Today was such a wonderful day. As of last night, I was adopted by the CYF group from Central Christian Church in Lexington, KY. We worked at Northwest Christian Church in manicuring and updating the church building. We washed and painted walls, scraped ceilings and repainted them, built a hand washing trough, caulked windows, installed drains... lots of great things that seem like basic or trivial things that are incredibly important. As an "adult", I embraced the idea of letting the youth have the experience and us being there to help them make the most of their experience. In other words, I did not pick up a paint brush or hammer... neither of which I am good at using. I did help scrape paint AND I held things in place as they were being nailed. The one thing I did kind of take control over was that I was the only one who could climb the ladder while it was being used on the staircase. Having decided that because my will & funeral plans were saved on my computer (it was for a my death & dying class, don't worry), it would just make everything easier if whoever had to use the ladder took a plummeting death down the steps. I entrusted my life at the hands of a 15 year old boy to hold the ladder in place. Seeing as how I am able to write this blog not from a body cast or from the great beyond, that trust was well placed.
Some of the youth built a water trough that would be used as a hand wash station for future mission trip groups. They had to start over on it several times (not their fault) and change around their plans. They kept coming up with new ideas to make it better and more effective. I was so impressed by their motivation and patience. As they were making it, I couldn't help but think of what purpose this is going to serve. People we don't know and probably will never meet are going to come to Detroit, ready to serve God's people and after a long day's work, they'll wash their hands. They'll wash away the dirt, the paint, the smells, the toxins-- everything from that day allowing their hands to be clean, refreshed, and ready to serve again. It reminded me of Jesus washing the feet of the Disciples... Cleansing and beginning again... Ready to serve...
And to think, it all began with some high school kids from Kentucky.
Some of the youth built a water trough that would be used as a hand wash station for future mission trip groups. They had to start over on it several times (not their fault) and change around their plans. They kept coming up with new ideas to make it better and more effective. I was so impressed by their motivation and patience. As they were making it, I couldn't help but think of what purpose this is going to serve. People we don't know and probably will never meet are going to come to Detroit, ready to serve God's people and after a long day's work, they'll wash their hands. They'll wash away the dirt, the paint, the smells, the toxins-- everything from that day allowing their hands to be clean, refreshed, and ready to serve again. It reminded me of Jesus washing the feet of the Disciples... Cleansing and beginning again... Ready to serve...
And to think, it all began with some high school kids from Kentucky.
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