Day 5

The last day~~we had a sweet time of debrief this morning and prayed with our new friends from 1 Mission Galveston. We agreed that the temporal work we did has eternal impact. It's amazing what God can do in just 5 short days.

We took just a little time for individual debrief time on the beach--cut short by the rain! However, there is still something therapeutic about the waves on the beach!

The ride home was full of laughter and song. I am so grateful for each of these students and their parents who sent them. We truly walked out the Great Commission~~and we know that the last day of the trip is not the end of the story, just the last page in this chapter...we will all turn th page tomorrow for the next chapter. And we know that we will never be the same.

Our hearts are full of gratitude to God for all He has done.

Thank you for all your prayers and support!

For the nations,

Kristen

Watch the blog for future updates in the "next chapter"--including H10--The Honduras 2010 Mission Trip in March!

Day 4

What an amazing day we had (yet again!!)! Again, we all headed out to Ms. Sarah Lynn's house and worked all day. We began at 8:30, cutting more sheetrock and making adjustments. After the third time, we had cut and trimmed one piece--with multiple checks on the measurements, one of the girls said, "I think the house shifts from the time we measure to the time we hold up the sheetrock!" I think I agree! It was amazing to watch 12 kids all working simultanesouly on their different projects....in 600 square feet! Just after lunch, we finished the sheetrocking in the front room (living room) and started the "tape and bed" or mudding process. I may have to hire out our mission team dream team to Extreme Home Makeover!!!!! As one group finished the sheetrock in the bedroom, the other began to puddy all the screws and mud the seams. All of the volunteer coordinators who came in (with construction backgrounds) were quite impressed with the level of workmanship of the team. Around 4 pm, the last piece of sheetrock was screwed into place...and our part of the job was done. Although we will not get to be there to see the final product, we are grateful to have been a part of the process.

When we had our evening devotion time, we talked about what God had done in our hearts while we were there. The team shared many things: about the different types of ministry, learning to be grateful for all that God has blessed them with, being more compassionate, drawing closer to God, and much more. My prayer had been that God would give the students each an "ah-ha" moment. There words were affirmation that that had happened. My heart is full of gratitude for all that God did in each of us.

For the nations,

Kristen

Day 3

What a great day! :) We had an amazing time in church--no, as we were the church today! We had a great time of worship and sharing with Scott from C.O.I. Then we headed out to the home of Ms. Sarah Lynn. Her house (in fact her whole neighborhood) had over 8 feet of water during Hurricane Ike. We were able to go in and continue hanging sheetrock. What a great experience in an older home where there were lots of, shall we say, adjustments! They learned how to measure and cut and use electric screwdrivers. Day 3 is often a hard day as they are very tired, expecially when they are not seeing a finished product. BUT these kids were amazing! There were 15 of us in 2 rooms (about 600 square feet) moving inside to measure, cut, and hang the sheetrock. All of the students worked so hard and so well together! What an amazing blessing.

Thank you for your continued prayers!



For the nations,



Kristen

Day 2

Today we had a little rain, but it is VERY cold and windy! Today we partnered with an orgainization called "100% Good", a non-profit construction company that is rebuilding homes all around Galveston and the Bay area.

One group did finish-outs for 2 houses--simple things like cleaning baseboards, windows, and carpets...cleaning up final construction debris. Both houses are almost ready for the homeowners to return! It was exciting after yesterday's demo work to see the other end of the process.

The other group worked on installing insulation at a house...they were on a tight timetable as the sheetrockers were to be there at 1pm!

This afternoon both groups met back up at the Victorian House and finished up some clean-up from the demo work. Several of the students were also able to pray for people in the neighborhood. What a huge blessing! Pete, the leader of One Mission Galveston, always says, "The work will always be here, but HIS WORK is now."

Tomorrow morning we will have a time of church together and then head out to install sheetrock! These kids are learning all kinds of trades and skills! There desire to work hard and honor the Lord is a blessing.

For the nations,

Kristen

Day 1

Well, it was a soggy day but a productive day! We worked today on a Victorian home built in the mid 1800s that had a fire 5 years ago and then had over 5 feet of water during the hurricane. Another group had started demo last week and we were able to continue the process...warped boards, sheetrock, NASTY carpet, paneling, linoluem, etc....all carted out to the curb! Any debris in the street the city will take care of, so we placed all our demo debris right in front of the curb!

The rain has finally subsided this afternoon but it is still overcast and cool--we were thankful for the breeze! We see the devastation around us, and we see the heaviness that weighs on the people. We are grateful that God has called us to serve and we pray that we will be a beacon of light to all we with whom we come in contact.

Tonight we have debrief and dinner...and a rumored time of karaoke! We'll see! :)
Tomorrow morning we will be up early and off to work again!
For the nations,
Kristen

Galveston, FALL MISSION TRIP 09

We are now preparing for our Fall Mission Trip! After 5 years of working in Juarez, Mexico, this year we will be spending 5 days helping rebuild in Galveston from Hurricane Ike. We are excited to take 13 students to serve in whatever ways God has for us! We will be serving from Thursday, November 19 to Tuesday, November 23. Watch for information as we go!

For the nations,
Kristen