Gotta love bowling!

We finally finished painting our Work Camp house at 2:45 p.m. on Friday. There were SEVERAL moments throughout the week that I did not think it would come together. Michelle was awesome this week. She worked very well with the kids and did not need much direction. It is always easier doing a job with someone that you do not need to supervise. My team worked extremely hard and I am glad that I got the opportunity to serve with them. Overall 28 houses were painted this week and there have now been over 500 houses painted in the past 18 years (GO WORKCAMP GO)!
I was very exhausted when I got home on Friday. If I had of been in my right mind I would have gone straight to bed. I walked in the door at 9:15 p.m. and left again at 9:25 p.m. I did not return until 1:45 a.m. Did I mention I did not see my family this week?

Bill Jones and I headed out to a guys' night out honoring Robert Besinger. He got married on Saturday and we wanted this to be a memorable night for him. When we reached BW3 we were excited to see Robert wearing a skirt, some girly looking shirt, and a tiara. He was scarfing down hot wings and get a lot of attention from many people in the restaurant. We tortured him there for a while and then decided to go bowling.

This is the part of the blog where I should say that our night was uneventful, but that would definitely NOT be true. Upon entering the bowling alley several random people asked Robert to take pictures with them in his nice outfit. Robert was obliged to do this. Once we began bowling the night quickly went downhill.

Robert B., A.J., Phil S., and I were on the same team. The competition was fierce, but fun. I got an opportunity to showoff my curve ball a few times that night. We tried our best to do outdo each other, but some random girl took the cake. Due to confidentiality and not wanting to go into too many details I will just say that some people should really consider not drinking and then going out into public. We were entertained most of the night by some girl who wanted to display her "dancing skills" for all of the bowling alley to see. She made the night VERY awkward. I laughed so hard that night that I was literally rolling on the floor on SEVERAL occassions. It did not help at all that A.J. is a jokester also. I had more fun Friday night than I have in a very long time. I hope Robert gets married again real soon.

Is it Friday yet?

For the past two days we have been scraping old paint off of our Workcamp house. The kids on my crew have been working very hard. I did not realize how addicting it is to scrape paint. I would get started in one area and would stay there forever because the paint kept coming off. Scraping the paint was therapeutic in some ways. I got so much satisfaction knowing that I was getting rid of something that is unneeded so that something needed could come and repace it.

I nearly knocked out one of the girls on my team with a role of duct tape. I was attaching a scraper to the end of a painting pole and the tape got weak then broke. The tape broke with so much force I ended up punching the girl in the face with the roll of tape. I just knew in my heart that she had a concussion because she walked around the rest of the day with a terrible headache. So now I have a reputation for beating up 8th grade girls. Way to go me!

I am amazed at the number of people in the neighborhood that we are working in that seem to have nothing to do all day. I saw so many people just walking around drinking beer and having no care in the world. The language that came from their mouth was angry and bitter. The clothes they wear is nicer than anything in my closet and many had more gold in their mouth than I have owned in my entire life. I accounted some of it to be an issue of mixed priorities, but I do not claim to know or understand their situation. This experience was just a reminder that God is still needed in our world. People need Him so badly and just do not know it. I am excited that our house painting can be a witness to God's love for the people of our neighborhood. People continue to ask why we are painting this house for free and it is good to know that reason for our work is bigger than them and us. I pray that these next two days will continuing to be a great learning experience for me.

Welcome to Memphis

Michelle got a nice, warm Memphis welcome today at church. She was helping me work on the youth calendar for the summer and left her cell phone in the church library. She went to make a call and could not find it. Just a few minutes earlier a young lady had come in for benevolent help and had been sitting in the library while we worked. While it cannot be proven that the lady took Michelle's cell phone it was mysterious how it was missing just a few minutes after she left. That is one $150 lesson that I am sure that Michelle will not forget.

Today was the first day of Workcamp. We got an opportunity to go and meet our other team members. Workcamp is setup where the "experienced" team leader directs the efforts of 12-13 teenagers from several other congregations. It is the team leader's responsibility to stay organized and make sure the house is painted and that no one gets hurt. Last year was my first year at Workcamp and I was paired up with a leader who had participated for about 10 years already. I was under the assumption that I would once again be trained by a seasoned professional so that in a couple of years I would direct my own team. To my surprise and dismay Buster Clemens proudly announced me as a team leader! I knew this was obviously a mistake or misprint but it was not. Monica Grundy, Michelle, and I are working together to lead a team of 13 teens. Our team members seemed excited to be there, but only three have ever been to Workcamp before. It is needless to say that this will be an interesting week.