OneEightyOne Student Ministries

The Grounds Crew finished spreading the last of the 20 cubic yards of much. This was a LOT of shoveling and wheelbarrowing and spreading. They’ve become experts. And they did it all while singing and laughing and deepening friendships. This team then moved to power washing some mud and moss stained areas. Some of this team worked the perimeter of the property and the parking lot, spraying weed killer on some crazy overgrown weeds. They also cleaned out a number of plugged drains and underground entryways that they affectionately nicknamed “the dungeons.” This will help stop some of the flooding they get regularly. This team has learned to use all kinds of yard tools and equipment with skill.

 

The Movers spent most of the day, you guessed it, moving large and heavy items. They continued to remove unwanted junk from the building and various storage areas into a huge dumpster. They’ve more than filled it. They continued to haul unsightly debris from corners of the property as well. While there’s not much to say about hauling garbage, they did it with great attitudes. I didn’t hear a complaint about the hard work in the heat all day. This team finished with their tasks a bit early, and dispersed to assist the other teams.

 

The Painters spent most of the day taping and painting. This hasn’t been the easy kind of painting where you quickly knock out a wall with a roller in a few minutes. This has been the painstaking detailed work of painting door frames and lots of trim and repair work. They’ve had to work in hard to get places from difficult angels. Again, without complaint. There’s still quite a bit of painting to do yet this week.

 

The Construction Crew started their day off building and installing multiple storage shelves in the work shed, so that they can better utilize their space. Then they worked on placing cold patch in the parking lot to repair some of the asphalt. Finally, they finished up by repairing some posts on the main entryway into the building that had rotted out. This team, with close adult supervision, has enjoyed learning to handle numerous hand and power tools.

 

The Kitchen Crew has been so good at feeding us great homemade meals each day, and treating us with snacks at just the right time. While much of the food prep is covered by several adults on the trip, each of our students take turns setting up, serving, and cleaning up. It’s a joy to see them joyfully serve one another. Tonight, as a special treat, we had a catered meal from City Barbecue – it was delicious.

 

By the way, all of the projects I just described were done by 3pm today! This is an efficient and hardworking team! We finished our work projects a little early today so that we could get out into the community. We divided up into 4 teams with maps, gloves, and garbage bags. We walked the surrounding neighborhoods picking up garbage, praying for the community, and praying with anyone we ran into. It was a very powerful experience and a practical way to show love to the people living in the area.

 

Our evening worship is one of my favorite parts of our day. We gather and celebrate Jesus by singing together. We take some time to review our daily Bible study. We reflect and share about what God is teaching us. Finally, we evaluate our day and plan for tomorrow. I wish you could hear our students share about how God is working in and through them – it’s amazing!

Please continue to pray for our safety and effectiveness here. We love and miss you.

Dan Adams – Associate Pastor

 

PS – you can find more pictures on our Instagram @phbc181