So much going on today.
Work on site started with a bang.. a thunderous bang this morning… there was a chance of rain today, but we arrived on site and started our work, but stayed off that shiny metal roof, just in case….
But by 1100a it was quite clear that we’d have to shut down most operations. The only thing that was still going on was that beloved set of stairs at the back of the deck/porch. All the men worked on it in some fashion, wondering what James’ problem was…. See, James spent most of his week digging holes with Gary Ho last week, often running into buried cinder blocks, abandoned sewer lines and other obstructions. He joked on video that he was leaving a few awkward holes for us to dig this week. But it turned out that the remaining holes were in pretty soft soil. Sorry James…. š
But as half our crew watched a couple of the guys pound away at the ground and posts, the others, including Jim and Shirley/Nannie sat around and had some hot coffee and donuts as we waited out the storm. The sharing and mutual encouragement was much appreciated, but it was soon decided to shut down all efforts for the day.
Plan B
Now comes the even more interesting part.
Yesterday, Paul, our friend and one of the site supervisors, had asked if anyone would be available for an additional work project. A longtime friend of his had recently lost his job, relocated and was trying to rent out the home that he and his family hurriedly left behind. He was going to paint a few rooms of their home for the cost of materials, in order to support their hasty departure and difficult circumstances.
Although a couple of us wanted to help, we couldn’t figure out how we could fit it into our schedule. But then it rained… it poured… and there wasn’t any work that we could do inside the house we were working on. Craig, our team leader, decided that if it continued to rain and we had to shut down at Habitat, the entire team would go.
It rained, it poured, we ALL went. Even our new friends, Jim and Nannie drove out to join us. The entire group cleared the home for painting, masked and primed all the walls. Paul was amazed at how much work and how quickly we were able to finish.
The difficult thing is that Paul’s friend has had some difficult situations and losses recently, and struggles to believe in God. And here, a rainstorm, two groups from opposite coasts of the country, combine to help him and his family through heart and task.
God is good. All the time. We didn’t want Paul, or his friend, to feel forsaken.
And we’re glad to help