Beach Day!

Today we worked for a half a day a lot of progress was made even in that short amount of time. At noon, the group all gathered back at the chuch. Classic Charters and Tours donated a bus for us to use on our trip to Port Austin. We headed up to Cass City for lunch in grand style. The group had a choice of either McDonald's or Subway however, some choose both.

We got up to the lake and enjoyed the beach, swimming and walking on the pier. Some of the adults and youth made dinner for us. The group was treated to a picnic dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers it was great!



After dinner we headed down to the beach for bible study. Even though it was cloudy, it was a beautiful night. The group shared how God has helped them this week and what they have learned so far. It was a special moment. Many stated how they had made some close friends on this trip. I can see how God has created Christian fellowship with this group. They will accomplish great things. We arrived back at church around 11:30pm and were all pretty tired, we work hard and play hard!

Tuesday

The Lord has really used the servants here! They are doing a fantastic job on the work sites. It has been amazing to stop in on each site and see their progress.

The Kaltz site's transformation was awesome! The floor that they are installing looks so beautiful, the cupboards are in place and as of yesterday a great start was made on the sink. The homeowners are wonderful people. They have created a "break room" for the youth and leaders. Each day they have drinks and food for the workers outside under a gazebo tent (thanks for the word there Pastor). I know that they are enjoying the work that is being done on their home. They have also added a helping hand in the work as well.


The Schember site is moving right along! The group has harnessed in and begun work on the garage, it is almost completely shingled. The garage is just as steep as the house. The group has shingled the entire front porch and it looks terrific. The back porch needed new OSB sheeting on one side so the cuts were made and the sheeting was laid and they shingled that as well. We lovingly refer to this group as the "Roof Monkeys". The also had to harness on to the main roof, and strip the shingles off. They have a challenge here not only because of the steep incline but, under the shingles they found cedar shake shingles that are difficult to remove! They have persevered and a 12 X 14 foot area has been cleared and sheeted! Way to go!



The Sylvester site has dramatically changed the look of the house already. With one side of the home all sided and the rest of the house stripped of siding, it is looking great! The height of the home in some areas has presented a challenge but they have overcome the obstacles and are moving forward. The homeowners are really enjoying the youth and all their hard work.


The Hutton crew really dug into their work yesterday, the entire handicapp ramp and deck has been removed. TWELVE four and a half foot holes were dug out and prepared for posts for the new ramp. The roof is coming along as well, the youth have shingled over a quater of the whole job. The homeowner of this site is generous as well, yesterday the youth received Gatorade, string cheese, and fruit salad. It is so nice to have such involved homeowners that are serving the ones serving them. It is wonderful to see the work of God as it is happening.



Our evenings have been filled with wonderful food, the cooks have really done well with such a large group! There is always enough for all of us and our hungry bodies! I can't imagine cooking for such a large group but they do a bang up job!

The bible studies have been going well also, each evening there is large group bible study then, we break into smaller groups and go through the printed bible study. Each group performs a summary skit of what they learned or talked about during the study. We also have journaling time as well as prayer partners. The prayer partners is a new thing this year, the youth have pair up and discuss things that need prayer and then they take turns praying.

After bible study we close with song but the music didn't stop there last night. Cathy, Greg's wife, stopped in and an inpromptu jam session insued. It was super fun and entertaining. Then we cracked open the song book and jumped into more singing! It was a fun time for all!


Some other fun evening activities have been walking for slushies, Wal-Mart runs, and spray painting T-shirts! The youth have really enjoyed themselves. The sunburns are healing but, keep praying for relief.


Tomorrow is beach day, don't worry sunscreen is mandatory this time... We will enjoy the water, a picnic, and bible study at sunset. This is a very special day for us at the Servant Event!

Getting Started!

Today was amazing. I have been able to personally visit each of the sites and I have seen the amount of work that has been done so far! God has really blessed us with hard working youth. Each site experienced delays from time to time but once the materials arrived they were off and working!

The Hutton crew totally stripped the roof of all the shingles. They were able to tear it off and lay ice guard over the entire roof. The work was hard and it was hot but, they also cleaned up all the shingles that were on the ground after getting them off the roof.


The Kaltz crew made huge strides in their work also. The entire kitchen floor was stripped of old flooring, the rotted subfloor was cut out and they fixed the hole in the floor. As if that's not enough, the youth installed all of the new cabinets in the kitchen. Way to go!


The Schember site is truckin' along the garage, front porch, and back roof were all stripped of old shingles. They made quick work of the physically trying task. This site faces the challenge of a steep roof, the youth are harnessed in so they can't fall. Ice guard was put down on this roof as well. There was talk of rain for Tuesday and they wanted the roof to be water tight!


Sylvester site ripped off siding on two sides of the house yesterday. The windows were painted as well as some youth... They also insulated parts of the house to keep it warmer in the winter. The youth prepared the house for siding to be installed tomorrow!


Each site worked extremely hard on the tasks that were placed before them. I am proud of the servants and I can't wait to see what else God gives us the strength to do tomorrow. Although the heat took a toll on our bodies, the servants persevered and overcame that obstacle and we are ready to continue on to Tuesday!

In our bible study, we discussed "Choices" and each group reflected on how God has chosen us. One thought to keep in mind, God doesn't choose the equipped, he equips the chosen. Praise God!

Sunday

Okay, so I just had a blog entry all typed up but unfortunately it erased because I clicked on something...Im not a MAC user. So I'm learning. Sarah Lester here working on the blog.
Wait!! I found it! Here it is sorry for the repeat info!

The bible is as tasty as soul food. Um something random, VISA came to the Servant Event NOOMA NOOMA NOOMA Yea and we all cheered. Venison is tasty, like rabbits. Yeah, so that was my attempt to get a group blog entry done tonight! As you can see, not taken seriously...
So yesterday I was supposed to type a blog entry but the time became too late. This is Sarah Lester typing here. I am one of the Community Life Leaders at the event. I'll be updating this more often than every other day.
We had a last minute change in plans for Sunday's activity. We headed over to Tom Kern's home for an awesome day of swimming, volleyball, and sunburns. The last part not so planned. The youth enjoyed a fun round of king of the raft, croquet, and mud slinging.
The youth in the room are reminding me of the delicious sloppy joes. We just want to add we love the cooks! Oh, now the youth want a little credit in the help here, Kyle Tullis, Matt Maxwell, Tyler Hamilton, Curtis Sattleberg, and Aaron Steele.

Here's my second posting...
Sunday evening went by too fast and time escaped me so sorry for the loyal blog readers who missed a posting.
Sunday was wonderful. The youth were treated to a last minute change in plans, we headed out to Tom Kern's home for a fun day in the sun. We enjoyed delicious sloppy joes for lunch.



The afternoon was also filled with King of the Raft, croquet, volleyball, and all sorts of fun.



Unfortunately, some youth didn't use the appropriate sun protection and are a little red...or a lot red... see below...



We divided into work crews and toured the sites. We were relaxed and ready for the evening activites.
We arrived back at church another amazing meal awaited us, chili and cornbread. The cooks treat us well.
The youth did a work crew team building activity called Zaks. All succeeded and divided out crew jobs.
We are ready for the work day!

The Gangs All Here!

Hello from Fixin' Up The Thumb Servant Event!
St. Paul Lutheran Church has turned into the headquarters for approximately 44 people (give or take a few) for the next 9 days! All have arrived safely and are ready to serve! The icebreakers have broken the group and we are starting to become one group instead of from four different churches. That is one of the keys to a successful event, we all can feel accomplishment in the work that was completed in the week on all the sites. We are off to a great start!



MORE TO COME TOMORROW! Picnic day!!!

Servant Event Staging

It looks like we are preparing for battle here at church.

The barracks (also known as the Sunday School building):

The rations (also known as a ton of food that people have been so generously donating):

The quartermaster (also known as the garage-note how clean it is):

Worksite staging area (not known as anything else...maybe the hallway):

We just need the troops to show up from Wisconsin, Ohio, and Kansas!

I will admit that after such a successful Construyendo la Casa de Dios mission trip to Mexico it has been a slow process for me to get excited about the Servant Event. By reconnecting with a college student who will be doing the Servant Event, painting the focus object with a graduating senior, preparing the Sunday School building and garage yesterday, and all of the other preparations I am excited for this next week. Actio! (that is our Latin saying on the Servant Event which means bring it on)

Mexico Video

Here's the video that was played in church a few weeks ago: