Sweat and Mortar
Oh goodness, what a day.
This morning, we got up at about 6:30 and had a quick breakfast at the camp's dining hall. I made sure to fill up my water bottle (thank you, Chick-Fil-A) as I filled my plate with French toast, Raisin Bran, and a banana. We headed out around 8:00 to go to the Habitat construction site.
Oh wow, I finally got the chance to do construction work today. And I'll say this much: the summer weather did everything in its power to test my limits. Temperatures soared to the upper 90s with heat indices well over 100, and hardly a cloud in the hazy sky. I spent the day working with my friends Joe, Mark, Adam and Ryan Godsey on building a foundation for a house. That meant we had to spend hours lifting cement blocks, piling them on at the corners and the perimeter, mixing mortar, and then laying it down on the blocks. It was exhausting work, but I feel like I did all right. Considering I'm pretty much the most out-of-place guy when it comes to construction, I thought I worked pretty well; at least I didn't pass out in the heat. We got about two layers done before lunch, but by the time that was finished, the sun really beat down and the heat and humidity jumped up to dangerous levels. Nevertheless, we managed to get a third layer finished before we finally had to call it a day. We worked about six hours total, but it didn't seem that long. I thank God for giving me the strength and just equipping me with the tools and resources I needed to help my friends and be productive. In short, I really enjoyed working out there today. It was hot, dirty, frustrating, and flat-out exhausting, but just knowing that other families and people will be helped by our efforts makes it worth every last drop. I'm not kidding; keeping that in mind really helps to keep you going. Know that you're suffering for a worthy cause, doing God's work and helping those who are less fortunate. That's enough to sustain the soul more than any amount of water can do.
I didn't get a chance to post this last night, but I wanted to finish out the summary for yesterday. We had a good dinner of pasta, meatballs and breadsticks I'm sure the construction people were grateful for that especially. We then had some fun on the beach. I took a walk on the sand and stuck my feet in the cool seawater while most of the others played Ultimate Frisbee. After the fun in the cool of the evening, we came back together around 9:00 in the Kimbell Chapel for worship and singing. That's always a highlight on these trips, and last night was not an exception. We listened to some powerful testimonies, sang praises to God with the praise band (I can't believe most of that old freshman class that helped us three years ago are seniors now...) and wrapped up with a great message on prayer from one of the adults. It was awesome in every way. Thank you, God, for sending me here.
More updates to come!!!
Song of the Day: Building 429 - "Glory Defined"
Verse of the Day: "For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11
This morning, we got up at about 6:30 and had a quick breakfast at the camp's dining hall. I made sure to fill up my water bottle (thank you, Chick-Fil-A) as I filled my plate with French toast, Raisin Bran, and a banana. We headed out around 8:00 to go to the Habitat construction site.
Oh wow, I finally got the chance to do construction work today. And I'll say this much: the summer weather did everything in its power to test my limits. Temperatures soared to the upper 90s with heat indices well over 100, and hardly a cloud in the hazy sky. I spent the day working with my friends Joe, Mark, Adam and Ryan Godsey on building a foundation for a house. That meant we had to spend hours lifting cement blocks, piling them on at the corners and the perimeter, mixing mortar, and then laying it down on the blocks. It was exhausting work, but I feel like I did all right. Considering I'm pretty much the most out-of-place guy when it comes to construction, I thought I worked pretty well; at least I didn't pass out in the heat. We got about two layers done before lunch, but by the time that was finished, the sun really beat down and the heat and humidity jumped up to dangerous levels. Nevertheless, we managed to get a third layer finished before we finally had to call it a day. We worked about six hours total, but it didn't seem that long. I thank God for giving me the strength and just equipping me with the tools and resources I needed to help my friends and be productive. In short, I really enjoyed working out there today. It was hot, dirty, frustrating, and flat-out exhausting, but just knowing that other families and people will be helped by our efforts makes it worth every last drop. I'm not kidding; keeping that in mind really helps to keep you going. Know that you're suffering for a worthy cause, doing God's work and helping those who are less fortunate. That's enough to sustain the soul more than any amount of water can do.
I didn't get a chance to post this last night, but I wanted to finish out the summary for yesterday. We had a good dinner of pasta, meatballs and breadsticks I'm sure the construction people were grateful for that especially. We then had some fun on the beach. I took a walk on the sand and stuck my feet in the cool seawater while most of the others played Ultimate Frisbee. After the fun in the cool of the evening, we came back together around 9:00 in the Kimbell Chapel for worship and singing. That's always a highlight on these trips, and last night was not an exception. We listened to some powerful testimonies, sang praises to God with the praise band (I can't believe most of that old freshman class that helped us three years ago are seniors now...) and wrapped up with a great message on prayer from one of the adults. It was awesome in every way. Thank you, God, for sending me here.
More updates to come!!!
Song of the Day: Building 429 - "Glory Defined"
Verse of the Day: "For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11
posted by david @ 1:09 PM
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