Great day of work and more...

The first day of official work began today. We talked through details with Brian, the new construction coordinator, last night so we had an idea of what jobs they were hoping to have us accomplish. As we walked outside this morning, we were greeted by the crisp morning air, bright blue skies and the much-anticipated poof from the Fuego volcano. Our old friend, Doug Johnson, was with us this morning at the bodega as we gathered our supplies and headed out in our teams to approach our tasks. Brian and Doug have asked us to focus a lot of our efforts in the Bethany Center, the large place we used to call the multi-purpose building. This is where our team began our work 14 years ago by pouring the footings. Over the years this facility has served many purposes and is consistently evolving in its functions. Yet again, there is a need for more space to be met so we’ve been asked to adjust the rooms to make them more effective. The main office area needs to be divided into additional administrative spaces, so the team is building walls there. Two of the classrooms upstairs needed to be turned into four therapy rooms. They have been sheet rocked and needed to be sanded and painted. In addition, the halls upstairs needed to be painted…again. Back at the bodega, more cabinets were being constructed and stained for upstairs offices and bench storage, doors and trim were being painted and the gardens cleaned up. These are the simple facts of what we “did”. We are grateful for the strength and abilities and supplies to accomplish these tasks. But, there is so much going on beyond these accomplishments…a special moment shared with one girl, a soccer game with a whole gang, enjoying lunch with a room full of giggling girls, digging in the garden with an old friend (an 18-year-old girl we’ve known for years), great conversations and many hugs. These are invaluable kingdom experiences that are a privilege for us to be a part of. We may never know what impact our presence or work really make. We do know that our obedience to God’s call is important and that this kingdom work brings us great joy and we pray, glorifies Him.

Sandy