By Andrew Mills
TPC Student Ministry Director

Today’s workday began with some challenges. As soon as we got to the site, we resumed our painting from yesterday and made significant progress. However, before we had a chance to get too pleased with ourselves, it started to rain. We could do nothing but huddle in our vehicles and pray as we watched an hour of work stream down the side of the trailer.

Lord, how could this be part of your plan? Our team is trusting that, when we hit challenges like unexpected rain, God really does know what He is doing and it must somehow be for our good. As the much beloved passage in Romans 8:28 teaches: “And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Meanwhile, Kathy Vogt, Louise Milloy, Dawn Reed, Karen Gray, Colby Brockman and Rockne Keyek visited senior citizens residing in Kingston Center, an assisted living facility in nearby Duffield, Va. They really brightened the residents’ day with some music and their favorite game: Bingo. However, what the residents appreciated most was the love our team showed them. We truly are made for relationships.

Back at the house . . . to build a new wheelchair ramp, the old one had to be removed. Nathan Rudgers, Bob Gray, Brian Brown and I ripped out the old ramp with a crowbar. I’ve got to admit, it was pretty fun tearing apart the old wobbly structure. New posts were put in place, providing support for a much safer ramp. Sanctification can be like that. God sometimes has to remove the shabby foundations we’ve created in our lives so that we can build on Him as our rock.

Finally, the boys gained a valuable skill today: how to effectively use a hammer. They bent over all the nails that were sticking from the wood from the old ramp to protect against potential injury. With supervision, they learned how to get the most out of each swing. With this power comes great responsibility. As the old saying goes, to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Click here to see the Fort Blackmore trip photo album. We’ll be adding pictures regularly.