Today was the second day that the teams were split over two separate sites.
The CoEd team went to work on the trailers, the 2-Week Men’s team returned to the Pascagoula site to work with Brad.
As mentioned before, it was nice to be able to help in the recovery from the tornadoes as the FEMA/MEMA trailers will be moved up north, such as Smithville. We were told that although utility companies were in that area to reconnect homes to power, there were many homes no longer there to reconnect. Sad.
Bu’s Sacrifice
On the way to last night’s dinner at The Shed, Tommy’s car picked up Brad and Chris M (whom we affectionately call “Chris Girl” to distinguish her from the male Chris on our team), rode with Kelly’s car. Chris and Lorin really hit it off, and became even better friends.
When we arrived back home that evening, Bu asked if he could switch teams the next day (today), so that Chris and Lorin could spend the day together. It was touching. Bu’s a good guy, but his unseen sacrificial act was humbling. So today, Bu and Lorin traded teams, so that Lorin could hang out with her new bud Chris. Bu made his offer without much fanfare, and it wasn’t for acknowledgement from anyone, the least of which, Chris. In fact, I hesitate even to mention it here publicly.
Tonight, when we prayed for Chris, as it was our last evening with her, I felt that Bu’s unseen sacrifice for Chris was analogous to Christ’s sacrifice for us. Sometimes, unseen, unnoticed, but yet it is still there for us. But this type of sacrifice has not been unusual for the team members, as I see them intentionally trying to bless others, including their team members. And it’s nice to know that they’re just not on “good behavior.”
The Work
The CoEd team worked with Mark, a fast-talking, personable good ol’ boy that works for Habitat. they spent the day cleaning and painting trailers. Apparently part of his humor includes a stuffed mouse on a fishing line. There came a moment when Mark (and I suspect Steve O) tried to scare her with the scrambling mouse. As it “ran” across the room, Esther firmly turned around and said “I’m not scared.”
The 2-Week team worked on the siding again with the folks from St. James/Thrivent, finishing the side and rear of the house. During lunch, half our team joined St. James near the beach for lunch, when a very fast moving, rainy and noisy thunderstorm struck the area. It threatened the work schedule, but an hour later, it was back to normal.
See the video of Chris (C, “Chris Boy”) and Lorin during the storm below…
Meeting time.
At the end of the day, we gathered as a group and were able to reflect on our motivation and our attitude while serving. Kyle’s devotional reminded us that if we are not serving using Christ’s sacrificial love towards those we meet, and those with whom we serve. Chris M joined us for our worship, teaching and prayer time, we were able to bless and pray for her as a group, and then she joined Esther and Lorin in small group.
This is so much more than just hammering nails.
Pictures:
Click for some pics from the day
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| Katrina 2011 05 13 |