Monday = Paint + Shovel

This morning we began our work projects at NLCH and it was a fun one at that. Part of the group went to the gym and began to clean and paint the walls and rafters. I think the guy in charge was thinking that this was going to be a really long project for us, but at the end of the day, we had all of the walls and most of the rafters finished. The other part of the group went to the other side of the property to do some landscaping work. A couple of guys filled in holes with dirt while the others picked up paving stones in order to level out the dirt underneath as they get ready to build a gazebo in the middle of the dorms for the children to enjoy. Our team worked really hard today and I can say that I was proud of each one of them as they worked through the rain to try and get our tasks done.

This evening we had dinner with the children again and then spent the rest of the evening playing games. Some were giving kids rides on shoulders or backs, spinning kids around, and all kinds of other fun stuff. The older girls group sat out on their porch and played bunko on the picnic tables while the older boys group played capture the flag again in the gym. Needless to say we all had lots of fun and plenty of laughter.

I'll share one quick story from one of our team that was working on the paving stones before signing off. As the guys were working, a couple of the little children were watching them work. All of a sudden as they were picking up these stones, one of the little kids that was about 5 or 6 came out and started picking up stones with them and carrying them to the stacks. It was really a cool thing because the kids had watched our team serving and something clicked for this little guy that he needed to be out there with them working on this project. It blessed the guys that were working to see that kind of response and hopefully the little boy will understand that yes we are here to do some work to make their living quarters look nicer, but ultimately we are here to serve God through working and interacting with these children in a way to show that they are loved by the Creator and that they have not been forgotten.