Greetings from Charleston! This is Ann Musec letting you all know a little about how Day Two of the mission trip.
After a wonderful breakfast prepared by Carla Moore and her helpers we broke into several working groups. One group of gentlemen (plus Abby, Terry’s niece) headed off to Pastor Dean’s house to start much needed work on his roof. They were joined by a mission group from Memphis which contained several professional roofers. They tore off several old roofs and removed zillions of old nails. When they came back they were covered in black icky stuff, but they accomplished a lot!
Meanwhile, we had another team who began the huge task of sorting donated clothes. This group was headed by Erin and Mandy Bounds. Although there is much to do to get ready for Thursday’s giveaway, the group was able to sort almost half of it today!
Another group of gals, headed by Terry Lancaster, were very busy sorting the piles of donated toys, jewelry, games, books, etc. I didn’t think much sense could be made of it, but these girls did a fabulous job of organizing.
Meanwhile, everyone was preparing for the first night of VBS, which was a big success! We had approximately 60 kids of all ages who ran through the different stations, which taught Bible verses and songs, had athletic games and made crafts. The kids were fed dinner and they left this evening with books, candy and stuffed animals.
For me, this experience has been so much better than I expected! The kids were so much fun, and I was surprised at how respectful and helpful they were. One little guy helped me up from the ground, where I had been sitting. And when I started picking up trash two of the kids stopped playing ball to come over to help. These kids also LOVE to be hugged, which is right up my alley. I was really sad when the evening ending, and I am looking forward to seeing the kids again tomorrow.
You know, all the planning for this trip and the work we’ve been doing became worth it the minute I met my group of kids. Before that time it just wasn’t a personal experience, it was a job. But when you see how smart these kids are and how much they appreciate what you do for them you just want to do more. I know already that I’ll be back again next year, if they’ll let me. And I hope you all can come, too, to let these kids touch your heart and humble you.