Hands and Feet with a Purpose

Around 5pm tonight we made it home.  There was a lot of sleeping on the way home, at least by the youth.  We also celebrated Kacey's birthday with some special decorations in the van.  Much thanks to the church, parents, and community for all of the support and prayers for this past week.  It would not have been possible without the love, prayers and support we received.  we hope you have been able to get a glimpse of our trip through our posts.  We are truly blessed! This past week we did the hard and sometimes difficult physical work.  However, now that we are home it is time for the hard and sometimes difficult spiritual/emotional work; it is time for the real work to begin.  Our job isn't done.  The physical work had a timeline of 5 days.  The spiritual and emotional work has no timeline, it is a continual work.  We must continue to grow deeper, seek answers, ask questions, and share our faith.  All week we were in a "sa...

Today was a good day to wrap up all of our projects. There wasn't a sib that didn't get completed this week.  In fact, they had to go out and look for some jobs for crews to do because there was nothing left to do at their site.  Some crews finished their site early so they went to another site to help finish.  To see everyone come together and get it all wrapped up on the final day was awesome.  A few final thoughts shared by the youth tonight were; "I am definitely coming back" "This is the strongest feeling of a family our youth group has ever had" "The dedication everyone showed to getting the job done and serving others was very impressive" As leaders we are extremely proud of the youth that we brought with us.  All week long we heard so many times how hard of workers they were and how awesome they were.  They were so respectful and well behaved.  Just to think that these teenagers worked to earn money to pay for a trip to go do more wor...

Today was a very very wet day....it rained for about 85% of the day with lightning in the morning.  Despite the weather some crews were able to get a little accomplished.  Erik and Don painted and finished their work today, tomorrow they will be going to another site to help finish.  Colton and Isaiah painted a little bit but had to sit in the bus due to the weather.  They mentioned that they have used 2 cans of wasp spray at their house and there are still a lot of wasps around, Colton got stung today, but is doing fine.  Deana and Katie got a few more shingles on the roof, tore the flooring out of an couple rooms in the house and plan on finishing tomorrow.  Mark's crew finished the roof early today and them went to work on the house that Deana and Katie are working on.   He is helping lay the floor and put up drywall on the ceiling/walls.  Caite attempted to paint today but it ended up getting too wet and the paint ran down the house....

Today was a half day of work.....Yay!  As stated before we were all excited that today was only a half work day, we worked until lunch was delivered and then were off the rest of the day.  Even though we only worked for half the day it seems that we all worked extra hard to make up for it.  Today has also been the best day  in terms of weather, slightly overcast all day and cool (comparatively). Clarissa, Kacey, Andrew, Don, and Erik continued painting the rooms of their house.  In all they are painting 11-12 rooms/hallways in the house.  Isaiah and Colton worked hard painting the back side of the house with 3 coats of paint.  Tomorrow they plan on doing the front.  Colton shared that they very quickly painted over where the wasps used to live.  Deana and Katie continued roofing.  Katie shared the frustration of having to rip up a large portion on the back of the house because the shingles were going crooked.  They worked hard on t...

The weather cooperated better today in terms that it didn't rain, but the heat was turned up!  It got up to at least 85 today (add about 10-15 degrees for those on a roof).  The crews got a lot of work done today, and not just in the houses.  Kacey, Clarissa, and Andrew shared that they did a lot of painting today and they got to make some new friends.  They learned a little more about the house they are working on - it is a temporary place for kids up to age 22 to go and get help to get their life on the right track.  Kacey shared that by talking to the kids staying at the house and inventing them to join their crew for devotions she realized they are just regular kids who have had some struggles.  Clarissa and Kacey also went around scrubbing the drips of paint off the floor, they scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed.   Erik and Don are working at the same house.  Erik got to play some catch and basketball with the kids in the house.  While p...

One day of work is done!  The weather cooperated enough for the crews to get a good amount done...it did rain at most work sites, one site had 3 inches in 2 hours, yet it was still very productive.  Most of the youth commented about how they really got to know their crew pretty well today and made more new friends.  Many of the youth spent the day scraping paint and putting on fresh paint, some inside a house and some are working on the exterior of a house.  Others spent the day scraping old shingles off a roof, repairing old damaged wood and putting down the underlay for the new shingles to add the rest of the week.  Andrew, Erik, Kacey, Don, and Clarissa shared that they are working on a house that is a shelter for kids in trouble, it helps keep the kids clean and safe and the kids even made lunch for them.  Katie shared that she had to save a neighborhood kid who got himself stuck in a fence and Isaiah and Colton had some time to get to know the neighbor...

Rain, rain, rain, repeat...that pretty much sums up our drive-but....we made it!  We have arrived to Catawba Baptist Church where we will be staying for the week.  Our showers are in trailers outside, so that will be an experience for many.  We have included a few pictures of our day. Deana and Katie are on squad Victor and will be roofing for the week.  Katie is also medic for  her crew.  Andrew, Clarissa and Kacey are on crew Zulu painting and Kacey is devotion leader.  Catie and Allie are in the crew Sierra painting a house and Jana is the construction leader for their crew.  Erik and Don are in crew Yankee painting, Erik is a break master and Don is medic.  Colton is medic and Isaiah is Devotion leader and they are both on crew Quebec painting a house.  Mark is the construction leader for the crew X-Ray and is in charge of roofing a house for the week.  Abby is squad leader for Delta and will be working on a roof all week. Ton...

In just under four days we leave for our mission trip.  11 youth, 3 chaperones, 8.5 hours, 2 vans and who knows how many pit stops along the way.  This is the third year the youth have gone on a mission trip and each year is different than the last and each year presents new challenges, new lessons, new friends, and new opportunities for growth.  Even though we're not sure exactly what we'll be doing until we get there and we're not sure what our accommodations or food will be like we are anxious to go.  The youth are counting down the days until we begin our adventure.  But if there is one thing that has been evident through the last couple of years of mission trips, it's not about us.  It's not about the fact that this is the largest group we've had participated, it's not about the fact that we had to get 2 vans this year, and it's not even about the fact that we are going to help those in need.  What it is about are those we're helping....