BLUEFIELD — For three months, Paul Cornelius worked on an ark at his home in North Tazewell. No, there wasn’t any rain in the forecast or any flood warnings threatening the area. A modern-day Noah, Cornelius and his family worked on their ark for three months, creating a 1/60 scale of the biblical vessel from the book of Genesis in the Old Testament.

“I think I had a good idea of how Noah felt like when he built the ark,” Cornelius said. “I didn’t realize what it was going to become.”

It became a 7-foot, 19 inches wide ark, made out of wood and believe it or not, popsicle sticks. He confessed to spending a lot of time in local hobby stores collecting materials for his project.

“We started with a base of a thin board and glued 2500 popsicle sticks to the skeleton or the frame of the ark itself. We trimmed the edges to give them the look of boards,” he said.

Cornelius used the cubit measuring system — just like Noah in biblical times —  to determine the size of the family’s ark. The cubit is the first recorded unit of length; it was based on the length from the tip of the middle finger to the bottom of the elbow Cornelius said. The average man has an 18-inch cubit.

Following the story in Genesis 6, the ark was 300 cubits long.

“Multiple that by 18 inches it equals 450 foot long. That is what we used to determine the size. That is why we say its a 1/60 model.”

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A native of Texas, Cornelius is not a carpenter. He doesn’t make arks for a hobby either. A veteran of Desert Storm, he served eight years in the United States Air Force, where he met his wife Dana. In 1995, he left the Air Force and graduated from the University of Cumberland in Kentucky with a degree in religion. He moved to Southwest Virginia to work at a former mattress company in Bluefield in July 2006. But he wanted to explore full-time ministry and in 2008, he began building the ark.

His wife Dana appreciated the change in her husband, who had quit his job in Bland County.

“He got real enthusiastic and I was on board with anything ... at first, I didn’t see what he was seeing, but I jumped on board. I got excited. I was seeing how God was using the ark as a tool,” Dana said.

The couple’s children —Landon, Britton, Dominic, Sierra, Reagan, Kendra and Brisa — were excited to help with the project. The family tried to make the ark look like an actual representation of the biblical boat with three different levels and rooms for the animals. They found characters and animals to place in the ark. Once finished, they took the ark to the Bluefield Flea Market to garner people’s reactions.

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And then, the ark hit the road under the name Days of Noah Ministries. On May 1, the family celebrated their first anniversary. Spending half the year on the road, the missionary family travels to local churches, fairs, Vacation Bible Schools, festivals and schools teaching children and adults about Noah, the ark and the great flood.

“We have been to Texas twice and Florida and are heading to Kansas. We will be in Delaware in July. My plan is to go to India,” Cornelius said.  “We are looking to build another ark that is half this size for India.”

The family has an ark and will travel — but how?

“It’s a neat thing,” he said. “I found a special trailer in Grundy. It looks like the patriot missile.”

Both parents home school their seven children and travel in a RV from state to state.

“The kids have got to see so much of the country,” Dana said. “It has been a real education for our kids.”

For Dana, life on the road — with an ark and seven children — is a challenge, a full- time job.

“But even I have learned more about the ark. Even with all the animals, God left plenty of room,” she said. “I see God’s promises too. Every time I see a rainbow, I remember He keeps every promise he makes.”

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Out of all the stories in the Bible — why Noah?

“Noah has always been one of my favorite characters,” he said. “He is a true example of God’s mercy and salvation.”

In the Bible, Noah built an ark for his family and brought two animals of every kind  in preparation of a great flood. For 40 days and nights, rain fell causing the earth to flood, destroying plants, animals and humans. However, Noah and his family lived, thanks to the ark. And God sent a rainbow as a promise to never destroy the earth with water again.

While some people might argue the flood is simply a story, Cornelius’ ministry hopes to prove otherwise. There are more than 270 flood legends and every society has a flood legend about a man who built a big boat for his family and two animals of every kind he said. Cornelius calls himself a young creationist, who uses fossils as evidence for a world-wide flood. One of those is a polystrate fossil from the Pocahontas Exhibition Coal Mine in Tazewell County. The petrified tree stump goes through different layers of coal.

“Coal miners would recognize it as a widow makers or kettle bottoms. It basically shows evidence of a world-wide flood,” he said.

Another example in his presentation is clam shells in a closed position. When clams die, the shell opens. If a clam’s shell is still closed, it means it was alive and covered up very quickly Cornelius said. He even incorporates dinosaurs in his presentations at public high schools.

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Life with an ark, an RV and seven children isn’t always easy. A double blowout on a highway in Texas terrified the family, but a stranger  helped repair the damage and find two rare tires for the RV. Afterwards, Cornelius was able to talk about his ministry and love for God.

“God used two flat tires to help lead a man to Christ. We have these situations for a reason,” he said.

When not on the road, the ark resides in North Tazewell, tucked away in the family’s basement or garage. Even though it is small and rustic, it mimics the ark in more than just looks. Last June, during heavy rains, a stream behind the family’s home began to flood, turning into a raging river. The ark, which was in the garage, filled up with water.

“We like to say that this ark has really been through the flood,” Cornelius said. “Just after the storm, there was a rainbow.”

Currently, the family is traveling through kansas, with plans to return to the two Virginias in June. A complete schedule is available at www.daysofnoah ministries.org.