Today our team began its work onsite at a small trailer park lined with trailers that had been filled with approximately four feet of water during the devastating spring floods from the Cumberland River. Water inside a trailer can only cause problems: mold and mildew, damage to the electrical wiring, rust, to name a few.
When we were on our initial mission trip in Biloxi, you will remember that we were working on a new home for a family because their trailer had been damaged by flood waters from Hurricane Katrina. In the case of the young family for whom we are doing the work this week, the damage to their trailer was not as severe and is felt to be repairable.
Most of the team worked on tearing out wall board in the "master" bedroom, dousing the space with mold killer, putting in insulation, rewiring outlets and switches, and replacing the dry wall.
Edwin spent his day working on plumbing issues and electrical issues, each of which, seemed to open up a new can of worms.
My job was to go into the local Lowes store and buy any immediate supplies that we needed.
Having lived in parsonages and apartments, where someone other than Mark or myself has normally cared for repairs and replacements, it is a store that can be somewhat intimidating initially. By the end of the day, one store employee was smiling at me, saying "I thought you weren't coming back anymore today! haha" and I was feeling right at home - at least in the plumbing and check-out sections of the store.
I now have added a skill set to my very weak home repair abilities. I can choose a faucet for the kitchen sink. I should say that, after being shown how to choose one in the first place, I know how to return/exchange the one without the sprayer for the one with the sprayer. And I know how to find the aisle with the faucets, a third time, in order to get one more faucet when a piece of the faucet breaks as Edwin is trying to put it on. I did share with Edwin that there was only one more faucet left in Lowes of the type we were using. Translated: There's only one more chance to make it work!
At lunch time today, we sat around, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and addressing questions/situations in which we have to apply our experience of God to our lives. The discussion was fun and amazing; providing thought-provoking insights, as always.
There were many times today that I thought to myself: "Didn't we already do this? in April in Mississippi?" Feelings of deja vu danced in my head! Team members standing at the beginning of the project, discussing how to accomplish the tasks at hand; going to work and accepting the challenges; numerous trips to Lowes; peanut butter and jelly sandwiches; faith discussions over lunch; good humor and flexibility on the part of each person on the team; a collegial approach to our work; and the belief, at the end of the day, that we hopefully have been living letters of God's love for the young families we are serving this week, written not with ink but on hearts.
It's a sure thing that, just as in Mississippi, the first family for whom we are working has gotten under our skin and into our heart. Young Carlos, the 18 month old, offers hugs and smiles without condition. He wants to help; we can see it each time he tries to do what the team is doing. Such energy and passion!
Have we already done this? In many ways, the answer is "yes!" However I suspect that there is a surprise or two in store for us; that God is doing a new thing in our team this week. Can't wait to see what that is.
Keep us in your prayers. You are in ours.
0 comments:
Post a Comment