Windows

After a good night’s sleep (judging by the amount of snoring in the cabin!), we arose early this morning for devotions and breakfast (biscuits and gravy!). At breakfast, our crew leader (Matt Carter) met the mission crew leader assigned to us (Tarah), got the project details and set out a plan. After we ate, we were on our way.

When I lived in Kentucky, I learned that the more numbers assigned to a road, the more curvy and narrow the road would turn out to be. For instance, Highway 68 wasn’t too bad. Road 1268 was not good. Today, we turned off of Route 66 (the main road that Red Bird Mission is on) onto Road 2000. A winding, narrow road (about a lane and a half) that went along an old wagon trail and passed the occasional house.

We were headed to replace windows in a home located in a beautiful “holler,” owned by a very friendly and kind couple. The view around their home was beautiful and their home was, in fact, well kept up. Last year, Red Bird volunteers had put on a new roof. This year, the windows were in need of replacement. The old windows had no screens, and were painted shut with several layers of pain (red, white and blue at least). We discovered places where water leaking in (likely due to the old roof) had caused damage, and many places where the wood was rotting away.

Today, we got six of the seven windows out and new ones put in. It was a big job and a big learning experience for me. We only broke one window as it was coming out, and a few of the pieces of trim.

The sun was hot, but the team is having a good time as we get to know each other, learn how each of us works, and support one another. A couple of our team members have really worked to connect with the family, something that has been lacking in the past. We learned some of their story, and later in the day they asked us to pray for a little girl who had been in an accident.

Dinner, then an adventure tonight.