Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4).
Day 2 was actually our first day of work. It was a bright sunny day. When we arrived in the dark, we could not see the beauty of the area, but in the morning we were stunned by the beauty of this part of Jamaica. Our team ate a hearty breakfast, filled out water bottles and started to work painting the manse, the pastor and his family's residence. The picture is of me on an old ladder that I am surprised held together. It was one of two ladders we had to do this job. They were both unsafe, and it was risky using them, but they held together.
We gave the house its first coat of paint on Monday. It was a hot, muggy day so we consumed a lot of water. I've always believed summer weather is more healthful than winter because a person is forced to consume more water--this mid-winter retreat in Jamaica was good for us northerners!
Our team worked well together, our members were cooperative and kind, and though it was early in the week, they continued to be that way the whole week.
Each evening we had a time after the meal for devotion and reflection. It was an important time, and a couple of times during the week made me uncomfortable. Once in a while it is good to get pushed out of one's comfort zone!
The things that made it hard for me to sleep at night were the barking dogs, crowing roosters, my stuffed-up sinuses and sleeping on a concrete floor. But, even with all these impediments, by the end of the week I was sleeping like a baby. I have to say that Jamaica has lots and lots of wild dogs. It seemed like their nightly dog fights were right under our windows.
Our Father's Love,
Tom
No comments:
Post a Comment