Peace be with you,

Everyone is doing well.

Today we were assigned to do two more projects apart from the basement work. The painting team sealed a deck that belongs to a single mother of six children. Our group was moved to compassion as we were told about the struggles of this family as they try to make their home feel like a home again. Derrick, Emma, Elena, Rachel, Carey and Virginia finished this project with Steve Kotz’s leading.

On the other project, leveling the basement, Ellyn and David woke up feeling sore, but they kept a positive attitude that helped them to finish leveling the basement. Today Ellyn encountered a snake and a salamander in the dark. It was a breath taking experience, but Ellyn was not intimidated by it.

The third project was to spray clean a deck at Barbara’s house. Barbara is a loving women whose house was flooded by about 3 feet of water.

Our team decided to not divide and conquer as we all met to have lunch together and to finish the basement project. Ellyn, Steve, and David finished it as the last part of this project was more challenging.

We did it!! We finished leveling the basement, and it looked Amazing!

We left to Barbara’s house who received us with a beautiful smile and with cold bottles of water. She invited our youth to come in her house and to see some pictures of the flood at her house and her neighborhood. Our youth spent some time listening to her stories. We went outside to spray clean the deck, and trim dead branches of a tree in her backyard. Barbara’s backyard has a beautiful view, and some of our mission team members enjoyed it.

Barbara gave us a beautiful thank you card that we hope can make it to the July-August Valley Chimes newsletter (church’s newsletter).

We will return to Barbara’s house on Friday to finish trimming more dead branches of her tree, and hopefully to seal her deck.

We are so blessed that Steve flew into Nashville and set time aside from his busy work to come and join us for this mission trip. As many of you know, Steve was born and raised in Tennessee , and graduated from the University of Vanderbilt. It has been very helpful to have him with us because he leads our teens with compassion and also it has become very handy that he knows Nashville as the palm of his hand. That being said, Steve guided us to visit the Opryland Hotel to see another snapshot of Nashville. It was a beautiful experience and we all enjoyed the water fountain show. We had dessert there and visited a beautiful garden.

It was a very busy day, but we continue to find blessings in the ordinary things and extraordinary things we have done here in Nashville.

Here is the link for today’s devotional:   http://paintedprayerbook.com/2011/05/09/easter-4-blessing-of-the-gate/