Gleanings - Day Two

15 Jan 2013

Today was more of the same from yesterday, but with a few twists.  Kaleb and I were back in the warehouse this morning, ripping open packets of instant potatoes and filling up a 4’ x 4’ x 4’ bin.  Our team filled 4 today in less time than yesterday, so we’re getting better at it.  We also had the chance after lunch to work with donated rice.

I guess California rice farmers donate their “broken rice” to this place.  It’s weird to think that something as small as a grain of rice has no value if it’s not whole, and that there would even be a way to tell, but it must be the case because there were dozens of bags of 5,000 pounds of rice sitting all over the place, waiting to go feed people in Haiti.

Someone else donated brand new five gallon buckets, and I guess the contact organization in Haiti asked that the rice not come in those bulk shipments, but to be broken down in five gallon buckets so they are easier to handle and then the people can use the buckets for many things when they are empty.  So Kaleb and I worked rice processing for a few hours.

A forklift lifted up these humongous bags of rice and underneath them are release shoots that are kinda scary when first opened up, as the rice just comes cascading out in a very uncontrolled fashion.  Our job was to control the flow and keep the buckets going underneath it.  Kaleb kept the empty buckets coming and I put on the lids afterwards.   A backpacker from Germany controlled the outflow and several other young adults stacked them on the pallets.

One interesting thing about this place is that they open their doors to the world’s backpackers.  They don’t want any from the United States here, but they are listed on some world backpacking association website and young people come from all over the world to get a respite from travel and to work for free room and board.  The only requirement is that they attend chapel and that they work.  Most of them aren’t Christians, and the guy from Germany certainly wasn’t.  He took smoke breaks and he used the F bomb in nearly every sentence.  I flinched every time he swore, as I know Kaleb just isn’t used to that kind of language, but I guess now he’s heard it all. I think it’s good they use this place as a way to minister to young people though, so I guess if that’s the price to pay, so be it.

We went back to the potato warehouse after we were done with a few pallets of rice.  My fingers got sore from cutting open the packets so I switched jobs and just dumped the contents in the bin for an hour or so.  We were all busy chatting away so the time went by quickly.  If we were getting paid for that work, I’m sure we would have all complained bitterly, but it puts a different perspective on things when we are working for the Lord.

I had this ironic thought yesterday as I was stooped over for hours on end picking up cardboard that we are doing this work to feed the hungry - and sometimes shipments to go Mexico.  When I was on a mission trip in Mexico, I felt badly for the Mexicans that are stooped over all day picking produce in the fields to feed us Americans.  Strange world we live in.

The coolest part of today was that a shipment went out to Africa loaded with soup mix.  They stop all work when the truck is loaded and all the staff and volunteers gather around the truck and pray for it’s contents, that it would get to its destination and that it would nourish the body and souls of the recipients.  It’s a sweet ceremony and one that doesn’t happen every week, so we were blessed to be able to be part of it today.

Kory finished his job rebuilding some cabinets for a staff member here and just used the rest of his day to clean up the carpenter shop.  He’s awaiting his next assignment of building bunk bed kits to be sent somewhere overseas, which hopefully he will start tomorrow.

My body is still crying out from standing all day, bending over, and doing repetitive tasks, but I’m just thankful it’s holding up and able to do the work – and faster than the others working here.  They keep telling Kaleb and I to slow down, that it’s not a competition, but it makes it more fun if we push ourselves.  Now, I’d just like to push myself into a hot bath and fall asleep.