TGIF

18 January 2013

I had it pretty easy today, which I was most thankful for.  After chapel, Kaleb and I headed back to the trail mix conveyor belt, but a huge group of homeschooling high school seniors from Fresno came in for the day and there were more kids than there were jobs to do, so I let them get covered in strawberry dust while I went and washed my clothes that were already coated in it from yesterday.  Kaleb stayed on and filled barrel after barrel with trail mix.  He loved that job the best but he also worked the conveyor belt adding almonds to the mix for a while.  He apparently chatted away with the other workers while there because I heard from some of the older ladies that he was a joy to work with and such a charming boy.  Now that warms the cockles of a mother’s heart.  I guess I just don’t bring out the best in him.

Kory worked on repairing trays again this morning. On Fridays they stop work after lunch as things wrap up for the weekend, but they kept the trail mix line going because of all the kids that showed up.  We just packed up and left anyway, as planned, since Kory and Kaleb were going camping this weekend with Chris.

While Kory and Kaleb were working though, I was able to clean the RV with no one to step over while doing it.  I did our laundry in the laundry room on base and I was also able to help fold the linens for the mission while waiting for our clothes to be done.  It was pretty sweet duty compared to the repetitive tasks I’ve been doing all week.   

This morning at chapel they had people share about their experiences at Gleanings and I said how thankful I was that Kaleb got a taste of the working life.  Kory said he was thankful that there is a place that feeds the hungry of the world, but uses the food as a way to reach people with the gospel.  There’s a saying around there that they don’t want anyone to go to hell on a full stomach, so their primary focus is salvation - they just use the food as a way to reach the people.  Kory liked that.

A backpacker from China shared a bit about her time at the mission base so far and she was in tears while she spoke.  She said she wasn’t a Christian, but she couldn’t believe how much love and encouragement and acceptance she’s felt in that place.  She’d never been around anything like it and she didn’t want to leave.  She is studying in Colorado but will go back to China after she graduates and she was just taking a few months off to go experience other parts of America while she was here. I nearly cried myself while she was talking.  What a great ministry for that kind of outreach.  It’s a win/win, too, because they do need more able bodied young people in the winter months when it’s mostly senior citizens that do the work there, but having the backpackers show up gives them some fresh young muscle that they need.  The ministry is so impressive all the way around.

We headed back to my friend Dani’s house just after lunch.  Chris was meeting with a contractor to get an estimate for the damage done in his garage from their water heater fire on Wednesday.  It was shocking to see how quickly things burned up and also so amazing to see how God protected their house from totally burning down.  They could easily have lost their whole house if he wouldn’t have been home when he was. 

Kory and I borrowed Chris’ truck and drove into Fresno to make a Trader Joe’s run and also to buy Kaleb a special coin Kory plans to give him after he’s done with this Passport to Purity program they are doing this weekend.

Chris was still pretty weirded out about their fire when we arrived so he hadn’t fully prepared for camping this weekend with the boys. (Photo above shows the fire damage, but with the new water heater already in place.  Whoever heard of a water heater catching on fire?) They were all supposed to head out tonight, but decided to wait until morning. I didn’t want Kory to go to the campground in the dark, since he didn’t know the area or where exactly he was going.  It cuts into chick time for Dani and I, but at least we are all home safe tonight.

Kory took Kaleb out to dinner to start talking about the Passport to Purity program with him.  It’s a Christian based program that emphasizes making Godly choices in the dating years.  They did the first part of the program right here in Sanger, rather than being away for the night as the program suggests, but I’m sure it won’t hurt the process.  They finish up tomorrow night and they can be alone all day tomorrow for that.

Dani had to help Chris stay focused on packing for the weekend, so I was able to get an article written for the LaConner paper with the few uninterrupted hours I had tonight.  I so need quiet time in order to write and that’s hard to come by these days.