jakorte's blog

Misplaced parts and pieces... how many trips to the GITC tool trailer does it take to meet GOD?

So there I was in the dining room, caulking the window sill.

More truly, I was taking a mandatory water break. Our "water gal" had just delivered me another bottle of water so I could meet my quota. Yep, there I was standing at the window absently watching our team move around and through the house. That’s one of my favorite moments to find – watching the work, listening to the whoops of success and the joyful laughter, seeing the dedication, knowing that this experience is changing lives within our team as well as within the community.

Our site manager was headed out for yet another trip to the trailer, when a car approached the drive. I immediately became more alert, watching for signs of danger – checking if others were in the vicinity. Rules apply: team members should never go anywhere - even from the house to the trailer – alone. At lot can happen in a few feet in an unfamiliar area.

It seemed like minutes, but I know it was only seconds, as the car continued on to pull into the driveway after a brief hesitation. I thought maybe they were lost and just turning around.

These are the other moments I live for; not the fear – the revelation.

We had a visitor. I smiled as I realized, this must be our home owner. Again, only seconds, but even as I write this I can still see the slow motion movie in my mind. If I could have chosen any one person to greet our homeowner, it would have been her. A young lady invested deeply in the mission of restoring this house to not only livable but into a home, she was also our fierce planner, organizer, and stager.

I finally moved from my spot and rushed off to quietly find and interrupt a working leader. I didn’t alert everyone immediately. I just didn’t want to ruin this moment by having all of the team move in too quickly. We went back to the window and watched for a few moments more. It’s even more special when you can share the revelation with someone who understands. Tears in our eyes, chills on our arms, GOD swelling in our hearts we silently watched as curious team members slowly migrated towards the car.

Eventually Miss R, was ushered from her vehicle. She stood for a while asking questions of us: “Where are you from?” she said. “I know every state that has sent people to work on my house.”
“I’m so blessed that you’re here,” she said. “I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make it to meet y’all.”

Somebody went to get a chair. Somebody else grabbed another water bottle from the cooler, and Miss H commenced to holding court. We sat close, in a circle on the ground, and listened to her amazing story.