The North Carolina (NC) team had an unbelievable day as the work week begins to draw to a close. The team split into two groups: Group 1 went to the MANNA food bank and Group 2 went back to the church site to continue priming the exterior. Group 1 continued the work began on Tuesday by sorting eggs and packing pasta. The girls separated the broken eggs from the good eggs and re-packaged the good eggs. The girls, today alone, sorted through over 5,000 eggs. The guys spent the day taking huge boxes of pasta and packaging them in plastic bags that are then distributed to families in need of food. The guys, today alone, packaged over 2 tons of pasta. The numbers alone are a testament to the power of God at work here in North Carolina. One particularly neat story from Group 1 came at the end of the day when the MANNA director told them they only had ten minutes left to work. The guys still had seven boxes to fill with pasta, which the director told them they did not need to worry about finishing. However, the guys huddled together, focused, and finished all seven boxes before leaving. Groups 1's energy and effort will be remembered by many at the MANNA food bank.
Group 2 drove back to the church where they continued to prime the exterior of the church. At this point, everyone on the team has a strong handle on painting and so everyone jumped right in eager to finish as much as they could. It was inspiring to see the church continue to change from its original color to white gradually, but steadily, throughout the day. At the end of the work day the NC team had probably finished about 90% of the church building. The accomplishments of the day left Group 2 excited to see the church fully finished on Friday. Deacons, members, and the pastor continually visited the church throughout the day wanting to take a look at the transformation occurring on their building. Each visitor expressed gratitude and amazement at the work completed by the NC team. One of the amazing things about painting a church is that the finished product will not just encourage a single family, but an entire community of people. After finishing the work for the day, Group 2 drove 3 blocks down the street to a nearby residential area because they had realized that the houses painted last year on the NC trip were only 5 minutes down the street from the church. It was a powerful moment to see how the Chapel community has touched the lives of so many people in a single area of Asheville, NC. The Chapel has not only painted buildings, but has also shared the love of Jesus through their words and actions in this community.
One of the great things about work projects is that the team not only completes the work but also bonds together as a team while doing it. The shared experiences of the trip have created lifelong memories that the team will take back with them. No other team in the entire world will have the same experience as them, which is a special God story that the 2013 NC team will get to tell others about.
Following showers and dinner back at the housing site, the NC team took some free time to fellowship with each other. Watching kids play sports and spend time with each other that don't normally hangout much was a beautiful moment of the power of God breaking down barriers between people. After free time, the entire team gathered for another Porch Time. It began with an extended "Where We Saw Jesus" time because kids continually shared moments where they saw Jesus and it went on so long that Luke had to cut it off in order to save enough time for small groups later. It was a special time watching God lifted up in so many ways. Following the share time, the team sang a few worship songs and then Luke gave a talk answering the question, "Why does our faith make so much sense down here in NC?" Luke used the parable of the sower in Luke 8 to talk about things that contaminate our lives and what type of environment creates good soil for the word of God to land on and grow. Luke challenged the team to begin to think about how they are going to take the lessons they have learned on this trip back to Williamsburg. Luke told the team that our faith can make just as much sense in Williamsburg as North Carolina if our hearts are receptive to the word(s) of God. The team finished the night by splitting into small groups so that they could take some more intentional time to process their experience and discuss the things Luke brought up in his talk.
From our human minds and hearts the day was filled with unbelievable moments, but we serve a great God through whom all things are possible!
