Monday, March 13, 2023

2023 Spring Break Calvin/Calvary Learning Opporutinity - Plymouth North Carolina - Day 3 - Monday

 

Day 3 of our Learning Opportunity, Day 1 of our work days.  But first, let me finish up Sunday evening.  


This was supper time.  Tacos!! 



The kids went to get the food. 
The adults chilled and chatted.  


Tia and Lisa catching up.  


Everyone chowing down.  The food has been great!  
Thanks Jennifer and Cathy for all your work so far.  


This group just gathers around the table and gets along very well.  


Ryne on for dishes. 
A great volunteer. 



Lisa helped him out as well. 


And Katie cleaned up the appliances. 


After supper, we gathered together to get focussed on what will be happening for the rest of the week. 
We talked about our hopes for the week, our fears for the week, and what we hoped to learn in the week.  
Good conversation.  
There is another small group from Duke University here with us and they joined us.  




Afterwards, the games came out again.  


Members of the other group chatting it up, with John as well.  : ) 


Cathy and Jennifer planning out our meals. 


Before we knew it it was morning time. 
Breakfast was waiting for us.  


Same and Ryne were the first ones downstairs.  
And where the two of them are, a game usually breaks out. 


Good morning Tia!!!!  : ) 


Time to eat.  


Morning devotions by Pastor Craig. 


Time to make our lunches.  


And chat with Jason, one of the persons hosting us from Carolina Rebuilding Ministry. 


John is packed and ready to goooooo  : ) 


We left at 8 am and drove to the headquarters. 




Jason's office.  
He shared with us a bit about what we would be doing and why this organization exists.  


We assisted in unloading a truck full of food that will be distributed to families in need.  











This will be organized and then given out.



Megan put on t-shirt duty. 
We got shirts from this organization and will get some from World Renew as well.  
No Large or XL though.   



And soon we were sent on our assignments. 
My group went to a home that was basically gutted and in the process of being rebuilt.  
This is home to a single mom with three kids.  They are staying at another place while her place is being rebuilt.  
As you can see, we had lots of people in a pretty small space, as the members of the other group joined 1/2 of our group.  


Our task was to drywall and mud.  
We got off to a slow start in that we did not have all the tools we needed to do the job. 
They were gotten over the period of the day, which was a bit frustrating, but how things work at times. 


Katie and Megan started on the drywall.  
They learned a lot today and did a great job.  


The others tried to figure out what to do about the drywall.  


We had a wall in a bathroom that needed to be replaced because it was wet.  


Ryne and Jason put themselves to work learning how to drywall.  



Ryne spent a lot of time talking to himself about the measurements he needed to cut the drywall.  


Andrew and Malan putting the drywall on.  


John did a great job of organizing what to do and showing the youth how to do it.  





A view of the outside of the home.  


And an outside view of the home.  


For lunch, we drove back to the office so people could use the bathrooms and we could warm up. 
There was no heat in the home we were working at.  


We found some more drill battery chargers and returned back to the home after lunch.  

 

Katie, you are doing a great job! 
Our arms were getting sore, that is for sure.  



The end result of our mudding day.  


Final sheet of drywall going up in the living area. 


Megan working hard.  
We played "I spy" for about 30 seconds to pass the time.  : ) 



And yes, for those of you wonder, I DID do some work today : ) 


Putting that final piece in place.  


There was a washroom that Lisa and Andrew and Malan finished off as well.  


They did a great job.  





Ryne being the ever-present comedian.  


The other group went to an old high school. 
It used to be an African American-only high school, but the students were integrated and this school is being repurposed.
Tia will explain this set of pictures, as I was not with this group for the day.  


This was our entrance hallway filled with plywood and old drywall that needed to be moved. 


Dave took charge of moving the lockers off the wall and dispersed them throughout the school. 


This is the actual entrance to the building that was swept and mopped multiple times. 


Our first task was to clean the bathrooms. Denise made sure the girl's bathroom smelled much better than we initially entered.  


One toilet Denise had to scrub clean. 


Another toilet and stall Denise cleaned. This picture was taken before, of course. 


Dave, in the action of removing the lockers from the wall. 


Craig is a representation of how we all felt when we first arrived in the morning. Great uncertainty but willing to do what was needed. 



The "science room" that was cleaned then filled with old countertops that the boys gained some muscles moving. 


A "classroom" that is in the beginning stages of becoming a dormitory. 


During our time of uncertainty and waiting we stayed busy playing around in the gymnasium. 


Mitchell and Denise playing basketball with the one basketball that actually bounced. 


Mattheus had to join in on the action. 


Mitchell working on his three-point shot while Mattheus created a great distraction. 



Mitchell managed to finish his drink without using his hands to pick up the cup. Impressive. 


Denise and Mitchell working hard moving one of the many pieces of dry-wall. 


So much hard work! Mitchell and Denise still moving that piece of dry-wall while staying out of Nate's way as he vacuumed the main area. 



Many pictures of the team hanging up dry-wall for the soon-to-be showers. 






Craig wasn't pleased with the sharpness of the pencil, so he took matters into his own hands. 





Denise became one with the room - well almost. 





After a hard day's work, massages were much needed. 



Please note Nate dancing in both of these pictures. He danced with every job he did. Quite impressive at times.





Still working hard! 








We all eventually arrived back at the church. 
Wifi seems to be working now, so time to catch up on emails and social media??? 


Supper time. 
Delicious.  


Socializing as we eat.  

Jason doing the dishes tonight.  


Nate helping him out.  


After supper and some showers, we gathered together and shared the day together by answering
1. The high for the day
2. The low for the day
3. How were you stretched in your experience today
4. Where did you see God at work today. 
5. What person or experience was most significant for you
6. What are you thankful for. 

It was good to share. 
The usual first-day frustrations about getting organized were mentioned. 
Fellowshipping with each other was a highlight. 
Learning to drywall was a highlight.  
Cleaning things that were not necessarily needing cleaning was a frustration for some. 
etc.  


The group is chillin now and soon will be in bed. 

It was a good first day of work. 
We haven't met any of the community yet, but the other group did work with a group of Muslim men at the school and it was good for them to interact and with them.  

Our group continues to gell and get to know each other and that in itself has been great to watch.  
The humour is great, mostly :), and the kids are adapting to each situation well. 
Some learned new skills today, which they were glad to do.  

We will see what tomorrow brings and what new things we learn.  

Blessings to you all, and thank you parents for the privilege of spending this week with your kid(s).  




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