07/13/07
As you can see from the pictures, last night's reveal sure was a special occasion. Circumstances provided that Ms Burroughs was out of town until yesterday afternoon, so we were able to semi-complete the project without her seeing any of it until Sonia captured a video production of Extreme Home Make Over Riverside/PBC edition. Ms Burroughs was beside herself throughout the event as all of her friends and colleagues shared in the event...You'll just have to wait to see the episode with celebrities impersonated.
Robert ended the evening with an excellent devotion which really culminated the weeks spiritual and physical experiences for all of us. Yet again we sat around and expressed how God was working in our lives and what we had witnessed this week. Jon and Robert left out for home early this morning. No one knows exactly when but it was before 6:00 AM as that is when the old tin room started coming off of the maintenance building. It was up and at it one more time, over to the apartment to finish up some aesthetics and clean up. We broke for lunch with the roofing team and sure enough, its the same group of guys that we've been visiting with all week. Pastor Miller (Tommy) and his son Tim, Virgil, Andy, Brandon, John Baker, Ernie and some other faithful souls. I previously overestimated the length of the tin. It's actually custom cut to 41'8", and these fellows were wasting no time putting it up in the heat of the day. It was actually amazing to watch and see the roof transform with a view from over at the apartment. Tonight we will have the Facing the Giants movie in the gymnasium followed with an ice cream social, although I don't know that any of us will be able to actually set through the movie given that we've all come down with a strange ailment that causes our eyelids to close involuntarily. Ernie will give an invocation and we'll pray God with work in the hearts of the folks in attendance tonight and that even one will yield to the Holy Spirit. We'll close out the evening with sincere gratitude to Ernie and the Riverside staff for their constant hospitality and love that they've shown us this week. The team is ready to come home and see their families. This morning Glenn and Lynn were talking about how neat it was to get to know the parents of Lilly's (grandaughter) playmates (Olivia and Elijah). We got the call on Wednesday that Nancy had lost a dear friend and she is eager to get home to console with the Carpenter family. We plan to be on the road between 7-8 AM, putting us at the church no later than 5:00 pm. We'll look forward to seeing you all then and pray that God will again go before us along the journey. God Speed, The PBC World Missions KY Team
07/12/07
I'm gonna go ahead and do today's entry this morning since I predict another marathon day. Mrs Hostetler is interviewing each member of the team for an article in The Beacon, Riverside's school paper. You can log on to the website http://www.riversidechristian.org/ and write or call in for a copy of next month's press. Yesterday evening found Lynn and Nancy on ladders with paintbrushes, this morning found Jon in the kitchen making blueberry pancakes after which our strength was renewed with his devotion from Isaiah 40. Although Sonia was seen with her head down on her bible at the table this morning before breakfast (maybe she was praying) her energy continues to motivate the team each and every day. Ed is always there with a voice of reason, wisdom, and decision that stems from his business management skills as a VP in his company. Buddy and Glenn continue to be our special forces team, slipping around here and there silently targeting and accomplishing task after task, truly demonstrating exemplary servitude. These two guys are veterans in Gods army. Robert, well now...what we all can say about Robert is what an encouragement he is to the rest of us. One minute he’s got a broom, the next he's helping Jon cut counter tops, the next he's sawing off a water pipe for Brock, then he's wrestling another appliance out of the way or into place.... fine young man he is indeed. And then there’s Brock, its a great strength to me to have such a good friend on the team. In addition to his construction skills, I can always count on his tremendous and always positive attitude to keep me and the rest of us headed in the right direction. This evening will give way to a cookout with 40 plus staff and family from Riverside. Those that we've interacted with this week, and those that have done so much to minister to the PBC team. Pray that relationships are built that continue into eternity.
07/11/07
Wednesday was quite a day and the weather didn't help much either. Power tools, trim & molding, and appliances all had to be moved back and forth out of the rain, but that didn't dampen our spirits. The specs in the pictures that you see is dry wall dust, and everyone was covered in a fine coat of the stuff. I guess it would appear that were all from the same underground world of the white haired people. Never the less, challenges arise, opinions are shared, and consensus' are arrived at to everyone’s satisfaction. The team is really putting in 120 percent on this project and though limited in budget, we're not taking any shortcuts on the quality and attention to detail, even taking down the above-range microwave and 15" cabinet we had just installed and changing out to a 12" cabinet to give Ms. Burroughs an extra 3" of "stirrin" height. A little bit about the wonderful lady who will call this apartment home. Beverly Burroughs, originally from upstate New York, has been serving her Lord and the Riverside School since 1968. Never married, she has fully devoted her life to teaching and loving the children that have found their way to Riverside for one reason or another, and as a result of her commitment, these children have gone away from Riverside as adults knowing God and having the promise of eternal life. She has also served as the K-6th grade coordinator and as of recent, since year 2000, served as Riverside Assistant Administrator. But as many will tell you, this was real time of transition for Riverside following the passing of Mr. Hostetler in that year. Mr. Hostetler was a man of God who tirelessly served the school in so many ways, a daily routine that included time with the Lord, driving a school bus to pick up the kids, teaching classes, coaching the basketball team, sweeping the floors after the games, driving the kids home, coming back to the school to take care of the days administration duties, and still finding time to encourage and provide discipleship for his staff. He was also a devoted family man who during this time raised two children with his wife, who continues to teach and serve at the school today. On one occasion, he camped out for 4 days on a wayward student's front porch to demonstrate his commitment and win the boy back to regular attendance at Riverside. I share all of this with you so you can understand the challenge of filling Mr. Hostetler's shoes, never mind that he was also a star football player that had the opportunity to play for the Cleveland Browns and established a close working relationship with Rev. Ricky Bolden, no stranger to PBC. But Ms. Burroughs rose to the occasion and kept the lights on at Riverside through four administrations, and as Ernie will tell you, she's still the task master allowing him time to be out in the communities raising support and coordinating the extracurricular activities and volunteer base that serves here. So its a real blessing to us, and all of the folks at PBC who have contributed financially an and in prayer for this team, to be able to renovate this home for Ms. Burroughs. She is fully deserving of the least we can provide, a new kitchen. You will also see in the pictures the much needed new roof that arrived for the Maintenance building. I don’t know the exact length of the metal sheets but I'd say they are in excess of 60' in length and several thousand pounds in total. The funds for this was also provided by God through the congregation at Purcellville Baptist Church and while our team didn't feel up to the calling to install the roof, the Lost Creek community, as always, is coming out Friday and Saturday to put it up. Back to the apartment: We had a smoke detector that kept giving 4 quick warning chirps when we turned one of kitchen circuit breakers off, so we assumed it was hard wired for power as tracing power in this complex is a mystery in itself, much like the plumbing (by the way-I think Brock will get his Master Plumbers Cert. after this). The building has gone through countless repairs, add ons, and upgrades, but it came as a real surprise that during painting, I reached up and lifted the smoke detector off of the wall to discover no wires going into the wall for power.....the look in Ed's eyes was priceless as he noted, "it did it several times!!!" We were ready to accept this phenomenon as par for course until we discovered another smoke detector in the living room. At any rate, cabinets and trim were finished out, the bathroom got its final coat of mud, the kitchen walls got a nice coat of bright yellow, the living room was painted a warm taupe, and we headed back to the cafeteria for supper. As I opened the door, an aroma so pleasing filled my lungs, it literally gave me goose bumps. You see, this was Lynn’s Blue Ribbon BBQ, giving off a smell much more preferable than what Jon Jenkins noted earlier at the appartment, "Is that me I smell?" I've seen good craftsmen from time to time, and we've all seen quick carpentry, but I can assuredly tell you, Jenkins Restorations and sons are both quick and excellent craftsmen. I have no doubt that we would still be back on day 1 without him. Physically exhausted but well feed, we climb up in the Red Barron and headed "up the creek" to Faith Bible Church for Bible Study, where Sonia's mom had prepared a fruit pizza for desert. It was a real joy to study God's word with the folks there. We studied faith, and what it means to move mountains with our faith, since moving mountains with men and machinery is commonplace in a coal mining area. We sought the scriptures to acquire the kind of faith that could, if God desired, uproot a mulberry bush, and heal, and give hope, and peace, and joy in something even greater, Christ’s love for us and our love for one another. Then we headed back down the creek and hit the apartment for a few more hours of getting the kitchen/family room ready for new floors, and the bathroom sanded down and ready for its paint. Sonia's cousin Ray and his wife Christine stopped in around 10:00 pm with delicious muffins and coffee to get us through the evening.
07/10/07
Oh my, guess we worked a little harder than we thought...folks were moving a little slower but no complaints, other than...."I'm all stove up". The coffee was prepared a little stronger and back at it we went..Did I tell you its also kind of hot down here, prob not Honduras or Guatemala hot, but we're all soaking wet by 10 am and the nights are rather sticky as well, which is good, helping keep us mindful of our other teams in the field.. Meanwhile, Nancy and Lynn discover some 100+-year-old books in their library project, some of which are collector quality. They continue to work with Mrs. Hostetler on the library upgrade/treasure hunt, and still provide 5 star cuisines. Back at Extreme Apartment Makeover, cabinets are being hung, 2nd & 3rd & 4th coats of mud are being applied, Glenn and Buddy paint two bedrooms, Ed is the jack of all trades, Sonia scurries around knocking out tasks and taking names, Robert is always right there and everywhere with a helping hand and Jon and Brocks experience has been absolutely invaluable. They both have the gift of being skilled craftsman and are willing to take the time to teach us along the way. The Commissioner of Lost Creek, who also gave us a powerful Sunday school lesson, notices our two-tone van, and takes the time to personally buff her back to a candy apple red back at his body shop. We also find out that Jeff volunteers a great deal of his time at Riverside and is always on call as one of the "drop everything and be there in a minute" men that keeps this place going. Having gone all out until 5:00 pm, we take the evening off to drive, meet up with some of the Staff, and drive up into one of the local strip mines that has been reclaimed as an Elk/wild horse habitat. Overlooking this vista is a hill top observatory, which, as is common down here due to flooding, also serves as a graveyard. Tommy, Pastor Miller's son, even road his four-wheeler up the Mtn for us to enjoy, as ATV's are also a primary means of transportation around here. Supper is had in the pavilion at the top of Kentucky and though with only one possible Elk sighting, some say it was a rock, but as for me a Jon, we believe, the team has a very enjoyable evening and sunset in the Hills, the beauty of which proclaimed God's glory. Back to Riverside to close out the evening... There’s a lot of discussion around our devotions. The team is really growing off of each other and we remain vigilant in our prayers and presence of mind as to our first priority and Mission. Be in prayer for me as I lead the bible study at Faith Bible Church Wed night.
07/09/07
WHEW!!!...thats the best way to describe Monday...the gutted appartment was like a behive in July...hammering, sawzall's, sandpaper, drywall, drywall mud, electricity going on and off, water pipes being rerouted and leaky valves replaced, and praise to God, no injuries...Buddy Brewer and Robert Alvis even passed a 200lb appliance off of a stairwell, over the top of Jonathan, and onto a truck, strong young backs on those two boys. It was an absolute flurry of activity, all day long. At one point we had five people in a 8'X6', 95 degree, dust filled room doing all of the above and everyone was happy about it. Its funny how you can spackle a door jam to perfection, turn around 2 seconds later and find someones hand print in it, fix that, go get a sip of lemonade, come back and find someones finger prints in it, fix that and come back after lunch to find yet another picaso in your spackle job, and still love your team mates. We really laughed a lot, and worked very very hard. Job site closed down around 11:30 and an exausted team marched back across the softball field to bed.
07/08/07
Rise and shine gave way to a cool, misty morning and Nancy Brown's French toast. As you can see Lynn and Nancy have made most of the contributions thus far and the rest of the day was no exception. Loading up the Red Barron, we headed up a one-lane road with a steep bank on one side and kudzu covered bluffs on the other on our way to Caney Creek Mennonite Church. Another warm reception awaited us and Pastor Miller invited the team to uninhibitedly worship and praise God with them. Again, testimony after testimony sprang up from the congregation and we all felt as if we were worshiping in a "home church". Bibles were counted, hymns were offered to the Lord, and PBC took up two whole pews in their shirts of blue. Nancy had debated her selection for the solo, which led way to the sermon, during which the pastor affirmed her beautiful rendition of "Go Light Your World" when he told the congregation that that was his father's favorite song and he had not heard it for some time. Yet another reception awaited us back down the hill at Faith Bible Church where we had birthday cake (Ernie’s) and coffee with Sonia's family and friends. We'll be joining the Faith Bible congregation for Bible study Wednesday night. On the way back to Riverside, we stopped along the road to investigate one of the numerous local means of transportation.....a swinging bridge...as you see, it's about the only way to get from one side of a creek to the other when the water rises and there's just no room for a road on the other side... Everyone ventured across and speculated how it would be to have to make that walk every day, rain, snow or sunshine with a load of groceries...Back at the school, we quickly changed into shorts and t-shirts and headed over to the apartment building to survey tomorrow's work and develop the shopping list. We then loaded up five people to a pick up truck and headed to Lowe’s and the Super Wal-mart. Two of us headed to plumbing, two to framing, Lynn and Nancy to Wal-Mart for the week's groceries, three of us went to appliances, and Glynn was running around keeping up with all of us. Two hours later, we loaded up the trucks with our 8 carts and back down the road we headed back to Riverside for "supper" at 8:00. Evening devotion and off to bed for the big day tomorrow.
07/07/07
Yes, we made it safe and sound. God truly blessed us with traveling mercies for the nine hour drive to Lost Creek, KY, with the only distraction being Lynn Whittington's road game of pass the cucumber...yes it involved a real cucumber and some creative thinking, which indeed helped pass the time. That and Brock Johnson saw an Elk on a grassy knoll along the road a few miles short of our destination. The Red Barron (PBC Van) started the day with a much needed car wash at Diamond Auto Spa and a new rear view mirror while the team got breakfast at Chick-fil-a. Eager to roll, breakfast was To Go and down I-81 we went. Around 1:00 we stopped for lunch at the Tamarack Artisan Center just across the WV boarder and then back on the road until Dinner (actually known as "supper" down here, dinner means lunch) at Hardee's in Hazard, KY. We arrived at Riverside around 7:00 PM to see people and cars everywhere as they were wrapping up a July 4th celebration and Softball tournament at Riverside's recreation field. We quickly learned that the Christian School does live up to its motto "A light unto the Hills" from Mathew 5:14 and that the facility services as a focal point for the entire community.
Riverside's administrator, Ernie Roberts, came out of the crowd to give us a very warm welcome. We then made our way into a single room log cabin where Ernie gave us a historical overview of the history of Riverside Christian School and the people that God has used over the years to help spread Christ's light in the hills and "hollers" of Lost Creek. This was an impromptu, spiritually moving experience as Ernie shared testimony after testimony of the blessings, trials, joys, and tribulations Riverside and its staff has experienced over its 101 years. The entire team came away from that first evening with such a sense of awe of Gods love for his people and how we as a short term missions team are blessed to be able to participate and share in the work going on here. The cabin now serves as our devotion center. We got settled into our rooms, turned on the box fans, and lights were out about 11:00, although most of team couldn't sleep with anticipation of the upcoming week.
As you can see from the pictures, last night's reveal sure was a special occasion. Circumstances provided that Ms Burroughs was out of town until yesterday afternoon, so we were able to semi-complete the project without her seeing any of it until Sonia captured a video production of Extreme Home Make Over Riverside/PBC edition. Ms Burroughs was beside herself throughout the event as all of her friends and colleagues shared in the event...You'll just have to wait to see the episode with celebrities impersonated.
Robert ended the evening with an excellent devotion which really culminated the weeks spiritual and physical experiences for all of us. Yet again we sat around and expressed how God was working in our lives and what we had witnessed this week. Jon and Robert left out for home early this morning. No one knows exactly when but it was before 6:00 AM as that is when the old tin room started coming off of the maintenance building. It was up and at it one more time, over to the apartment to finish up some aesthetics and clean up. We broke for lunch with the roofing team and sure enough, its the same group of guys that we've been visiting with all week. Pastor Miller (Tommy) and his son Tim, Virgil, Andy, Brandon, John Baker, Ernie and some other faithful souls. I previously overestimated the length of the tin. It's actually custom cut to 41'8", and these fellows were wasting no time putting it up in the heat of the day. It was actually amazing to watch and see the roof transform with a view from over at the apartment. Tonight we will have the Facing the Giants movie in the gymnasium followed with an ice cream social, although I don't know that any of us will be able to actually set through the movie given that we've all come down with a strange ailment that causes our eyelids to close involuntarily. Ernie will give an invocation and we'll pray God with work in the hearts of the folks in attendance tonight and that even one will yield to the Holy Spirit. We'll close out the evening with sincere gratitude to Ernie and the Riverside staff for their constant hospitality and love that they've shown us this week. The team is ready to come home and see their families. This morning Glenn and Lynn were talking about how neat it was to get to know the parents of Lilly's (grandaughter) playmates (Olivia and Elijah). We got the call on Wednesday that Nancy had lost a dear friend and she is eager to get home to console with the Carpenter family. We plan to be on the road between 7-8 AM, putting us at the church no later than 5:00 pm. We'll look forward to seeing you all then and pray that God will again go before us along the journey. God Speed, The PBC World Missions KY Team
07/12/07
I'm gonna go ahead and do today's entry this morning since I predict another marathon day. Mrs Hostetler is interviewing each member of the team for an article in The Beacon, Riverside's school paper. You can log on to the website http://www.riversidechristian.org/ and write or call in for a copy of next month's press. Yesterday evening found Lynn and Nancy on ladders with paintbrushes, this morning found Jon in the kitchen making blueberry pancakes after which our strength was renewed with his devotion from Isaiah 40. Although Sonia was seen with her head down on her bible at the table this morning before breakfast (maybe she was praying) her energy continues to motivate the team each and every day. Ed is always there with a voice of reason, wisdom, and decision that stems from his business management skills as a VP in his company. Buddy and Glenn continue to be our special forces team, slipping around here and there silently targeting and accomplishing task after task, truly demonstrating exemplary servitude. These two guys are veterans in Gods army. Robert, well now...what we all can say about Robert is what an encouragement he is to the rest of us. One minute he’s got a broom, the next he's helping Jon cut counter tops, the next he's sawing off a water pipe for Brock, then he's wrestling another appliance out of the way or into place.... fine young man he is indeed. And then there’s Brock, its a great strength to me to have such a good friend on the team. In addition to his construction skills, I can always count on his tremendous and always positive attitude to keep me and the rest of us headed in the right direction. This evening will give way to a cookout with 40 plus staff and family from Riverside. Those that we've interacted with this week, and those that have done so much to minister to the PBC team. Pray that relationships are built that continue into eternity.
07/11/07
Wednesday was quite a day and the weather didn't help much either. Power tools, trim & molding, and appliances all had to be moved back and forth out of the rain, but that didn't dampen our spirits. The specs in the pictures that you see is dry wall dust, and everyone was covered in a fine coat of the stuff. I guess it would appear that were all from the same underground world of the white haired people. Never the less, challenges arise, opinions are shared, and consensus' are arrived at to everyone’s satisfaction. The team is really putting in 120 percent on this project and though limited in budget, we're not taking any shortcuts on the quality and attention to detail, even taking down the above-range microwave and 15" cabinet we had just installed and changing out to a 12" cabinet to give Ms. Burroughs an extra 3" of "stirrin" height. A little bit about the wonderful lady who will call this apartment home. Beverly Burroughs, originally from upstate New York, has been serving her Lord and the Riverside School since 1968. Never married, she has fully devoted her life to teaching and loving the children that have found their way to Riverside for one reason or another, and as a result of her commitment, these children have gone away from Riverside as adults knowing God and having the promise of eternal life. She has also served as the K-6th grade coordinator and as of recent, since year 2000, served as Riverside Assistant Administrator. But as many will tell you, this was real time of transition for Riverside following the passing of Mr. Hostetler in that year. Mr. Hostetler was a man of God who tirelessly served the school in so many ways, a daily routine that included time with the Lord, driving a school bus to pick up the kids, teaching classes, coaching the basketball team, sweeping the floors after the games, driving the kids home, coming back to the school to take care of the days administration duties, and still finding time to encourage and provide discipleship for his staff. He was also a devoted family man who during this time raised two children with his wife, who continues to teach and serve at the school today. On one occasion, he camped out for 4 days on a wayward student's front porch to demonstrate his commitment and win the boy back to regular attendance at Riverside. I share all of this with you so you can understand the challenge of filling Mr. Hostetler's shoes, never mind that he was also a star football player that had the opportunity to play for the Cleveland Browns and established a close working relationship with Rev. Ricky Bolden, no stranger to PBC. But Ms. Burroughs rose to the occasion and kept the lights on at Riverside through four administrations, and as Ernie will tell you, she's still the task master allowing him time to be out in the communities raising support and coordinating the extracurricular activities and volunteer base that serves here. So its a real blessing to us, and all of the folks at PBC who have contributed financially an and in prayer for this team, to be able to renovate this home for Ms. Burroughs. She is fully deserving of the least we can provide, a new kitchen. You will also see in the pictures the much needed new roof that arrived for the Maintenance building. I don’t know the exact length of the metal sheets but I'd say they are in excess of 60' in length and several thousand pounds in total. The funds for this was also provided by God through the congregation at Purcellville Baptist Church and while our team didn't feel up to the calling to install the roof, the Lost Creek community, as always, is coming out Friday and Saturday to put it up. Back to the apartment: We had a smoke detector that kept giving 4 quick warning chirps when we turned one of kitchen circuit breakers off, so we assumed it was hard wired for power as tracing power in this complex is a mystery in itself, much like the plumbing (by the way-I think Brock will get his Master Plumbers Cert. after this). The building has gone through countless repairs, add ons, and upgrades, but it came as a real surprise that during painting, I reached up and lifted the smoke detector off of the wall to discover no wires going into the wall for power.....the look in Ed's eyes was priceless as he noted, "it did it several times!!!" We were ready to accept this phenomenon as par for course until we discovered another smoke detector in the living room. At any rate, cabinets and trim were finished out, the bathroom got its final coat of mud, the kitchen walls got a nice coat of bright yellow, the living room was painted a warm taupe, and we headed back to the cafeteria for supper. As I opened the door, an aroma so pleasing filled my lungs, it literally gave me goose bumps. You see, this was Lynn’s Blue Ribbon BBQ, giving off a smell much more preferable than what Jon Jenkins noted earlier at the appartment, "Is that me I smell?" I've seen good craftsmen from time to time, and we've all seen quick carpentry, but I can assuredly tell you, Jenkins Restorations and sons are both quick and excellent craftsmen. I have no doubt that we would still be back on day 1 without him. Physically exhausted but well feed, we climb up in the Red Barron and headed "up the creek" to Faith Bible Church for Bible Study, where Sonia's mom had prepared a fruit pizza for desert. It was a real joy to study God's word with the folks there. We studied faith, and what it means to move mountains with our faith, since moving mountains with men and machinery is commonplace in a coal mining area. We sought the scriptures to acquire the kind of faith that could, if God desired, uproot a mulberry bush, and heal, and give hope, and peace, and joy in something even greater, Christ’s love for us and our love for one another. Then we headed back down the creek and hit the apartment for a few more hours of getting the kitchen/family room ready for new floors, and the bathroom sanded down and ready for its paint. Sonia's cousin Ray and his wife Christine stopped in around 10:00 pm with delicious muffins and coffee to get us through the evening.
07/10/07
Oh my, guess we worked a little harder than we thought...folks were moving a little slower but no complaints, other than...."I'm all stove up". The coffee was prepared a little stronger and back at it we went..Did I tell you its also kind of hot down here, prob not Honduras or Guatemala hot, but we're all soaking wet by 10 am and the nights are rather sticky as well, which is good, helping keep us mindful of our other teams in the field.. Meanwhile, Nancy and Lynn discover some 100+-year-old books in their library project, some of which are collector quality. They continue to work with Mrs. Hostetler on the library upgrade/treasure hunt, and still provide 5 star cuisines. Back at Extreme Apartment Makeover, cabinets are being hung, 2nd & 3rd & 4th coats of mud are being applied, Glenn and Buddy paint two bedrooms, Ed is the jack of all trades, Sonia scurries around knocking out tasks and taking names, Robert is always right there and everywhere with a helping hand and Jon and Brocks experience has been absolutely invaluable. They both have the gift of being skilled craftsman and are willing to take the time to teach us along the way. The Commissioner of Lost Creek, who also gave us a powerful Sunday school lesson, notices our two-tone van, and takes the time to personally buff her back to a candy apple red back at his body shop. We also find out that Jeff volunteers a great deal of his time at Riverside and is always on call as one of the "drop everything and be there in a minute" men that keeps this place going. Having gone all out until 5:00 pm, we take the evening off to drive, meet up with some of the Staff, and drive up into one of the local strip mines that has been reclaimed as an Elk/wild horse habitat. Overlooking this vista is a hill top observatory, which, as is common down here due to flooding, also serves as a graveyard. Tommy, Pastor Miller's son, even road his four-wheeler up the Mtn for us to enjoy, as ATV's are also a primary means of transportation around here. Supper is had in the pavilion at the top of Kentucky and though with only one possible Elk sighting, some say it was a rock, but as for me a Jon, we believe, the team has a very enjoyable evening and sunset in the Hills, the beauty of which proclaimed God's glory. Back to Riverside to close out the evening... There’s a lot of discussion around our devotions. The team is really growing off of each other and we remain vigilant in our prayers and presence of mind as to our first priority and Mission. Be in prayer for me as I lead the bible study at Faith Bible Church Wed night.
07/09/07
WHEW!!!...thats the best way to describe Monday...the gutted appartment was like a behive in July...hammering, sawzall's, sandpaper, drywall, drywall mud, electricity going on and off, water pipes being rerouted and leaky valves replaced, and praise to God, no injuries...Buddy Brewer and Robert Alvis even passed a 200lb appliance off of a stairwell, over the top of Jonathan, and onto a truck, strong young backs on those two boys. It was an absolute flurry of activity, all day long. At one point we had five people in a 8'X6', 95 degree, dust filled room doing all of the above and everyone was happy about it. Its funny how you can spackle a door jam to perfection, turn around 2 seconds later and find someones hand print in it, fix that, go get a sip of lemonade, come back and find someones finger prints in it, fix that and come back after lunch to find yet another picaso in your spackle job, and still love your team mates. We really laughed a lot, and worked very very hard. Job site closed down around 11:30 and an exausted team marched back across the softball field to bed.
07/08/07
Rise and shine gave way to a cool, misty morning and Nancy Brown's French toast. As you can see Lynn and Nancy have made most of the contributions thus far and the rest of the day was no exception. Loading up the Red Barron, we headed up a one-lane road with a steep bank on one side and kudzu covered bluffs on the other on our way to Caney Creek Mennonite Church. Another warm reception awaited us and Pastor Miller invited the team to uninhibitedly worship and praise God with them. Again, testimony after testimony sprang up from the congregation and we all felt as if we were worshiping in a "home church". Bibles were counted, hymns were offered to the Lord, and PBC took up two whole pews in their shirts of blue. Nancy had debated her selection for the solo, which led way to the sermon, during which the pastor affirmed her beautiful rendition of "Go Light Your World" when he told the congregation that that was his father's favorite song and he had not heard it for some time. Yet another reception awaited us back down the hill at Faith Bible Church where we had birthday cake (Ernie’s) and coffee with Sonia's family and friends. We'll be joining the Faith Bible congregation for Bible study Wednesday night. On the way back to Riverside, we stopped along the road to investigate one of the numerous local means of transportation.....a swinging bridge...as you see, it's about the only way to get from one side of a creek to the other when the water rises and there's just no room for a road on the other side... Everyone ventured across and speculated how it would be to have to make that walk every day, rain, snow or sunshine with a load of groceries...Back at the school, we quickly changed into shorts and t-shirts and headed over to the apartment building to survey tomorrow's work and develop the shopping list. We then loaded up five people to a pick up truck and headed to Lowe’s and the Super Wal-mart. Two of us headed to plumbing, two to framing, Lynn and Nancy to Wal-Mart for the week's groceries, three of us went to appliances, and Glynn was running around keeping up with all of us. Two hours later, we loaded up the trucks with our 8 carts and back down the road we headed back to Riverside for "supper" at 8:00. Evening devotion and off to bed for the big day tomorrow.
07/07/07
Yes, we made it safe and sound. God truly blessed us with traveling mercies for the nine hour drive to Lost Creek, KY, with the only distraction being Lynn Whittington's road game of pass the cucumber...yes it involved a real cucumber and some creative thinking, which indeed helped pass the time. That and Brock Johnson saw an Elk on a grassy knoll along the road a few miles short of our destination. The Red Barron (PBC Van) started the day with a much needed car wash at Diamond Auto Spa and a new rear view mirror while the team got breakfast at Chick-fil-a. Eager to roll, breakfast was To Go and down I-81 we went. Around 1:00 we stopped for lunch at the Tamarack Artisan Center just across the WV boarder and then back on the road until Dinner (actually known as "supper" down here, dinner means lunch) at Hardee's in Hazard, KY. We arrived at Riverside around 7:00 PM to see people and cars everywhere as they were wrapping up a July 4th celebration and Softball tournament at Riverside's recreation field. We quickly learned that the Christian School does live up to its motto "A light unto the Hills" from Mathew 5:14 and that the facility services as a focal point for the entire community.
Riverside's administrator, Ernie Roberts, came out of the crowd to give us a very warm welcome. We then made our way into a single room log cabin where Ernie gave us a historical overview of the history of Riverside Christian School and the people that God has used over the years to help spread Christ's light in the hills and "hollers" of Lost Creek. This was an impromptu, spiritually moving experience as Ernie shared testimony after testimony of the blessings, trials, joys, and tribulations Riverside and its staff has experienced over its 101 years. The entire team came away from that first evening with such a sense of awe of Gods love for his people and how we as a short term missions team are blessed to be able to participate and share in the work going on here. The cabin now serves as our devotion center. We got settled into our rooms, turned on the box fans, and lights were out about 11:00, although most of team couldn't sleep with anticipation of the upcoming week.