It has been another eventful, adventurous, and fruitful day. It’s hard to explain how much happens throughout the course of a day on these trips, particularly when you add in the different emotions that each experience brings.
There was a surprise in the middle of the night as two rooms woke up to find water on the floor of their room! There had been a leak, but fortunately it was clean water not sewage. They quickly found a leader who helped them and the next day we were able to wash and dry any wet clothes and make sure everyone was taken care of. The girls impacted had such good attitudes and responded incredibly well. In some ways it was a reminder that the families we are serving sleep in the wet and cold on a regular basis. We thank God that there was no major damage done.
When we left the base, the skies were clear and we anticipated that the rain was all over, which is what the forecast predicted. So when we started driving through the pouring rain, we were a little bit caught off guard. The YWAM staff, however, is always equipped, and this was nothing new for them. Unfortunately, all of the roads we travel to the build sites are made of dirt, which quickly turns to slippery, sticky mud. If you’ve ever hiked in the Alberta Badlands during a rain, you’ll know exactly what this is like! The vans used to transport students made it part way, but eventually could not traverse the puddles and mud that used to be a road. As mentioned, our YWAM staff were ready with 4-wheel-drive vehicles to shuttle students the rest of the way in small groups, or to pull stuck vehicles out of the mud. Some groups had to walk a short distance through the rain, but everyone made it to their build site ready to begin the day. By mid morning, the rain had cleared, and students were ready to continue the build.
The different sites were all at different places in their build, but all were working on completing the roof, shingling, putting in doors and windows, drywalling, painting, adding electrical outlets, and attaching trim. At this point, houses are beginning to get to the final stage of completion and clean up. Students worked hard again. In one group, students huddled together under tents to wait out the rain and were singing, playing with the local children, and staying in good spirits. Again, there was no complaining or frustration about the rain, even with the challenges of getting around the site in the sticky mud.
For chapel in the evening, the whole base staff joined us and there was a full worship team playing. The music was loud and students danced and sang their hearts out. At one point, the sound completed cut out and the most amazing thing happened, students continued singing “I’ve got a river of living water…” leading the entire base in worship until the end of the song. After that song finished, they began singing “My lighthouse, my lighthouse, shining in the darkness, I will follow you…” By the time the music was turned back on, students hadn’t even stopped singing and we kept going with worship. It was beautiful to see their joy in worship!
The chapel message highlighted some incredible stories from Marty’s time doing missions work, and reminded students of the call to “go into all the world.” Marty’s extensive experience traveling to unreached communities in Nepal and Tibet among other countries, was inspiring and always pointed to giving God the glory and telling others about Him.
After chapel, we pooled our money together and were able to raise an incredible $600USD per family to spend on groceries! We were blown away, but not surprised, by the generosity of these students. Some students will get to help buy the groceries today as we finish off the build.
Thank you for your continued prayer for breakthrough, health, and safe travels across the border and back home tomorrow!
God Bless!
Blue Team
Orange Team
Yellow Team
Green Team
