One Month In

It has officially been over a month that I’ve been on the World Race. It’s such a surreal feeling to think that I have been on this journey with these amazing people for that long. But also to think that we have so much more to go. I am writing this from a baptist church basement in the middle of Jackson, Kentucky. Probably the last place that would pop into my mind when I signed up for the race. We are here with Samaritan’s Purse working on houses affected by the major floods in the area earlier this year. I am here with the rest of the guys in my squad while the girls in our squad are in North Carolina doing ministry there. Now I’m not gonna say that this is easy work because it’s not. But what I will say is that it’s 100% rewarding in the end. A typical day in the life of a Samaritan’s Purse volunteer is this: Waking up at 5:30 to make it to breakfast on time, working at your house until lunch at 11:30, working for the rest of the day, showering for dinner, eating dinner, then going to bed to do the same thing the next day. Now the work just depends on the house. Some of the houses got flooded more than others. The first house that we worked on had mostly damage done to the basement beneath the house, which we shoveled the mud out of. The second house was over 100 years old and had to be completely gutted from the mold infestation. With that house I spent over 8 hours in one closet taking off the multiple layers of drywall and wallpaper. And the most recent house had minimal damage done, which meant only taking up some flooring and sections of drywall. What I love about SP is that they choose not to only focus on the work, but their main focus is the homeowner. Instead of presenting a bill, a bible is presented at the end of the work order signed by every volunteer that worked on the house. And in some of our cases, it was very emotional to see the transformation in the homeowners attitude throughout the whole time we were working on their houses to when we presented that bible. I think for me personally, God has been teaching me such a simple and great lesson throughout this week and this last month. That He is good. Nothing less of good. Whenever I feel that my problems are too great for Him, He reminds me that He is more than those problems and that He is good. In this town there is so much poverty, loss, and suffering. It covers the town with a darkness like no other. But in the midst of that darkness, God has been able to show my team and I the goodness of His light in the middle of it all. That we are able to start on a work order with a person filled with hopelessness and end it with that same person seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. God has given us the gift of meeting some pretty amazing people this week. People that have been a true blessing for our team and also for the homeowners. We have another week here at SP, and I’m honestly so excited. I’m excited to make a difference in this little community. To let myself be a vessel of the good news. But I think that we are also ready to meet back up as one big squad! It’s definitely been very different without all the girls with us, but it has allowed us guys to grow closer and lean on each other in those times of weakness. God definitely knew we needed it before we leave for overseas ministry, which is coming up very fast. We will leave the country on October 15th for Guatemala and we will stay there until January. I am so excited and pumped for this new adventure coming up and just stoked to see what God has planned. Just asking for prayers that we will travel to Guatemala safely and that we will be sensitive for what God wants to move in us. That we will be able to grow in the most important relationship of our lives. The one with our eternal Father.