We have completed our first full day of ministry. Ben and Judah were fairly busy sorting clothes and sorting and distributing food at Hunger First in Kingsport, TN. Tomorrow they are supposed to install a toilet there.
What? Wait. Tennessee? Yes, Tennessee. Pastor Bo at Grace Community Fellowship has been lead to have this church be a proving ground of sorts for missionaries. So, he has built mission-styled cabins, i.e. no electricity and no plumbing, and other facilities, like a bath house with plumbing, for folks like us who “tryout” missions. Their are several families with us this week who are “mission neophytes” like us.
Ben and Judah have also help prepare dinner for all of us. The group is broken into 5 teams and there are 4 sets of “caretaker” responsibilities that are assigned to each time for every day. As their are 5 teams and 4 sets of responsibilities, each team gets a day-off, today was Janea’s and my day-off from responsibilities. Tomorrow, we get to be the first to the kitchen to set-up for breakfast and sack lunches.
Janea and I spent our morning at Brookhaven Manor in Kingsport, TN. We did coloring pages with residents. We met a 98-year old women who still likes to dance. We started a puzzle with Linda and Brenda, who both asked me to color their pages for them. Linda promptly wrote her name on the back and asked people to marvel at “her” artistic ability. It was too cute. Tomorrow we will play more games and activities with them, may some good ol’ Catholic styled bingo, with out the cash prizes.
In the afternoon, Janea and I went to Oasis. It is a women’s facility where they have a unique draw to minister, 25-cent laundry. This includes washing and drying clothes as well as the laundry products. They estimate it saves about $150 per year for those who use their facility. They also have a salon area and a children’s play area. We look forward to interacting more with the guests who use the facility in the upcoming days.
Well I’m off to Big Stone Gap, VA to get some bingo prizes for tomorrow. I think the residents at Brookhaven can probably get a little competitive. I will let you know.
