Today a small group of us went to a different house to do some plumbing! The house is a double-wide trailer in a nearby neighborhood right next to the paper mill. The home belongs to a woman and her high school-aged daughter. When we got there, the short list of tasks we'd been asked to accomplish, doubled! We were going to be decking and partially remodeling both bathrooms--toilets, showers, and vanities.
We began our work in the master bathroom. The old shower needed to be removed and the flooring beneath needed to be replaced. The toilets and the water heater needed to be taken out as well. There was a lot of multi-tasking going on--some of us began ripping out the shower, while Stan and the other contractor, Sean, worked on the hot water heater. Matt, Cody, and I really had no idea what we were doing at first. Thankfully Stan saved us in time--I nearly ripped out the section of shower that was still connected to the water pipes--yikes!! At this point, all 5 of us came together to assemble the new fiberglass shower and install it. The bathroom really seemed to be coming together and we weren't even halfway done! Cody and Matt removed the old toilets and assembled the new one which wound up in Gladys' bathroom. This, although seemingly simple to us, made Gladys very excited because of her mobility problems. This also allowed the toilet that was previously in the master bathroom to be placed in the second bathroom which had a non-functional toilet. In some of our downtime, we even re-nailed some of the crown molding throughout her house. Cody worked hard on putting a new vanity in the second bathroom while we were replacing the rest of the shower.
When her daughter got home from school, Matt and I got ready to put their brand new mailbox up. We had to assemble the mailbox, dig a post hole, and mix concrete. Once it was finally in place, Gladys and her daughter were ecstatic and even commented that they had the nicest mailbox in the neighborhood :-) They now had something to officially mark a little corner of Georgetown as their home.
Two special angels who didn't want their names mentioned, were gracious enough to make a list of food and household needs for this family and purchase those items along with several other items. Gladys was overwhelmed by the offer and even more overwhelmed when she saw the trunk load of items that they had purchased for them. Many things hadn't even been on her list and were added as gestures of love. 0:-)
Although the tasks seemed to keep multiplying, God worked alongside each of us to get as much accomplished as possible.
We each took away new knowledge from today's building and repairs. All of us learned new skills, including some plumbing basics, using skillz saws, and other minor construction skills. Through the day we also spent time with Gladys and got to know more about her and her family. They were so appreciative of the work we had done, yet we feel like we only scratched the surface. There's so much more to be done and we wish we could see the project through. The one main thing this trip has taught us, however, is that we are one small part of the big picture and that God has plans for all of us no matter how big or small and that He will provide!
Gladys and her daughter's positive attitudes as well as that of our fearless construction leader, Sean (who JUST got over the Swine Flu), kept us on task and made us realize who we were really working for. The house was filled with non-stop laughter the entire day! Gladys' faith is immensely strong-she even commented that she took care of her ailing parents when they needed assistance and that she believes that God will take care of her in return. She said that every time she has needed something, He has come through for her. We all need to remember that every time things get overwhelming, to look back on our experiences with Gladys and know that God will not give us more than we can handle.
As part of tonight's devotion, we focused on Galatians 6:7-10. It's about doing good for others because you want to and because it's part of God's plan. It encourages us to be real with people and to not make good works a routine, but to make them something that comes from the heart.
Submitted by Jenna Nelson
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