Well, Dang. I despise creative writing and social media, but
apparently this is mandatory. While at Red Bird, I and my fellow
basketball/hacky-sackers have lived in fear of a roaming bulldog. This bulldog
turns 2 on 2 into 3 on 2, with the defender always profiting. And when the dog
gets the ball, he guards it, effectively halting the game. I have been playing
hacky-sack, and improving, along with various games of cards. Unfortunately no
one plays poker, but what can you do? As
for good works, I have been painting a house and helping clear out floorboards.
Clearing the floorboards was rather entertaining, as I was finally entrusted
with free rein and a crowbar. Bedlam ensued. To my parents: I love you, and
yes, father, I enjoy the cessation of your smart*** remarks. Sleep well, and
may all prosper by the incredible wisdom provided above. Also, the pastor tried
to kill me with an ingenious trap involving a swinging door and a cup of hot
chocolate.
Alex
Hello this is Rachel.
One of the rookies this year on the trip. I’m so happy to be here and helping. Kentucky
is beautiful and the smoky mountains are wonderful to look at every
morning. I wanted to tell you about my
“rookie day”! I moved teams today and
joined Gordan, Jenna, Kristin, Molly and Alex in some serious painting on a
cabin here at sight. We did priming and
started painting balcony ceilings with the “Red Bird” Red we did a fine
job! Got done before lunch, we went back
after lunch to put a second coat on and the foreman came by to check on us and
I found out that we were suppose to paint the ceiling white!!!! So guess what, we put primer on and Thursday
we’re ready to start the white paint!!
Day 2 of working is done, after dinner we bought ice cream
from the volunteer fire dept and then did some wonder shopping at the local
craft store (yes, sweet husband I used the credit card tonight) J Then Nancy and Molly gave the devotion
tonight. I was so proud of her and
Nancy. It made Barb and I cry! It’s a good day when you make this proud momma
cry!!!
Blessings and thanks to everyone for supporting and praying
for us.
Day two of work camp for “Mr. Blinky” (aka Jack Diemer) and
his team (Barb, Nancy, Francis, Kate, Jake) began with a 25-mile drive back to Manchester
to Willis and Kim’s home to install a tin roof.
We were again serenaded by their nine hunting beagles, with Chief
barking the lead.
Barb got to make a trip back to Red Bird, slightly over an
hour round trip, to get extra screws so we would have enough to get the roof
almost done. Apparently, she sang both
parts of “I Can Do Anything You Can Do Better” because I wasn’t there to sing
the Annie Oakley portion (my role in high school). She does love the Sirius radio and Broadway
Showtunes station.
While Barb was driving through Appalachia ,
the rest of us became first-time roofers. We started pre-drilling 1,000 holes into 50 4’
x 8’ tin sheets… and enjoyed working together to make a difference in the life
of this couple. Jack was a pro in his
“tool apron” perched atop the roof. His
fearless assistants were Jake and Frances.
I joined Kate as the ground crew responsible for marking and drilling
the holes and handing the tin sheets up to our roofers to screw into the roof. Highlights included our delicious lunch made
even better with the tomato and bacon we were bequeathed by one of the staff
members after breakfast which made my BLT sandwich, Francis’ HLTC (ham,
lettuce, turkey, cheese), and Kate’s TBL (turkey, bacon, lettuce) sandwich.
Barb gave me and Kate some “Drilling Basics 101” lessons AFTER we had already
drilled about 800 holes and broke two drill bits… but now we know the proper
way to drill through metal! J We had a
long, yet very productive work day in the hot Kentucky
sun. We enjoyed one quick bit of rain
early in the day, which made the afternoon even steamier with the humidity.
A brief report on the rest of the troop:
Susan lays a mean parquet floor – especially because they
had to mix and match parts that don’t always fit. They used the floor parts that Annie deemed
unusable in her portion of the flooring.
She and Janet celebrated each success.
Howard and Annie continued laying floor in other parts of the apartment. Linda now has bruises on her legs from
clipping labels and sealing envelopes. We’re sure there is a good story there
and will work on getting it out of her.
It was another good except for the lack of wifi
connection. We will continue to post as
possible. Pictures will be the last to
be posted. As always we firmly believe
that GOD IS GOOD!
Barbara
Love the individual personal posts! Hmmmm Blinky?
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