Appalachia: Rain & Mud = Project Finished!
The team woke to the sounds of rain as it came down all night and would continue most of Friday, but the ladies donned their rain gear determined to get Bonnie's deck finished for her.
And finished we did! At one point we even were 'mud boarding' while putting on the final spindles of her deck (the team had to place boards/plywood over the muddy ground to stand on while drilling).
A very special moment was when we broke for lunch and ate pizza with the homeowner that the team purchased since it was her son's favorite food (they don't get the luxury of pizza much). As we sat on Bonnie's new deck surface, our crew chief, Pino, pulled out his guitar along with team member Sue Shaw's guitar, and we all had a sweet sing-a-long of Christian music.
Pina then blessed the team with a few solos and a song he wrote. For this short time frame, the rain stopped. It was as if God suspended time. Then Pino gave his testimony of being a prodigal son in her late teen years and how the tears of his mom brought him back to Christ. Tears formed in our eyes--such a sweet time our team experienced!
Once the team (and these 10 ladies were every aspect of a true team), put the final touches on the deck, cleaned windows/walls, stationed newly painted and purchased/re-purposed furniture, and hung flower pots, we joined hands in a circle with Bonnie and her son Jason (in the rain) and prayed for this homeowner and gave thanks for our week of service and unconditional love. What a week! What an accomplishment for our team of ladies! Yes bodies sore, yes some bruises, yes lack of sleep, but this team verbalize a few months ago to "yes Lord, send me".
And through this team's obedience, He sent us to a lonely widow and son and gave us a wonderful Godly crew chief whom now are our forever friends! We left in the rain feeling truly blessed!!