jakorte's blog

Our assignment was to finish the mold remediation work begun by a homeowner. Her husband was ill, and she wasn’t getting very far on her own.

But before we could start, we had to… wait. Why did we have to wait? For all sorts of good reasons. We needed additional supplies. We needed a construction leader to assess the basement. We needed time to structure our team. No, wait. That’s not quite right. GOD needed time to structure our team. How are 13 year olds at waiting? Better than I am!

They talked to each other.
They pulled out their Tyvek suits. They wrote their names on them.
They pulled out their bibles. They wrote scripture verses on their suits.
They signed each other’s suits and drew pictures.
They knew these suits would not be savable mementos.
They suspected they would do the same thing the next day; maybe with new verses. Maybe with new words of love for GOD and for each other.

After the basement was inspected, and the remediation plan laid out, we gathered for briefing. As usual, the youth were thinking. They invited our home owner to join us on the front lawn for devotions. They even had to foresight to pull up a cooler for her, so she wouldn’t have to sit on the grass. I could tell she was hesitant and unsure of what was coming. I could also tell she was impressed and moved by the deep devotional authored and read by our 16 year-old team member. How could I know this? I was right there with her, going through the same feelings.

And then, we got ready to work.