Tuesday Updates and our Day off - From Wilmington

Here are the updates of Tuesday's work from the youth!

Group 1
Our goals today were to finish a ramp started by another group. Because there were only a few jobs there, a couple of us went around back and cleared out an area back there. We set up a nice place for her that she didn't even ask for! Also, we were invited to eat lunch at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center. They were so kind to us! We had a very productive day and accomplished all of our goals.

Group 2
Today, we continued to broaden our relationship with the Mercer family. We met the oldest son, Jonathan, and learned he has a strong passion for music, especially country. We continued to build the deck by adding railings, as well as steps. Tomorrow, we plan to complete a ramp in order to provide access to the new deck for Rebecca Mercer. In addition, we painted the hallway to relieve the unanimous distaste for the pre-existent wallpaper. As we continue to repair the house, we grow closer to the Mercer family.

Group 3
Today, we worked on replacing Mr. Murphy's kitchen tiles. Also, we worked on putting up new walls outside on the back of the house. We got pretty much halfway done with our duties. Not only did we do that, but we also go a chance to see how happy someone can get when you do the littlest thing for him or her. Mr. Murphy's daughter, Shaunta had groceries and a few of us that were there when she got home asked her if she needed help. It made us all happy that she was happy with what we did for her.

Group 4
Today, we have almost finished the steps, finished incorporating new flooring and also completed the clothesline. But we also learned that it's not all about completing the projects it's also about helping and getting to know the people that we're helping too!

Group 5
Today, we experienced God speaking to us. The house that we are working at had to be inspected; at first we were afraid that the house might be condemned. We thought we would not be able to finish our work. Fortunately, the inspector was very understanding of the situation and approved the repair. In our opinion, this experience brought our group together more than anything. We began the day with a devotion, then went off to work. First, we finished replacing the joist in the living room, then it was off to the kitchen where we finished the demolition. We then began to put two joist under the wall to keep it stable, making the wall level and plumb. We finished off the day putting down some temporary flooring so the family would be safe on our day off!


Our Day Off
Yesterday, we all went to Wrightsville beach, parking at Wrightsville Beach UMC! They were kind enough to let us park there, saving us a ton of money in parking fees! Many of the kids enjoyed eating lunch at local restaurants and eating ice cream at Rita's! Several of the youth rented surf boards and had a great time trying to "Get up" on the board! One of the most entertaining parts of the day was a group of boys that were all holding hands just at the edge of the water. They said they were playing "red rover" with the waves. I know they were having a blast, but from a distance it was very amusing to see 20 middle school boys holding hands in the water!

After our fun at the beach, each work team went to Wal-Mart to get some gifts for their families!

In the recap of Thursday's work, I will get each of the youth to comment on the gifts they got for the family they are working for!

Keep praying for these youth. They are all working hard and making a big impact on some families here in Wilmington. It's almost time for breakfast! We've all really had to suffer through Brenda Sykes, Wayne Sykes and Gina Emerson's cooking this week! :-)

Kevin