FW: Mission Team March 14 evening update
Charlotte Lees
Charlotte Lees
Parish Administrator
Saint Joseph's Episcopal Church
3300A S Seacrest Blvd.
Boynton Beach, FL 33435
From: Father Marty
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2011 6:14
PM
To: Charlotte Lees
Subject: Mission
Team March 14 evening update
After a hearty breakfast, morning prayer was enhanced by the keyboard accompaniment of Marty Knight, who played the hymns for us. We ended with the fitting "Servant Song" before boarding the vans for our two mission sites.
Barbara MacKenzie led the team to the home for seniors, accompanied by Gail Drane, Marty Knight, Joan Fox, Bobbie Smith, Dawna Poirier, Amy Dorvick, and Albino Betancourt. All came back thoroughly enthused by the positive response they received from both the staff and the residents. There was some hymn singing in Spanish, with the hand motions, which doubled as an exercise class for the residents. Barbara led the group on the nursing side, listening and viewing to ascertain how we can best help them during this week. Albino's Spanish fluency is already proving to be an incredible asset. It was one of those coincidences of the Holy Spirit that he is with us on this mission.
Jerry Guthrie and Mike Turner led the team to San Gabriel in Consuelo, accompanied by Chris Blinston, Stephen Henry, Mica Kvidt, Shannon Richardson and Shannon McKenty, Carrie Guthrie, Debra Titkemeier and Fr. Marty. What an amazing discovery as the team saw on their arrival that the area for the basketball court had been dug out and leveled, rebar was in place, and the perimeter forms were already nailed into the ground. Everything we had provided the funds to do in advance was finished. The only thing that could top this was if the concrete truck showed up on time -- and it did! In fact, both trucks showed up and we had to hurriedly finish one load in order to begin the second.
Jerry amazed us all as he went back into his former profession mindset, and began with such a passionate approach to the work that it was hard for us to keep up at first. Everyone from the teens to the senior citizens got involved in prepping the rebar with rocks underneath to raise it up off the ground, then either pouring concrete, leveling it out, working "the jute," for inishing with trowels arpund the edges.
Jerry got a little overdone by the sun, and had to lay down while the last load of concrete was poured, but by then the rest of the team understood the tasks at hand and finished the day's work. By end of Monday, we had poured 1/4 of the cement (or, if you prefer Fr. Marty's measurements, 27 1/2 bootlengths done, 80 more to go!)
Everyone came back physically tired but excited about how well this day went. Praise God!