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Unless that building was ordered started now, without
further delay, it could not be ready for new incoming students by
the last of August NEXT year--1967. It was scheduled to have
started construction last March. We had to delay. Now we have hit
and passed the deadline. I had to decide NO! We can't build! Not
this year.
Now let me tell you THE FACTS. I want you to realize
WHAT THIS MEANS to GOD'S WORK! In order to take in a few
additional students this coming fall, we are having to house all
additional students in some temporary buildings in an additional
plot of ground we recently purchased to COMPLETE the college
campus. The City officials will allow us to house these few
additional students TEMPORARILY--for this one school year ONLY--in
these old houses before they are torn down. This past year we have
had just under 400 students on the Pasadena campus. This TEMPORARY
housing allows us to take in about 17 additional--ALL MEN--for this
coming year. THAT IS NOT ANYWHERE NEAR THE INCREASE WE OUGHT TO
TAKE IN. but at least it is going forward, even if only a very
slight increase. But beginning 1967, we will not be allowed to use
this temporary housing. WE HAD COUNTED ON THE NEW DORMITORY
BUILDING, to give us a big leap forward.
Every year, now, we have three to seven TIMES more
students applying for admission than we can take. There are plenty
of high-caliber young men who WANT to become Ambassador College
students. If we could have gone ahead with this building, we could
have accepted them for the 1967-68 school year.
But this morning I had to inform the contracting firm
that we CANNOT start to build the dormitory building this year.
Let me give you some more facts. Because banks have
confidence in us, due to the careful and businesslike manner in
which we handle finances, we had secured a signed LOAN commitment
from a New York insurance company, to finance about HALF of the
cost--payable over some 15 or 20 years. We had planned to finance
the other half out of our special BUILDING FUND, month by month.
BUT, while this loan commitment is assured, it will not be received
from the insurance company until COMPLETION of the building. But
our bank had agreed to give us an interim loan of equal amount,
based on this signed commitment, on my signature and without
security--provided that we deposit in the bank the other half of
the entire cost of the building. That would mean the WHOLE cost of
the building would be on deposit, from which progress payments
would be made month by month, during construction.
But, BECAUSE YOU BRETHREN HAVE LET DOWN ON THE EXTRA
SPECIAL OFFERINGS FOR THIS BUILDING FUND, we are unable to do that
without drastically reducing our reserves for the operation of the
whole work. That would be unwise. It might ruin our credit.
There is STILL MORE to this story. We got this signed loan
commitment from the eastern insurance company several months ago.
Meanwhile, the money market has tightened up. If we did not have
it, it is unlikely that we could get this loan, as of now. We
think the insurance company will grant a six months extension on