Fellowship and Service

Today started off with a country breakfast at Cracker Barrell along with Marvin Phillips, Craig Hicks, Cecil & Larry, and Gary Boswell. Gary had some things to do, so after breakfast all of us travelled over to my house to begin looking at what was left to be done. Cecil and Larry are both housebuilders and they know what they're looking at. They made a long list and we headed to Lowes for a shopping adventure. Anytime you have Craig and Marvin set loose in a store, it is an adventure. One of the jokes of the day was to do something that would be mentioned on the blog. The time in Lowes left us hungry, so we stopped by Dough Joe's for Kolaches and Coffee and Smoothies. It was a great relaxing and talking time. Then it was to the house! Everyone got to work. Marvin and Craig, me, JR, Maggy, and even Claire were doing yard work while Robbie, Cecil, and Larry started putting up doors. They got two doors installed, and started work on a third one. Craig tried to wear a branch for a hat. I don't know why. We met up with the Boswells at Big R's and had a great seafood dinner before heading to our homes. I spent some time visiting with some of our volunteers tonight and here I am blogging! We are so looking forward to tomorrow! Marvin Phillips and Craig Hicks will speak at Central. Craig will also speak at Orange Grove Church of Christ in Gulfport Sunday night. Marvin will also speak Monday - Wednesday nights at 7:00 - everyone come and visit! On the one hand, it is so neat to see Craig and Marvin and spend time with them. They have been friends for a long time and I love them dearly. On the other hand, they are here to work. They especially want to help me. I have expressed many times that this is a humbling thing, and a joyful thing for me. I'm so grateful to have friends who would travel 13 hours just to do some home repairs at my home. This makes me want to travel elsewhere and do something for someone else. A new project I've been working on has to do with serving others in crisis. I have built a website HERE that I hope can become a portal used by churches and individuals alike to find information and help in times of need. Thanks to Carla Calhoun, my disaster relief mentor, for all of her help in assembling an excellent library of links. Because of all of the help we have received, I am wanting to go to places that are having a crisis (such as Tennessee with the tornadoes) and offer some help. Perhaps one way to help is to make others aware of the needs and help to connect them. In the mean time, Marv and friends are here until Thursday morning. We have a group of 18 coming tomorrow from Calfornia, and a group of 25 from Alberta Canada Monday. The rest of April and the first half of May are pretty slow in terms of volunteers. The last part of June and the first part of July are also pretty light. Those might be some good times to plan trips, if you are thinking about it! I hope your Sunday is a wonderful one, and that God helps you to know His love and presence in your life.