First Work Day!

We had a great first day of work! The “wicked” crew (Jeff, Zach, Alex and some people from Minneapolis) spent the day working at the home of Emily, a single mom with a 5-year-old girl. They swept the deck, then sanded the deck, caulked all around and smoothed it out. They had an “epic” lunch break, according to Jeff. They walked down to a park for lunch and enjoyed the beautiful weather. Then after lunch while waiting for their wood filler to dry, Adam, the man from One Roof Community Housing ,took them on a hike in a park along a river with a series of waterfalls.  Adam also told them a lot about the history of Duluth. Once they got back to the site, they started priming the deck. They didn’t have a chance to finish, so they will finish tomorrow.

When I saw them after their work day, before their showers, they had a bit of primer on them, but they were also smiling, they had a good day!

The ‘seek’ crew (Nancy, Nathan, Brenna, Lindsey, Luke and Louie) got dropped off at Union Gospel Mission and were immediately put to work peeling potatoes and quartering potatoes. It only took ½ hour before we had our first casualty (Lindsey’s finger was cut with the potato peeler, but it was fixed with a band-aid.) After the potatoes were finished, we had a chance to visit with the guests of the mission. People were very nice, and the kids did well interacting with strangers. A few were a little shy, not talking too much, but they quickly relaxed and some genuine conversations were taking place.  We ate our lunches early, then, set up a table with donated bakery items from a local food store. We stocked the table with breads and rolls and sweets that guests could take home after they ate lunch. Once we finished stocking, it was time to serve the guests for about an hour. Once the guests left, we cleaned up (wiping tables, sweeping and mopping) It was more food preparation. We peeled and cut cucumbers (no accidents this time!) and peppers.  You’ll hear more about the Union Gospel Mission when we share more about our trip Sunday after church.  

Tonight’s dinner was tacos/nachos/burritos. The staff here had a challenge. They called it “Messy Mexican Monday” they challenged people to eat their dinner without using their hands. Jeff, Luke and Louie accepted the challenge! I’m not thinking we are going to institute this at home…. It got pretty messy!

Tonight we’re going to Canal Park to hang out a while…. More tomorrow.

Thanks again for your prayers….