Last week I spent literally half the week trying to replace a door. Not just any door. A heavy solid wood double door. The kind that opens in the middle and each side swings inward on its own hinges.
Raiane had been living in a two room rental the owner requested she vacate. Problem was, the father of several of her seven children had broken the previous door and the owner wanted it replaced. An aluminum door. Fairly reasonable and easy to install. Except the owner was demanding she replace it with a heavy solid wood double door.
And single mom renters like Raiane don’t get much say in this stuff in the favela. Luck would have it I spotted a used wooden double door in a local hardware store. Just the right size, negotiated a good deal with the manager. All we needed was somebody to install it.
You ever install a heavy wood double door? You ever install any kind of wood door? If not, be sure you’ve got a carpenter’s plane and chisel, sandpaper, and a few hours to follow the Wikihow “How to Hang a Door”. Years back, I gained enough skills growing up on the farm, then doing construction and remodeling during college, to know I couldn’t “hang” that heavy wood double door.
Add to that we were coming up on a holiday and Raiane was running out of time. If we didn’t get the door up by Sunday she’d have to pay another month’s rent because she couldn’t return the little house without a door. One “carpenter” after another flopped on us. Everything in the favela was closing early Saturday for the holiday.
I had already bought the used door, hinges, and doorknobs. But we had run out of options to install it. No replacement door = another month’s rent. So I tell Raiane to tell the owner she’ll get the house back with an aluminum door like it had when she first rented it. Or none at all. Thank the Lord the landlady relented.
Saturday night, closing time at a big box hardware store I find an aluminum door that’s the right size. Just opens the wrong way. I figure I can flip the hinges and get it to open inward like we need. No idea if it’ll fit in Paulina’s compact car I’m using, but miracles happen and it does. Pouring rain, nine o’clock at night I arrive in the favela with the aluminum door.
Cart it down the alleway and into the little house. Strip off the plastic and unscrew the original frame and another miracle – the hinges are already on the right way. To this day I don’t know how. I couldn’t have done a wooden door to save my life but I could work with an aluminum one. Especially since the holes for the hinges also miraculously lined up with the new door!
One hour later Raiane’s free from her old place and we all celebrate. The ladies couldn’t believe “Tio” Dennis also knew how to install doors. Must be a Carpenter in my family history.
Thank you for your prayers and your patience. I hope to have more posts in the coming weeks. Please continue to pray as we work toward restoring our financial support.
Raiane with Rhyanna, Riquelme, and Rhaylane.
Pray Raiane will continue to open her door to Jesus.
[Due to an issue with our email service you’ll be receiving below a second copy of our post from last May.]