Day Three - Tuesday, July 28

Grace and peace...

Today was a day of working, struggling and seeing God's hand among us. We continued to work on Eddie and Betty's house The porch railing is complete, all but about five feet of scraping was done, much of the house got a coat of primer and some of it got the final coat of paint. Al MacKenzie is going to pick up some mulch tomorrow and we will do some landscape beautification. Rescreening will be done as well.

It was the usual start to the day. The other guys in the guy's cabin are from the Church of the Slamming Door Way Too Early in the Morning. These guys have something against cabin doors that close quietly Oddly enough, they are from Largo. Our skulls begin rattling about 6:30 a.m. when they got up. With that awakening, we made our way to the breakfast carbo-load. This morning it was hash browns, biscuits, fried chicken breast, cereal, and muffins. Believe it or not, our bodies are craving such food. We have been working hard. At 8:15 or so, we followed our leader, Hillary, to the worksite.

Hillary. Oh, Hillary. Let me tell you about Hillary, our young site leader from Alabama. Yesterday she drove her car into a ditch. After we got her out (no damage to her BMW), she got lost taking us to a park in a town with two stoplights where we were to have lunch. This morning, an announcement was made to the campers during breakfast saying some car keys were found. Hillary's. Then on the way to camp, she drove off the right side of the road several times and then drove across the center line several times. She was alone, so none of us were driving with her and she wasn't fiddling with the radio or cell phone. On the back window of her car, someone had written "Nice try." It was an inside joke from earlier in the summer. We concluded it must be a commentary on her driving. Sweet girl, loves the Lord, fun, happy and driving is just not her skill.

Lunch today was at the Horseshoe Bend Park in Copperhill. On a beautiful day with blue skies and perfect weather, we ate our Subway sandwiches at a pavilion next to Toccoa River. After lunch, we sat next to the river like people in a Monet painting. A few brave souls waded into the -75 degree water. Or so it seemed.

The family at the worksite is amazing. They are constantly working alongside us and excited about getting the work they were unable to do for themselves done. Eddie even went out to a nearby Amish market and bought watermelons to serve to the team tomorrow. I found out about this after we left and it is an act of great generosity on his part. Like the Hondurans, he doesn't have much, but what he has he wants to share with gratitude to God and the team.

On the worksite, the youth played the "Who I would rather get in a fight with" game. To play, you must choose between two people and decide which one you would rather fight. They were desperate for entertainment. The choices today included Batman or Superman, Twoface or the Riddler, Captain Kirk or Sirius Black, Sauron or Gimli, Pastor John or Pastor Norm (they like Norm better), Pastor John or Derek Womack (they liked Derek better... I see a pattern), and various combinations of themselves. This occupied two hours of arguing while painting. Nerd central.

The team is coming together well. Again, the leaders are having to deal with some tensions and some interpersonal things with the students, but overall the unity is strengthening by the hour. I'm proud of our older students for how they are including and looking after the younger students, Charlene and Dominque (7th graders) especially.

Shortly, we will head for chapel. I can tell you that two in our group are experiencing God in new ways, perhaps for the first time. It seems we are witnesses to an awakening of souls. I know we are all are experiencing soul renewal. I want to say that the several who are on the verge of a spiritual breakthrough are most on my mind, but the reality is I see that God has something in mind for every single person on this trip. Watching it unfold is like seeing large cumulonimbus clouds unfurl. You know what it is, you can't hurry it along and it is breathtaking to experience.

Pray for our students and us as leaders. Pray for safety, health, stamina and above all hearts that will be malleable to the shaping by the Holy Spirit. We miss you and look forward to seeing you on Sunday.