WV Trip Day 2- "Team Blowout" is born

WV Trip- Tuesday morning- 7/22/08 5:50 am

Exhaustion is already setting in which concerns me some. I have never worked as hard as I did yesterday in my life, and of course, I feel guilty about that when it is all said and done. My body aches from pulling muscles I didn't know I had, but I think of Jesus' sacrificial heart and try to focus on His ability to love deeply without reciprocation.

Getting ready to start our new adventure. Notice how clean we are at this point. Gregg helps by lacing up the boots. I did this myself from then on. :)

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of meeting our family/person we would be serving for the week. We drove just a little ways from our Mustard Seeds House, through the back hills of WV. After a steep embankment and sharp turns, we arrived at Beverly Reid's house, otherwise known as "Bev." Bev is a 72 yrs. old short African American woman in a small 3 bedroom home with a beautiful mountain view. The problem is her roof leaks terribly when it rains and we are coming to give her a new one. Unbeknowst to the group, Bev's roof has 6 layers of roofing on it and some of the boards beneath it have rotted through. Before assessing our task for the day, we have the pleasure of meeting Bev ourselves and she welcomes us right in. We walk through the breezeway which includes her washer and dryer and a few plants. The floor unexpectedly slants as we pass through her kitchen into her living room where we gather for our first initial conversation with her. She carried the conversation well, though I sense some nervousness with us being there. This is perfectly understandable and I think I would feel exactly the same way. We listen to her describe her life a little...Grandmother of 2 boys (talks about them first, pictures of her family everywhere in the LR), mother of 3 (daughter and twin boys), widow of James Reid who died three years ago of lung cancer and black lung (from working in the coal mines). Her grandson lives with her at times and one seems to be sleeping in the back room when we get there. As the rest of the team goes out of the house to get things started, team member Lauren and I stay back to visit with Bev a little longer. This conversation of 2 on 1 is much more relaxed than the first, and I can't help but travel back in time as I listen to Bev reminisce. I am marked by the depth of how little she has...how little she always has had, yet she doesn't seem to lack a thing. God provides always....and of course I reflect on the provision that Gregg and I have and feel unworthy.

The manual labor begins on the roof and I am initially lost as to how I can contribute. I would much rather go back in and talk with Bev, but my team needs me to step up to the plate and go outside my comfort zone. I go up the rungs of the ladder with fear and trepidation as I have never walked upon a roof before. I dispell any fear of heights I might have by literally crawling on my hands and knees in some spots, just to get my bearings. Labor has already begun on removing the shingles off the roof and it feels like peeling skin from a bad sunburn...layer after layer. Melissa Foley, a team member, works with diligence and determination and I wish I could be "tough" like her. She is so confident in what she is doing, and I am afraid of falling off the roof. I wonder why my gift set seems so limited as if I just have the ability to only connect with people....not roofing shingles.

The humor of the afternoon sets in when a team mate of mine discreetly informs me that I have torn a large hole in my jeans in the seat, and discovers it while I am going down the ladder. I never felt the breeze once. (Mom always said to wear clean panties.) This provides hours upon hours of laughter for my team as I walk around with blue duct tape on my biscuits. I am comforted by the fact that my husband is there to apply my first round of tape (there will be more holes by the end of the day) and I make a mental note to add this to my arsenal of embarrassing stories that happen to me and only me.

No explanation required here. Dirty and Duck taped.

As the hours continue, we painstakingly peel and peel some more. At the end of the day, we have accomplished about 1/2 of the roof....one side. I have never been so dirty and smelly...but I feel like I have accomplished something great....for me and for God.

Note number of layers of roofing

**After this day, our team was hearby officially named "Team Blowout." I am not sure why....