Hello all you persistent readers. It's Clark again with
these words. Too bad my typist Sarah is not here to make this job easier
for me. I just had to express my feelings that this was another
successful and fun mission trip. And thanks to all my fellow
"missioneers" for doing their part and using their talents, for it
was truly a team effort. No doubt some of us even learned a new skill or
two. I for one used a nail gun for the first time, as well as a table
power saw, and still have all my ten fingers with which to type this last
installment! Praise the LORD! Perhaps now I should list all the
team jobs since, like I said, we needed all of you.
We never would have made it to North Carolina and back were
it not for our very capable drivers: Bill, Elvis, Mel, and Carmen.
The youngest member of our group was Emily, and she was in charge of
administering First Aid. By God's grace, her services were not needed,
except for the mysterious case of a swelled eye lid which she developed on our
last day. I pray that she is now ok and ready for school again. Mel
worked in the kitchen to prepare our evening meals and even a hearty breakfast
on Saturday before we departed. Tori, Son Chu, Jo, and Soon also assisted
in the kitchen. Our staff photographer was Lorene, but many thanks to
everybody who snapped photos and submitted them. Many thanks to the work
team leaders: Rick did inside work such as hanging doors and installing trim,
Elvis on the roofing, Carmen on the flooring, and Greg on the painting,
etc. I should also point out that in the 2nd house that team Rick
visited on Friday Lorene also was very helpful in putting on the outlet covers
for the light switches and electrical sockets in that house. Being a part
of Team Rick I know just how hard he worked to hang the, at times stubborn,
doors in the houses. He certainly remained cool under pressure. And
he really does like to cook and eat those wild mushrooms in his gourmet dishes,
just in case you were wondering what he did with them.
Carmen of course led devotions each evening and really made
us think about why we were in Fayetteville in the first place. I liked
his demonstration of the water glass that was full to overflowing. He
said that we could try to keep all that water (Holy Spirit) to ourselves.
But that would be selfish, since when we give it away to someone else, God
always fills our glass right back up. And that is why the Jordan River is
like that everlasting flow, for us to continually use. Else it goes to
waste by emptying into the toxic Dead Sea. As we read in Galations 5:22,
The harvest of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,
Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control. You might also call these
these the Fruits or Gifts of the Holy Spirit. I recall seeing all these
being displayed on our mission trip, so good job team.
Davis, being an accountant himself, was the
perfect man for the job of keeping track of our income and expenses. And
as usual we came out ahead. Once again, as Rev. Peter reminded us, God is
a terrible accountant, meaning that his blessings are in abundance, and are
more than we need. Matt not only assisted Davis in keeping track of the
money, but he also did the shopping for our group: everything from food for the
kitchen to supplies for the work sites. The
Environmental Specialists, Sarah E and Emma, had the task of making sure
that the jobs sites they were at were kept neat and tidy, and also the church,
including the kitchen. And thank goodness they took out the trash as
needed. Our water people were Kyle and Tori. They made sure that
the coolers were stocked with ice and water bottles every morning, and for
calling out the frequent water breaks, which we certainly needed in the
heat. The Laundry Lovers were Rachel and Maddie. They were charged
with keeping that little area clean and for keeping things moving. I thank
Maddie for personally showing me the location of the laundry room, as it was
like walking through a maze just to get there. Jo and Rick made
sure that our lunches and water jugs made it to our work sites each day. And Lorene handled all those paperwork forms
that we had to fill out.
Now let me mention our trip leader Reverend
Peter. He no doubt spent many hours planning and praying for this
trip. So much so that he certainly deserved that sabbatical and family
vacation over the summer. Thanks to Bill for filling with the mission
trip details while he was away. And I should note that since Rev. Peter
was in charge of the daily work assignments, he could have chosen any job
available. Yet there he was up on that roof, along with Elvis, Bill, and
those young people, doing what I would have to consider was one of the harder
jobs. (Such a shame that I have an all too healthy respect for
heights.) I'm sure that he would just say that his hard work was all for
the "Glory of God." Amen to that. We should be reminded
of this whenever someone asks us what we did this summer. So let me just
say that "We LOVE you Rev. Peter!!"
I recently heard that several families from our
sister church Plains are going on a mission trip to Nepal later in Sept.
I'm sure that the several plane trips alone would be exhausting, not to mention
the jet lag from being in such a far away place. Let us keep them in our
thoughts and prayers.
Well thanks again everybody for making this trip a
big success, and can't wait til next year!! God Bless!
This is your very blessed
journalist, signing off from Mars, Clark.
