God is amazing. During our trip we have something that we call God’s fingerprints. This is what we use to recognize that God is in control and taking care of us. On our long journey on the way to Louisiana, God proved to all of us that he was here and going to be with us through the trip. We had three vans and one car that was following each other to Louisiana. For example, we were on a busy highway and one of the van’s light adapters fell off. It was in my van that this happened and none of us knew that anything was wrong. Then God’s fingerprints were clear. The car that was following behind us saw it fall. If that wasn’t enough, we were also in slow moving traffic which allowed the car enough time to jump out and grab the light adapter. After this we were all like “WOW!” This was a clear sign that God was here with us and that we were headed to work for him. We also had a few more encounters on the way down. One of the vans air conditioning completely broke down. Praise God that there was an Auto Zone right across the road where we stopped. Then when someone (no names) went inside to purchase the part we needed they accidently picked up the wrong one. It was almost 9 and we knew that that is when Auto Zone would close. We went on our way and happened to find another one at 8:58, just in time! We returned the old part and got a new one that worked. We were then on our way to the hotel.
On the way Saturday everyone was still unsure of each other and not everyone really knew each other that well. Our youth group is filled with many different age groups and clicks and it is hard for everyone to hang out as a group without it being awkward and tension. It just so happened that on this missions trip Brandon had something in mind. He decided that we were not allowed to pick our own hotel rooms. At first, this was tragic! Everyone was a little upset and uninformed about why this would be the case. It was all people who didn’t know each other and were not in the same clicks. When we all arrived at the hotel we were a little intimidated. Walking into the rooms it seemed as if everyone was confused and disappointed. But Brandon for sure knew what he was doing. Sunday morning it seemed as if we had a whole different group with us. At breakfast everyone was together and the groups were mixed up. The same clicks were changed into random groups of people. It was neat to see the dynamics of the group change in just one evening. It seemed as if everyone could just put their differences aside and actually work together on this long journey that we still had left.
The car rides are always the best part to get to know people and sometimes even learn some interesting things about people that we never knew before. My van was the crazy hyper van and barely anyone slept. It was filled with a good variety of personalities and many different humors. We had Quintin Blank, Brandon Blank, Chris Esh, Ben Combs, Jodan Shauffer (who I must say must be one of the most entertaining people I have ever met), Leanne Lefever, Klarinda Stoltzfus, Elizabeth Hoover, Leesha Smoker, and Doug Smoker as our wonderful PATIENT van driver. After a long long car ride we FINALLY arrived at Trinity Church. It was wonderful to hop out of the car and know that we won’t be driving in there again for another week. Don’t get me wrong I love the van rides and everyone in it, but after 20 hours of driving it is about time to arrive and get down to business.
The first night at Trinity was just orientation and learning about what we will be doing and all of the rules. We were all too tired to think and we were just all ready to sleep and see what the next day would hold. On Monday morning when I woke up the first thing that came to my mind was “How in the world am I going to work on a roof?” We were all assigned our work groups on Sunday night before we went to bed. We were having a group dry wall, one group paint, and another group would be doing roofing. I was placed into the roofing group. At first I was so confused about how in the world I was placed in this group. I have no skill at all when it comes to anything handy. And when I took a look at my group they all seemed to be so skilled and experienced (The guys did anyway.)
Monday morning we all packed up our bags and headed to our work cite. At first I was a little shocked in the development that the house we were working on was in. All of the houses were big mansions and were very nice houses. The house that we were working on was the only house in the development that was not worked on. We were rebuilding this house for the staff of the church. It went through my head all day why were would work on a house that is in such a nice neighborhood and not a house that is in the center of the city surrounded by people who need us more. It took me awhile to think about it, and finally Brandon Fisher led me to a conclusion. It is not just the poor that need our help and need the love of God. It is everyone. We need to show our love and our willingness to work and serve to the rich and the poor. Just because they have everything does not mean that they have Jesus in their hearts. The more people I talk to, it seems like the ones who have nothing are the happiest and the most hopeful. Walking around the development here we did not get to talk to that many people. We did meet one cute old lady who was willing to talk but clearly did not have Jesus in her life. She has been on the back of my mind the past couple days. She is living alone with her dog and she seems to love life, but she is missing the most important part. I am hoping that there is something that we can do for her before the week ends.
As of yesterday the job cite that we are working on has gone very well. We got so much done and thankfully I found some work that I can do. My team has amazed me in so many different ways and I am so proud of each of them. My team consists of Morgan Lanser, Leesha Smoker, Hadassah Huyard, Torie Stoltzfus, Becky Glick, Zach Fisher, Jordan Shauffer, Devon Smoker, Barry Yoder, Brandon Russum, Clare Evans, Connor Beiler, and Brandon Blank. It has been a joy to work with them and it seems as if this group works so well together. The guys have been amazing when it comes to all of the work. They have so much talent and they have helped us girls know what we are doing as well. They even taught me how to use a saw and hammer nails. The group dynamics have been so good so far and I am very excited to see how the rest of the week will play out. We can all tell that everyone is getting more exhausted by the minute and the weather here is extremely hot, but I think that we are all learning a good lesson in patience and how not to complain. It is hard but I can already see some people working on this and excelling. Thank you all for your support and your prayers! We appreciate it very much and we can all feel God with us!
Continue praying for….
~Our group being in harmony with each other
~ Leesha Smoker and her disk in her back. She has been in pain all week but she has not complained about it once. Continue to pray for healing and that her pain would be reduced for the remainder of the trip.
~ Patience
~ Willingness to do what God wants to be done down here
~ All of the groups out on the Job , it is hot and I know that sunburn and some slight sickness has been a minor issue that past few days
~ The leader’s patience. They have done so much for us this week so far and they have another big drive at the end of the week. Just pray that they will have strength to endure all that is ahead.
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