Lakeshore Project, Day Five!

Despite broken machinery and an afternoon of rain yesterday, the foundation crew has been making much progress and they are tentatively scheduling the concrete pour for this afternoon. So please pray that they would complete the preparations in time, that the Lord would hold off any further rain, and that God would protect all the workers as they continue to labor despite their lack of sleep. 

Also pray for the evangelistic service tonight. The ministry team has been working all week to spread the word about this, and we pray that God would bless it, that many people would attend and be impacted by the preaching of the Word. 

This area was under a tornado alert all through yesterday, and by about 1pm it appeared that the rain, which had been held off for several days, would break through. The construction team recruited every able-bodied person they could find to help protect the foundation area from the imminent downpour. I was blissfully unaware of this situation (I'm not sure if I was blissful, but I was certainly unaware), sitting in the church blogging, when I was asked to come help with videoing the scene. I was put in charge of the umbrella, to be opened in case of rain with the intent of protecting a very expensive camera from water damage. So out we trudged to the foundation site, at which point I stood around being generally useless and looking generally ridiculous with my umbrella, while everyone else grabbed shovels, tarps, and were rushing about doing important things. Like, "hey, people, I wanted to come check out what you were doing, but I'm allergic to rain, so I have to carry this umbrella around instead of actually helping you." Eventually it did start raining, so I was able to have a purpose and feel useful as I tried to shelter the camera from the wetness. 

Yesterday afternoon was quiet as people took the opportunity to rest and clean up. Well, some people did. Others decided that since they were already wet and dirty, they might as well play football in the mud. We'll probably get some footage of that up here soon. :) But praise to the Lord that we only received a steady, gentle rain all afternoon, instead of the storms, wind, and possible tornadoes that were possible. 

Last night was very special as Pastor Mitch unveiled the Lakeshore 2013 t-shirts. Since it won't make sense unless you see the shirts, I won't say anything more until I get some photos. Suffice to say, they were loved by all. 

We were warned that this would be a difficult day as everyone is preparing to depart and it is easy to lose focus, but we need to be sure to finish well and complete our projects to the best of our abilities. So please pray for strength and grace from the Lord that we would be able to do all that we need to accomplish. 

Foundation Update - Prayer Request

The foundation crew has decided to split into shifts and work through the night. So please pray that God would bless their work, give them strength and endurance to persevere, and protect them all from any accidents as everyone is already exhausted and working through the darkness.

Lakeshore 2013, Day Three!

From my limited observations today it seems that the lack of good sleep, long days of work, and the challenges encountered each day are beginning to wear on everyone. As we were warned on Sunday, the first day or two would be great, everyone would be excited and enthusiastic, but from today on it would be harder to maintain that momentum. For those who worked late last night and were up at 5.15am today, this is going to be a rough day. This is the point where we remember that our strength comes from the Lord, not from ourselves. So throughout today, please pray for all those who have been laboring so diligently in the past couple days, pray that the Lord would give them all endurance and grace to finish this day well.

In the area of prayer, please remember the ministry teams as they continue their work today. In this community there is much alcoholism, drug abuse, poverty, broken lives, and suffering, so pray for those who are reaching out and presenting the Gospel to those in need. Continue to pray that the Friday night evangelistic service would be blessed by God.

I have a few thoughts on the week so far...

Lakeshore is amazing in that it is such a great opportunity for people to use their gifts. This is a place where God just blesses the organization plans so that the people serving in each area are doing what they love. This has been the theme I've heard from many people, and it is true of myself as well. I could be happy in pretty much any situation here, I did not come with any plans of what I intensely wanted to do, I knew that doing anything tech related would be fun, but I knew it was about serving, not about just having fun. And yet I ended up blogging which is one of my absolute favorite things to do. Although, honestly, I have many favorite things, so maybe that isn't a very strong statement, haha. But I enjoy writing, and written communication is my strength rather than verbal, so being on the media team is a fantastic experience. I'm also especially enjoying this as it is an opportunity to see others working and using their talents. Being on the media team means I get a glimpse into many aspects of Lakeshore, so I can see how others are using their gifts to glorify God in whatever role they might have.

Lakeshore is also a great place to learn and be mentored. I might love blogging (which I do!) but I'm learning how to do it better. I've heard similar comments from others as well. They enjoy cooking, construction, etc...but in being able to work side-by-side with more experienced people, they are learning how to improve and take it to the next level. I think this is really neat. We don't just come and serve this community, we come and learn and are served by the fellowship and experience of it as well.

The dedication and discipline of Lakeshore is also very encouraging. We didn't come here to hang out, be non-productive, and amuse ourselves. We came to serve God and this local church. We are reminded of this daily. The commitment to curfew, to attendance of the 5.45am devotions, the consistent focus on Christ and His glory has been inspiring. We are being called to do our very best in whatever our task is. We're not here to just "get by" with doing an okay job, we are asked to do the absolute best that we can, even if this involves some self-sacrifice. Case in point: Curfew. If you're at Lakeshore or have been, and have struggled with the curfew, you're not alone. I have this incredible ability to suddenly wake up at 7pm. The 5.15am morning routine is ok, and I'm surprisingly alert during the devotions, I think the walk through the dark and cold to the church helps wake me up. It is the whole breakfast, talking to people, doing anything, making my mind process information, situation that is hard. That takes a lot of coffee and a couple hours. But...since we are up at 5.15am, that means there's a good chance I'll be ready to work by 7.15am...which is probably the point of getting up so insanely early. There are certain people in my family (namely, my mom) who are hoping Lakeshore will inspire me to start a new schedule and get up at 5.15am every day even at home! To which I respond with a hearty "no way!" But it is a good experience to know that I can actually do this, even if it is not what I prefer.

I would also like to give a shout-out to everyone here at Lakeshore who makes it run, day by day, hour by hour. I'm just here documenting it, but if everyone else wasn't fulfilling their vital role, the only thing I would be documenting would be the slow deterioration of the entire complex. I would be telling a tragic story if there were not all these people working with such dedication behind the scenes. So THANK YOU! :)

Another shout-out to...the administrators and overseers of Lakeshore. You are amazing. I like things to be organized and structured. There is no stress in my heart this week because of the confusion and chaos, for those things don't exist here, or if they do, it lasts about two minutes until someone takes control and resolves the issue. It runs so smoothly. I have deep admiration for the way Lakeshore is organized and maintained. And that's a big deal, coming from this girl who almost always can imagine a better way to do things. Of course there can always be improvements, I'm not saying Lakeshore is perfect, but the underlying structure is really good, and that is what matters.

Please Pray With Us

We were just dismissed from the evening prayer service and I wanted to share with you some of our petitions from this day.

In praise, the Lord held off the rain through this day. It threatened rain several times, but it did not actually happen. It sprinkled over at the Pike St. project, but just as the sheet-rock arrived, the rain stopped so that the workers could transport the sheetrock inside, so hallelujah for that!

There was also a time of crisis this afternoon as the foundation crew negotiated with the piling contractors to receive the correct paperwork to satisfy county code. Pastor Don and Pastor Mitch worked out a creative solution to resolve this situation in order for the project to move forward on schedule, praise the Lord for that!

As another praise to the Lord, the demolition of quonset hut Mark was successfully and safely completed. I had not realized until today what a potential problem this could have been, with standing water under the structure, electrical cords, nails, rotten wood, well, you get the point. But this was done without any injuries, so thank the Lord!

Please continue to pray....

That though the weather forecast includes a chance of rain tomorrow and Thursday, the Lord would intervene and prevent it from raining, at least through tomorrow. At 8pm, as I write, there are still people out on the foundation preparing the area for pouring concrete tomorrow. Pray for their safety as working this late there is a higher chance of accidents. We have been told that someone from the county will be here at 10am tomorrow to provide approval for the foundation. It is crucial that this happens, so pray that the person will arrive on time and that we would not be delayed. Pray for the workers tonight, pray that the pouring tomorrow would be successful. Pray that the Lord will bless the next few days and give us propitious weather for the work.

Pray for those at the Pike St. work and thank the Lord that they have finished the electric wiring and plumbing and will be able to start on the sheet-rocking tomorrow.

The week is going well, but there is much left to do and there is a growing sense of urgency as each day goes by. So please pray with us that the Lord would continue to be gracious in answering our prayers and allow us to finish all that we hope for this week.