Monday, April 11, 2011

No Rest for the Weary

Posted by: Erika and Laura

After our normal morning routine, the students were divided into two separate work teams. One team was composed of Bergen, Katie, Jackie, Kailey, Cole, Caleb, Dylan, Heber, Laura, and Erika. Mr. Hood and Mr. Widmaier accompanied them to the home of Valerie and Evan. There, they did a variety of jobs including cutting back old blackberry bushes, retying grapevines, cutting up trees, removing debris, and creating a new pasture by clearing a variety of trees. According to Mr. Hood, it was two of the most challenging hours of work he has ever done with our missions trips- he was incredibly impressed with the work of the team.
The other team, which consisted of Jami, Hope, Benji, Kevin, Nicole, Juliana, Sam, Lauren, and RJ, traveled to Disciple's Point with Mr. Smith. There, they painted a room of the church, built a wheelchair access ramp, and added new foliage to the landscaping. Once they were finished at Disciple's Point, they returned to Long View Ranch to clean windows in the dining hall.
Everyone returned to much needed rest and free time, which included hikes on the trails through the woods and unplanned dips in the creek. Another delicious meal from Long View included the famous Long View Ranch raspberry jam and rolls. Praise and worship followed, with devotions soon after. We definitely felt God's spirit moving tonight! The night concluded with a rambunctious, rowdy, collision-filled game of "Stand Up and Scatter." Cheers were heard when our 9:30 bedtime was announced!
Thank you so much for your prayers for Mrs. Riter! She is feeling much better! But we have a new prayer request- that the rest of us won't catch her bug. Thank you for your prayers!
Very tired but joyful sophomores signing off!

P.S. Sorry, no pictures tonight!