Posted by: Pamela Saavedra and Gordon Stemper (Nicholas Casanova is our photographer and Mr. Hood is our advisor)The day started out cold and sleepy. The class was moving more slowly this morning as we boarded the LVR bus in order to get to the Thousand Oaks Church. On arrival at the church, Mr. Widmaier shared that we would be cutting more wood for needy families who the church helps during the winter. We would also be clearing some of the land the church owns as we cut up the trees that are felled for logs. With Mr. Hood, Dave Widmaier and Pastor Dennis running the
chain saws, wood chips started flying. Unfortunately for us, the temperature had fallen into the high 30's and it was damp out - this made working out in the woods very difficult for many of us. However, the teamwork of the class prevailed and before we knew it we had cleared a bunch of land and created some large piles of firewood. Pastor Dennis shared a touching story about one of the families up in the mountains that they help with firewood. We were again reminded of the importance of the work we were doing. It was time for a lunch break and then another hour of working. Before long we were on the bus heading back to LVR - rejoicing that our final day of work was completed!!On arriving back to camp we were given free time. Thankfully the weather began to change and by 3:00 pm it was an enjoyable 50 degrees and absolutely perfect out - the proverbial "not a cloud in the sky" afternoon! Before the dinner bell rang, many of the students gathered on the porch of the dining hall to get a perfect "long view" of the beautiful Smoky Mountains. When dinner began, all of the hard working students ran in for our final delicious dinner at Long View Ranch - grilled chicken covered with bacon and cheese, mixed veggies, baked potato, salad and the famous rolls with homemade raspberry jam!
Following dinner our last labor task was to move the benches back into the dining hall after the final paint on the floor had dried. We also took a class picture next to the fence with the Smoky Mountains in the background. Our final night of devotions was filled with our quotation (or reading) of all four chapters of Philippians and then an opportunity to write an encouraging note to each of our classmates.
It was a fun time filled with great fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ. This has been an amazing trip - where we have worked hard, played hard, grown closer to each other and grown closer to our Lord and Savior. Thank you for all the prayers many of you sent up for us - we have seen God answer in a big way.This is the SBS (Sophomore Blogging Staff) signing off for the final night from Tennessee.
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