Monday, June 15th
Today we woke up to conclude a restful night of sleep and walked to breakfast. With under-eye bags and yawns, we ate our eggs, pancake bake, sausage, fruit, and cereal, then hit the road. We took a short (and very bumpy!) car ride to Jimmy’s house. Hurricane Helene directly impacted Jimmy. We spent the day chopping up wood, loading it into the back of a pick-up truck, and clearing sticks and trees to head to the chipper. We ate our packed lunch and headed right back to work to make the best of the time we had available. The weather was perfect, a calm 60 degrees with a gentle breeze, and the view was breathtaking. The mountains don’t compare to the corn fields in our Midwest! After our hard work, we were rewarded with Jimmy’s favorite homemade strawberry shortcake. We all agreed that his generosity and hospitality led us to see God in him and all his gifts. God also guided us through our teamwork and positive attitudes. We spent a quiet afternoon back at the camp, some napping, some playing cards, all enjoying our well-deserved rest. In the evening, we ate dinner and took a hike up to a spot called Wild Turkey. Here we played fun games with the other groups and sang songs around a campfire while roasting s’mores and laughing at the counselors’ goofy skits. As the other groups left, we stayed behind and took a moment of worship to enjoy God’s presence and the beauty of this opportunity. This day has been such a gift, and we are looking forward to giving our full efforts this week through our service and having meaningful conversations with people we meet.
Shaka!! – Annika B and Lily W.
