Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Over forty-eight hours has transpired since my last blog entry and this is the normal course of events, in spite of my goal to not miss a day. This lapse reflects the busyness that overtakes everyone on the project. The “having a mind to work” exhortation continues to drive people toward accomplishing a huge amount of work.
The grounds of the campus are taking on new look and it’s quite remarkable. Pastor Don commented that he’s afraid that folks might drive right by when coming to church on Sunday because they won’t recognize the place. This week is an important transition point for Lakeshore Baptist Church. The primary reason is the demolition of the kitchen, this was more than just a kitchen/dining area. It was the focal point immediately after the hurricane. After the storm all that was left on the property, that was useful, was the neighbor’s concrete slab that immediately adjoined the property. That was the spot for the first worship service. Later. It was used for distributing the massive volume of goods that the church was given to distribute. The property was eventually bought and a more permanent kitchen was erected. It became the hub of social gathering for thousands of volunteers. It has now been retired into the dust and way is made for a new church on the same site. Out with the old and in with the new. The symbolic change should prove as a milestone in traversing from recovery to rebuild. We have moved so quickly through our punch list that a crew was moved into the community to demolish a blighted home. This home is in the middle of a residential community one block off of the coast. The owner has been trying to remove the home over 3 years but the municipal authorities refused permission due to historical preservation. That would cost a small fortune and eventually they gave in to a rebuild from scratch. One project that came across the radar unexpectedly was the installation of an elevator in Pastor Don’s home. This is the same home that this project framed last year. Don’s dear wife, Courtney, is experiencing some very debilitating back problems. To accomplish this would require several thousand dollars of funds not budgeted. The need was made known and within two days the project was fully funded. On top of this, it was discovered that one our team members was added to the list the day before the project start date. He didn’t even know the project existed. It turns out he also had the expertise to fabricate the structure. Once again, we see the hand of our almighty God guiding circumstances to fulfill a need. We have seen these amazing acts of providence lavished upon every project.
Yesterday I saw an interesting interaction. Mike Williamson, one of our veterans, teaches the trades for Job Corps. Every day of his working life he is teaching young people the skills required to master the trade of choice. Can you think of a better person to give a crew of young bucks to mentor? Mike had flattened out a piece of cardboard and was teaching the technique for painting a straight line. Since I have never been able to do this, I was observing and learning for myself. He then took that skill and had them apply the technique to a room they had prepped for painting. More than that, Mike also is careful to demonstrate a gentle spirit, full of the grace of God, which is so important for our team leaders to have.
We’ve been trying to deal with the Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome diagnosed amongst our LSU fans after Monday evening’s loss to Alabama. We’ve thought about bringing in counselors, but they all were suffering from the same condition. On the other hand, the Bama fans are getting muscle spasms from maintaining a perpetual grin. For myself, I found the fans in the room to be far more interesting than the game. In reality, it was only a game. It paled in comparison to the serious work we have to do in the kingdom and we were right back on track the next morning. I don’t really understand all of this hullaballoo over a football game, unless of course, it was Penn State.
- Larry Springer
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