Day 4: And the real work begins

Psalm 37:3-6 “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”

Today was a day of doing good and it paid off in ways I could never imagine. We woke early, ate a quick breakfast, and started off to the Babcock’s house for work. I don’t really want my parents to know everything I did today because I’m afraid they’ll start wanting me to do some of those things around our house. I only like to work on missions trips J. But in the interest of good writing and being accountable to those people back at home that made this trip possible, I will tell you what we have done.

We started the morning by ripping up old carpet and linoleum in the kitchen and laminate in the hallway. To pull up the kitchen, we had to move all the furniture and stab at cracks in the linoleum with putty knives. After it was all up we swept and leveled the floor with cement putty. Larry and Kim worked on laying the laminate while Dwight, Leslie and I worked on laying the linoleum. Hauer oversaw both jobs and helped where he could, but he’s thrown his back out. Madelyn and Carol worked with Brenda in her “garten.”

The linoleum was just a tad bigger than the kitchen, so we laid it all out and then started cutting around the edges. The thing you should know about this house is that it is hundreds of years old. There are lots of notches along the walls and after settling for so long the house is no longer level, nor are the corners square. This made the linoleum and the laminate incredibly difficult to lay properly.

We took a break for lunch. Annemarie had fixed a wonderful lunch of roast chicken and potatoes, cauliflower, green beans and bread. It was very delicious, but the best part was the scones with strawberry jam for dessert. This meal filled us up and gave us energy to get back to the difficult tasks at hand. After lunch, Madelyn and Leslie stayed at the Iles’s house to finish painting what we had started on Saturday.

Dwight and I finished cutting the linoleum and he and Hauer started putting up some of the trim. In the hallway there are only a couple more pieces to go before the whole thing is finished. Larry is a whiz with a jigsaw. The garden is beautiful and well winterized. I know we were all exhausted, cold and wet when we came back because the whole day has been kind of drizzly, but it kept us cool while we were working in the house. It was a little unpleasant for those working in the garden, but it was manageable.

When we arrived “home” for dinner Annemarie had turned lunch into a beautiful soup that warmed us through and through. While we ate we sat around and laughed and just chatted. Throughout the whole day our group has just opened like beautiful roses. We have shared joys and struggles, shattered misconceptions about each other, and learned that when it comes down to it, we’re all children of God, loved the same, and we all have to lean on Him.

After dinner David and Brenda shared with us a little about their ministry. They shared about smuggling Bibles into Communist countries in the 1980’s, being imprisoned in Turkey, and having the opportunity to see some of the fruit of their labor. “Gott is gut!” I can’t wait to get back to the U.S. and share some of the wonderful things we’ve learned about Dave and Brenda, as well as the Iles and each other.

Things to pray for: Each team member has unspoken prayers that we may not show on the outside, but that affect each of our lives. Continue in your prayer for strength. Say a prayer of thanksgiving for the willingness and servant hood of Dave, Brenda, Rick, and Annemarie. And pray for the people of Austria and eastern Europe…that they open their hearts and minds to God and His amazing Love.