Today was a holiday. The calendar said it was. But it made no difference to this Texas team. They worked and worked and then worked some more. You can see in the photos that they were busy hanging sheetrock in the kitchen while the women were busy sanding, mudding and cleaning all day.
This is the home of our newest project, Denise. When Monty and I were here with our church group of volunteers back in December '05 we tore this house out. We thought that it would be done and she would be all moved in by now -- WRONG! Her father has been trying to do the work on his own, along with his own house and a full time job as an electrician! Let's face it folks, there's only so much time in the day!
To top it off, Denise had hired a contractor that appeared to be a good one -- another WRONG! He did do some work and then took off, with money in hand! Denise is a single mother also working full time and trying to do the best she can do. This kind of "rip off" happens in so many cases down here and it just makes my blood boil! Ripping someone off is bad enough, but under these circumstances it's ... I can't think of a "printable" word!
So here we are, doing what we can to get her and her young son back into their home. The team did a wonderful job with the sheetrock and will be even better tomorrow. The first day is always a learning day, everyone is pretty much out of their comfort zone. But that's okay, and expected. It's their hearts that make the difference! Hearts of service, hearts of compassion and love. If you have that, the learning is alot easier!
The big surprise of the day is when Denise came and announced that her mother and father were cooking steaks on the grill for all of us. This came complete with salad, baked potatoes and bread. If that wasn't enough, out came the strawberry cake for dessert! After a day of being in the heat and covered with a combination of sweat and sheetrock dust and mud, the meal tasted even better! We were all so blessed to be invited into their home, to sit down and share an outstanding meal, and most of all, to be able to fellowship and get to know each other better! It was a wonderful ending to the day, one that won't be forgotten anytime soon!
So it did end up being a holiday for all of us. After all, isn't Labor Day associated with labor and aren't picnics tops on the list of entertainment for the day? We managed to pack it all in expand our family at the same time! I'm pretty sure that's what God means when He tells us how important relationships with other believers are!!!
We want to extend our sincere thanks to Denise and her parents. The meal was outstanding and such a wonderful surprise but we are just thankful to be God's hands and feet and here to extend His love to everyone we meet, starting with Denise and her family!
I know I can speak for everyone when I thank God for bringing us all here! We all feel blessed to be doing His work!
Until tomorrow ... We love you all ... Susan and Monty
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