Wednesday's Update from Lithuania - Work Day #3
Benjamin Eavey
Work Day 3:
"I thank my God every time I remember you. In my prayers for all of you, I
always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the
first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good
work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
Phillipians 1 3-6
Joe opened today with this passage, then reflected on it later during
daily devotions. This seemed present thought the progression of the day.
From the looks of things, it does not seem we did much in the church.
However, today was a great day for sanding and patching! Smoothing down
the many layers, then going over them once more is a task yet to be
completed, but we hope to do as much as possible for the next group (a
difficult admission for those of us who are a bit of compulsive task
master-ers...).
The struggle for "group 2"- Matt, Ben, and Broderick- was answered by the
wonders of foam! It steadied and gripped the difficult walls of the
basement and as we came to lunch they were finishing up hanging the
drywall.
After dinner, Kristina (who is hosting the DeVinney's) invited us to see
the orphanage (which seems to be a foster care center) where about ten of
the youngest children would be while many of the older children are at
camp for the week. The orphanage was outside of town in one of the
surrounding villages. Many of the children are placed there due to
parental neglect of some sort. When we arrived, it was wonderful to see
how the children were cared for and loved by the workers. They happily
greeted us and gave us a tour of the BRIGHTLY painted walls, taking photos
with our cameras and holding our hands as they led us through their
facility. The children were happy just to have visitors, showing us their
break-dance moves and the center's pet chinchilla (their "dog"). As we
prepared to leave for their snack they hugged us goodbye-- then got a
giant surprise as Broderick presented them with glow in the dark bracelets
of different colors. They were very excited! It was great to see
everyone's parental side as we took turns holding the children.
The orphanage was a great inspiration to everyone as we hit the middle of
our trip. We miss and love everyone, but we are even more excited to share
with you all of what we have seen, people we have met, and all we have
accomplished thus far.
PS. Note to Holly's Mother: Holly is NOT bossy. Holly is just really into
safety. And telling others what to do (or NOT to do, in example: home-made
scaffolding, lack of respect for ladders, fire...)
Love,
Holly, Nancy, Betty, Daniel, Jeb, Joseph, Joe, Matt, Broderick, and Ben