Today was a hard day... for me...

Speaking from the perspective of my work-group, who is spending the week at the large food-bank, today was a hard day. We arrived at our location right on time this morning, ready for whatever they were going to throw at us, or so we thought. The day started off great. The Executive Pastor, Pastor David gave us a tour of the worship space in this large and impressive church (which actually used to be a large department store) that holds 1,500 congregants on Sunday mornings. We got to hear the story of Pastor David's life and where he was born, his experience in the Army and the time trials he's faced with segregation in the south and being in the Vietnam war. It was amazing and inspiring to hear about some of the trials of his life and how he used them as growth opportunities, rather than moments of pity. It set the mood for a great day of helping.

After that we were told we'd work outside for a little while, while it was "still cool." Unfortunately, none of us even knew that it was possible that we might work outside, so most did not have work gloves. None of us had bug spray or sunscreen, and we were just not in the mindset to cut and haul brush. We worked for about two hours cutting and hauling brush and branches and picking up some truly filthy garbage. We took a break for lunch, then had our time for devotions. After lunch we spent a lot of time moving from task to task, getting a little bit done here and there, but not enough to feel like we'd really accomplished as much as we could have.

At the end of the work day it felt like a bit of a wasted day. I'm still looking forward to the other days because I know there will be a lot more work to be done before we open for the public on Thursday. Hopefully I, and the rest of my group can be inspired by the words of Pastor David and take this set-back and use it to our advantage.

Blessings,

Rob