Rich: As we close out our ninth week in N.O., some reflections on what has made our summer special. We have been blessed to interact with many wonderful Christians, who have similar faith journeys, yet have arrived here from different circumstances. The group this past week was from Aylmer, Ontario. Their family stories were migrations from Russia, to Mexico, to Canada. Most of the group had been born in Mexico, yet the German ethnic influence was profound. Almost all were fluent in low German, and are determined to pass in on to their children.
Yet what motivated them to come to N.O. in the middle of the summer resonated with our own reasons for coming. I was impressed by the vision of the pastor, to have a MDS service possibility for the congregation twice a year. He felt that it is important to place before his congregation, the thought of "Rebuilding Hope", (an MDS slogan} regardless of your situation.
Lois: As we ate our lunch today and looked around the house, one of the short termers commented," It is amazing what you can get done in a week." We did accomplish many things this week. It is important for me to think of that instead of wishing I had finished that last bit of mudding and sanding. Several rooms were completely painted and flooring finished in 3 large rooms and tile laid in a bathroom and a laundry room. Rich and Keith also tiled around a bathtub. The women from the group all went with us and helped with mudding, taping, sanding and painting. The men from their group went to a different job site where they put on a deck entrance and siding and put in some windows and doors.
The pictures we have chosen for this week show Rich putting down bamboo flooring and me doing a job that does not usually fall under the MDS job description. The pastor, Albert, really wanted a hair cut and the cooks had their clippers along so after Albert refused to let his friend do the job I said I had given many haircuts so I would help him out. He seemed to trust me more than he trusted his friend.
And so ends a week of hard work but good fun and fellowship.