Tuesday, March 17

We woke up around 7 AM and packed our sack lunches before breakfast. This included PB & J’s, chips, fruit, cookies, and anything else we wanted. Next, we gathered in the dining room for breakfast. We had an egg bake, sausage, cereal, etc. After breakfast, the girls cleaned up the kitchen & the rest of the gang transitioned into quiet time: this is a time where we could be alone in the Word and read our devotion book for the day. This was a very refreshing way to start a workday as it is a great reminder of how we should ground ourselves before going out and serving others.  After that we did “Kickstart” where Teresa shared a devotional about how God has equipped the called to serve in His Kingdom.

 Following the devotional, we broke into groups and left for our worksites. The Blessings Barn group stayed at the YMCA to make birthday cards for Gertrude, a woman in the community who is turning 105! We also cut & prepped food that will be used for the rest of the week. After that, we headed out to the Blessings Barn. When we arrived, we immediately took a picture and met Kristen, the founder of this ministry. She invited us inside to explain how she ran things, but it was ultimately God’s ministry. She said they have had some financial strain as they have mostly stopped receiving donations and have applied for grants but have not heard back. Kristin and her husband have even started preparing all the food themselves that they serve every Tuesday & Thursday to over 300 people who are still in need. We saw that God was at work in this, as our group had worked with our church leadership before coming on this trip and had prepared a check from Faith CRC, which we found out is for the exact amount that it takes to fund a week of the work she is doing and she was very grateful! She was cut short from talking about the ministry as people began to arrive. So, we prayed with them and began to work. Some people restocked the barns full of different supplies, passed out meals, helped bag items, and other odd jobs.

Meanwhile, the rest of the crew went with an organization called Hearts with Hands to a church that needed some flooring work done. We initially thought we were tearing out flooring, but it turns out we were actually installing it, which we were happy to do! The flooring team did an excellent job and almost finished the whole room in one day. Some of us from the flooring team right away went to load up a truck full of windows, toilets, faucets, and other building supplies. Some of which we unloaded at the Hearts with Hands warehouse. To finish the day we went with that truck to deliver some windows to a lady named Amanda whose home was destroyed by the hurricane and Hearts with Hands is now helping her build a new home. We unloaded the windows and brought them to the house being constructed and we prayed with her, which was an awesome experience.

We came back to the YMCA. The boys chose to play a rowdy basketball game of 21 with Josh “being a bucket”. They also played “who can get the volleyballs out of the ceiling” & “throwing a football from full court”. The girls did an intense HIT session consisting of over 50 squats. We walked back to the cabin and had some delicious tacos, chips, and some ice cream and birthday cake and ended the night with worship, small group time and games!

Tomorrow will be another day of work and we are excited to see what God will have us do and who He will lead us to meet!

- Written by Grant Vander Wilt and Hayley Rens