It's a Wrap

We don't give ourselves a lot of credit sometimes. We always think there's more we could do. We're very hard on ourselves if we don't meet expectations. But the thing is, when the week is over we always accomplish more than we were supposed to. One project this week was to put sheetrock and a new floor into Mr. Leo's house. We did that, but also put in a new window, a wall air conditioner, and a little desk as well. Another project was to put interior walls into the shanty house, and paint the interior and exterior. We did that plus painted bible verses, flowers, and other pictures to help decorate it. The last project was to paint the outside of Miss Camille's house, plus put sheetrock and paint a new addition that was built last year. Done. If that was all we had to do, there would have been about 10 people doing nothing today, so Raoul put us on the next project, to paint the exterior of a new house down the road. We didn't finish painting the entire thing, but over half is finished with the rest being painted on the family mission trip. Our team this year transformed three 1/2 houses, affecting over 2 dozen people. But we also transformed lives. The woman who will live in the shanty shared with that team how she wanted to take her like by throwing herself under a car, but that getting this new home had given her hope. Miss Agnes praised us and Jesus for the work being done on her home, even as she suffers daily with many medical ailments. And the kids. So many kids. Each day there were over 20 kids that came to draw, paint, make jewelry, play soccer and football, wrestle, sing and dance. These families have very little. They live in a trash infested areas, some with no running water or electricity. But they are a people of faith, trust, and hope. Raoul has said before, "Poverty is not the absence of things, but it's the absence of hope." As our team reflects on this week and prepares for going home, I believe that we will begin to turn away from the things that we use to make us feel better, and turn to the ONE who promises to be there always.