Our first mission team of the new year came on Friday February 4 and left this morning. They are an UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers in Mission) team from South Carolinas. A second team from the Carolinas arrives this afternoon. (Three members from the old team remain to be part of the new team.)
This team saw more rain than I've ever seen in a week. (Of course, Jill and I were in the states for our wedding during most of the rainy season.) The weather had been beautiful for three weeks running prior to the team's stepping off the plane. Apart from Monday the week was filled overcast days and rain, rain, rain. This put a damper on the planned project but not the team's spirits. The number one rule for mission teams is "Be flexible" and they were.
The planned project was painting the church sanctuary. Difficulty with the borrowed pressure washer (the walls had grown dirty since the last washing in August) kept the team off that job. The colors of the mission house happen to be the same as those of the church so... the exterior of the mission house is looking very spiffy today! (Thanks, team.)
| The rain gutter of one side of the house had been melted by the Henderson's
Store fire. A split 4½" PVC pipe replaces it nicely. Ralph's on the
circular saw; Paul and Dennis offer support. (Neighbor kid Joshua Henderson
is looking on from atop the fence.)
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Haynes handles the installation from the 10' step ladder. |
| The eaves of this corner of the Mission House get a fresh coat of Old
Pine courtesy of Gail.
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The corrosive effects of salt spray had caused pieces of the window sill to break away at the rebar. Sandy proudly applies paint to one of the sills that she expertly repaired. |
| There was a whole lot of cleaning going on in the office. Bertha and
Dot cleaned the jalousie windows which pick up a lot of dust from the street.
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The ill-fated attempt at pressure washing the sanctuary building. The washer is state-of-the-art but requires 20 lbs of pressure from the tap, more than the city could supply. Team leader Dexter Foxworth mans the sprayer. His buddies Fritz and Marvin check out the motor end. |
| It wasn't all work. Miss Kim invited us all to her birthday party
held at Miss Lois's house. Pictured are Linda, Louise, Miss Kim and Bertha.
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The team did even more than what's pictured above. Together they led worship on Sunday morning and Rev. Dennis preached both morning and night services. They also enjoyed the kids at Christian Endeavor on Monday night and indeed, here, there and everywhere throughout the week. The team did a lot of the small jobs on my "to do" list. Jill's and my favorite is the connection of the pump to the rainwater cistern under the house. Now we don't have to rely on city water (at least until the dry season!).
