our nursery, the BC

District minuteman appeal brought in about $11,000 and CLA gave us $23,000. In

addition to these outside donations several interested people gave money as they

visited from time to time. These outside donations of cash were further statements

of the way God moved on many hearts to keep our debt down to a manageable

size. Other sizable donations were received including the proceeds of the sale of a

house in Vancouver. Over the entire project we continued the church policy of

giving approximately 25% of our general offerings to missions and ministries

outside our assembly, a policy still in place today. Our indebtedness when we

finalized the mortgage was approximately $163,000 and it has since been reduced

to about $140,000. At the present rate of payments ($2000 per month) it will be

paid off in about seven years. The finances of the church is another of the great

miracle stories.

Getting the occupancy permit was another red letter day. Pastor Ken describes it

this way, “I came in early on a Monday morning to be there for the final

inspection. I wanted to ensure that every fire door was closed and everything

looked good. I delayed going to my personal prayer retreat because I wanted this

finalized. After the inspector examined the extra six sprinkler heads and asked a

couple questions, we sat in my office and he wrote ‘all outstanding items from

previous notices completed/corrected ..... all outstanding documentation received.’

That signed paper is our occupancy permit. After he left, I was the only one in the

church at the time and I sat in my office, savoring the moment. Then I took the

paper to the front of the church where I speak, and held it out and said, ‘Dear God,

the building is Yours now, it’s finished,’ and God brought me to the story of the

Children of Israel crossing the Jordan River. They were in the Promised Land, but

they had not possessed it yet. The first thing they did was renew their commitment

to God even though it put them in a very vulnerable position. Then God said to

Joshua, ‘Today, I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.’ In reminding

me of that story, God was saying to us as a church today, ‘I have rolled away the

reproach of the old Living Waters church. Now go and possess the land.’”

There have been many other miracles, for each person who put their heart into the

project is a miracle. Each donation, large or small is a miracle, and we remind

ourselves that God looks at size differently than we do. Each one who grew

spiritually during the project is a miracle. The miracles began a long time ago as

people responded to the burden for what Living Waters Assembly could become.

The sacrifices many made have been forgotten by everyone but our loving Saviour.

Yet His continued blessings are ours today.

Two pictures were given to the church that carry the meaning of building

experience. They hang in Pastor Ken’s office. The first shows two sailing ships,

each fully rigged and seaworthy, but one is anchored in the shallows and the other

hasn’t experienced the sea in such a long time that it was beached with rocks

around it. The other picture shows a similar sailing vessel but this one is keeled

over as it races in the wind. The waves are high, the wind is filling its sails and

they have jettisoned everything they don’t need for the trip. There is no land in

sight, so their faith is in the pilot who knows what is ahead. This ship captured the

awesome opportunity to experiencing life at its full with God as the Pilot. We

experienced life as it was meant to be as we built and saw the awesome hand of

God. By His grace, we intend to continue to be like that ship.

Pastor Ken Gaglardi

Other books by Dr. Ken Gaglardi

THE MIRACLES OF LIVING WATERS This booklet details

the many miracles that occurred as Ken led in the construction of the new Living

Waters Assembly in Fort Langley BC. The million dollar construction was

undertaken by a vote of 14 to 1 and five years after the beginning of construction,

the debt was less than $90,000.

LIVING IN OVERWHELMING VICTORY This 145 page

book picks up on the lavish promise of Psalm 1 that as we delight in the statutes of

God we will become like a tree planted by rivers of water, whose leaf does not

whither, bears fruit regularly, and prospers in whatever he does. The book gives

the statutes or commands of God collected from throughout the Bible on 33

different topics. It also highlights the wonderful blessings God gives as we obey

these commands. This book is written to be used in small groups or for personal

devotions.

MINISTRY BEGINS AT HOME This book builds on the idea that

everything God asks us to do is ministry. We don’t work for God, we minister for

him, and this ministry begins at home. Our loving God tells us how to respond to a

spouse, how to relate to a parent, and how the parents are to relate to the children.

These instructions are the ministry job descriptions, and in every case, they

minister minister to a very significant need in the other members of our family.

God created us with needs, and then he created special people to minister to those

needs. Noone else can meet those needs like the special family member God

accepts and calls to minister on his behalf.

KEY VERSES TO OPEN LIFE’S CLOSED DOORS This

book identifies over 30 verses that hold the key to opening closed doors. Like the

key of encouragement which opens the door that lets hope come in and displace the

selfishness that was there. It also softens the stronghold that temptation can have

on someone you know, and give you the confidence that freedom is on its way.

THE BURDENS OF GOD, GIVEN TO TEACH US TO

PRAY This book identifies the five great burdens of God with the invitation to

make them our burdens. Through this, you will learn to pray. It is written in a

home study format with a teachers edition as well as a student copy.