City Hall

I think everyone has heard the saying "You can't fight city hall". I don't really think this saying is true, and I hope not. I like to think that many public servants at city hall want to do their best to help the citizens they serve. I know that I enjoy doing my job well, and serving my customers, and I am sure people at city hall do that too.

Today we learned from city hall that there is some good news, and some bad news. The good news is that we should qualify for an exemption from paying fees for our building permits. The bad news is that it may take a while to get that exemption properly recorded in all of the right computer systems at the city and county governments. Until that happens, we may have to pay for permits, or slow down our progress. Neither of these options is ideal. Our attorney is working with city hall to find a solution.

You might join me in praying for a quick easy solution to this, and pray to that some fees we have already paid might be refunded to us. Pray that all the building permits we need will be granted quickly and soon so that we can move forward quickly. Please also continue to pray for the donations for this project. More funds raised now will mean less debt to service and repay in the future. Less debt will mean lower operating costs.

O.C.A. has not always been very proactive in raising money. The current board believes that it is important for us to become an active fund raising organization. The Lord has blessed these efforts as evidenced by the building project money pledged and donated in these past two years. That money is carefully accounted for and separated from the operating budget. (This would be a nice place to point out that you can donate to our project through our web site.)

We are also working to raise money for our general operating fund. Last week was our second annual "walk-a-thon". Students would walk for a while and sent out a mailing to family and friends asking for contributions to support our school in response to their walk. Along with the walk was a festival, and a lunch was provided for all the students and families who helped. The event was a great time of fellowship for all of those who attended. That day you could find me behind the grill. We grilled about 400 hamburgers and hot dogs. Thank you to Community Bible Church here in Omaha for lending us the big grill, it worked great!

In Him,
Keith Strasser