My group (Pastor Emily) is painting the exterior and interior of the home of a 71-year-old woman, Ann. Ann grew up in Manhattan and speaks fluent English. Her daughter Cathy is staying with her for a while, helping her fix up her home, which seems to have been neglected for some time. We also learned that Ann has thyroid and breast cancer. Cathy is directing us in our work and they have both expressed such gratitude for our being here--they can't quite comprehend why we would travel all over helping people (perhaps we'll tell them tomorrow that's is part of our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus).
It is a small, concrete house:
Perhaps the highlight of the day for my group was the NINE, adorable, one-month-old pit bull puppies--enough for each of us to hold at least one...
...or for Dominic to hold five at a time...
But we didn't only cuddle with puppies--we also did good work. Here are Claire and Emily practicing some mad spackling skills:
Brandi and Alex led a group in roofing. Roofs here are all flat and mostly concrete. When rain water sits in them too long the concrete bubbles up and they crack. The group spent their day resealing the roof.
Susan's group also spent their day painting. The home they worked on belonged to an older woman who did not speak any English, so they struggled a little with the communication. The language of love, though, crosses that barrier, and as the group left for the day, the woman shed tears of gratitude.
Some of the group discovered a swimming hole this afternoon on their way back from their sites and had a great adventure.
More photos to come, as soon as I can download them from other iPhones.
Some of the youth have also agreed to blog tonight, but are currently involved in a three-on-three basketball tournament.
Check back later tonight or tomorrow for their reflections.
No comments:
Post a Comment