Look really closely at this picture -- see the man's face? He is standing on scaffolding, between the bottom of Dane's house and the top of his deck -- putting on the outside siding! There is barely enough room for him to fit - and he's a really thin guy! THIS is giving your all on the job! They got the outside siding done today and it looks wonderful! Dane was nearly in tears when he came by (during his work hours) and saw the end results!
Missouri has been working with all their hearts this week and today was no different. We did take 2 gentlemen to Stephen's house to install the remaining doors. Sounds simple enough, doesn't it? Nothing is simple down here! Some existing doors had to be removed, some that had been installed had to be corrected and only then could the process of installing the new could begin. They will be there again tomorrow! :) And when they are done, the smiles mixed with tears will also be flowing from Stephen's parents, John and Brenda!
The remainder of the team made awesome progress with the plumbing and sheetrock at Dane's. The rooms are now insulated and most are sheetrocked. It actually looks like a house again. They used all of the sheetrock that Dane had on site and thanks to the load that came from Convoy the other day we will be able to load up enough to finish the job tomorrow. I was there this afternoon when Dane came by and to see the look of joy, relief and utter shock was priceless! He can't find enough words to say thank you and really took some time today to sit and visit with the team. He was telling about the days when his wife was not sick with Alzheimers, when they went out on the boat and she got so excited at catching so many fish ... this is where relationships are built and this is what changes lives! The physical rebuilding stops and the rebuilding of lives takes off! Each and every member of this Missouri team was hand selected by God for this trip. Each one is here to give a blessing and each one will leave here with a blessing! Their lives will be forever changed! Some of them are already talking about coming back, about bringing their teen aged children to experience this, about bringing their wives and working as a family, about coming back and staying longer than a week! Being here, working in this environment, with the people, seeing and feeling what they have been and are still going through....changes you ... makes you more into what God wants you to be! To fully understand it you MUST experience it! I wish everyone could know that feeling, to see the blessings and miracles that happen on a daily basis, and to have their lives changed forever for the better.
This evening we had some fun. We all went to one of the local restaurants so they could experience some real southern fare. They weren't disappointed and all left more than a bit on the full side! This is the time when there is so much laughter that you leave with your sides hurting. This is the time when you really get to know each other and realize that in only a day or two this team will be leaving and we will once again have tears in our eyes seeing new members of our family leave. But this is also when the relationships that God says are key to life are formed and when they grow deeper and deeper. Let's face it, America seems to revolve around food and they have some great food down here!
Some of this team will be heading home mid day tomorrow and we would ask you to pray for their safety as they travel. The rest will be working through the day and heading out on Friday.
We thank you for keeping all of us in your prayers and for reading along with us through this blog and experiencing as much of this mission as possible.
Until tomorrow .... Susan and Monty
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