Let it Begin

Day one of the trip is always my least favorite. There is so much anticipation to get going, but there is also so much waiting around. As the leader, there’s a lot of pressure to make sure everybody is working and has something to do. We weren’t at the site for more than 15 minutes and it felt like I was being pecked to death by chickens, seeking answers to questions that I had no answers to. So I did what I do best, I faked it. And then I prayed for God to give me some guidance on how to make this whole thing work.

So after a little alone time with the man upstairs, I surveyed the situation with the help of some of the veterans of the trip. We quickly set up a home base under the tent, made a list of the big jobs, assigned leaders to paint, roof, and scrape, and began to do what we at Woodside do best - kick some butt!

And as Raoul was going over some details, he showed me the first gardens we build in Rainbow Village back in 2007. I was distraught at what I saw, or thought I saw. It looked totally overgrown with large plants overtaking the entire area. Raoul said, “Can you believe what has happened here?”

I thought, “I can’t believe all of our hard was went to waste and no one took care of it!”

“Look at what YOU started!” he exclaimed. “You guys planted the seed the first time around and motivated the village.” He pointed out to me the sugar cane plants, pumpkin vines, sweet potatoes, and variety of other vegetables. “They have been asking for you to come again to help make it bigger and better than before, and you have answered their prayers.”

The rest of the day became a lot more enjoyable, especially when I returned the last time from the store to see EVERYONE fully engaged in some way or another. Whether it was on the roof, priming and scraping, pulling up weeks and overgrown brush, tearing out rotted wall boards, or playing with the kids, there was a smile on every face (and a lot less questions).