Friday Five Faves

Friday is a day to stop and look back over the week and find things to be thankful about.

Our work at the mission is very physical and demanding so it is easy to become discouraged or overwhelmed. When that happens we lose perspective and become overly critical.

This week we had an amazing amount of volunteers all week long. It's a great problem to have and we were able to get a lot of work accomplished.

Wednesday we were blessed to have Kay and Marty park their RV behind the mission and report for work for the next 3 weeks. They are friends that are from Florida and such a blessing and encouragement to us. We laugh a lot while we are working and the day flies by.

Thursday we had a group of 10 college freshmen from Bridgewater College volunteer for 4 hours in a community outreach program. We were able to move chairs to a nearby storage area and palatalize medical equipment.

Also on Thursday 4 couples from my mother's church in Virginia Beach gave up a day of their vacation (they were at a time share near the mission) and spent the day boxing, weighing, taping and moving used clothing.

Saturday we had a local youth group come in the morning and helped us put together shelving . We will be able to store building supplies in that area now. Several of the girls had never worked with tools before so it was difficult but rewarding to see them accomplish the task.

Saturday afternoon saw another youth group ( that gave up their free time at a local youth retreat) come help us with finishing the shelving and moving building supplies downstairs. It amazes me how kids think running up and down stairs is a fun thing.

We are very tired but agree with the opening cartoon....these groups and individuals ROCK and Rule!! It's so nice to see so much accomplished in such a short time. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.

Sunday Seven...Filling Experiences

Filling Experiences

1. We are just finished our fourth container for Ethiopia. This past weekend we have been loading bed springs, and bunk bed ends for 440 beds. We also loaded very heavy library shelving as well as wardrobes and solid core doors. All of these supplies are going to Adis Abba for new dorms that are being built in the Mennonite Bible College.



2. We were thrilled to have a group from Savannah Christian Church come and volunteer to help with the physical loading and preparing items for shipment. Most of them are about the same ages of our kids so it felt like having extended family here. Here they are posing with the Missionary Karl Hansen after completing the load.




3. The weekend was filled with hard work but also fun times too. Earl is showing us that this container has everything including "the kitchen sink" not to mention 21 toilet seats, lighting fixtures, mirrors and a lawn mower.


4. Our outing to the Blue Nile for Ethiopian Cuisine was a big hit. The food is served on one big platter and you eat it with your hands. You use a thin piece of bread (like a thin pancake) called Injera to pick up the morsels. We ate lots of unpronounceable items but it was good and so much fun. The group really enjoyed this unique experience.



5. Karl and Vera Hanson are definitely "hands on" missionaries. They worked right along with us loading items or taking bigger items apart to conserve space. It cost about 15,000 dollars to do a container and will take about a month to get into Africa. It can take as long as four month to get it cleared from customs though. Interacting with the missionary really helped the group feel closely unite with the project.



6. Praying over the finished container was a highlight too. What a privilege to send it on it's way, trusting the Lord for it's safe arrival and for the excitement of the students when they help unload this container.


7. My weekend was filled with all kinds of experiences. Some very physical and exhausting, some fun, and adventuresome, some heartfelt and emotional. Saying goodbye to friends is never easy either so this afternoon will be filled with rest. Hope you had a filling weekend too.

Junior High Volunteersz

Did I get your attention!

I just spent the day with a lively Junior High Youth Group from Lexington, Virginia.

They were a group of eleven and a couple of them could have been a group all by themselves. Oh My Lord, what a waste of energy.....if only it could be bottled and sold!

This youth group was mainly boys and two lovely young ladies. The girls helped sort and box clothing and the boys moved the finished boxes to the the trailer with a hand truck. They also moved packed boxes of books from the stage to the van. We kept them very busy with lifting and moving most of the day and they still had energy and enough imagination to get into trouble.

Nothing like a lively game of hide and seek in a warehouse full of items precariously balanced on unsteady bases and sharp edges. ( Or how bout a game of stick your head through the hand truck cross bars, ) or my personal favorite stand on a shifting load of boxes under the baseball hoop and slide your whole body through the hoop. Ahhh....youth.

Don't get me wrong. I really appreciated their hard work. Without their help we would be moving all those boxes ourselves. I just don't remember being that silly or loud when I was in Junior High . I'd ask my mom but I don't think I want to know what she might confirm.

So what have I decided about my Junior High Experience?

1. I have decided that I don't pray enough for the Junior High Leadership.
2. That maybe I need to recruit senior high kids or older.
3. That youth is so wasted on the young.
4. I need more diversity and rotating jobs so kids aren't bored.
5. and most of all, "my spiritual giftness doesn't seem to be with Jr. Highers!"