was for the whole family. Our church takes an annual mission trip to South Carolina to repair homes for those who cannot do the work or do not have the funds. We work through Rural Missions, Inc. on John's Isand south of Charleston. The people we help are part of a dying culture. Some are the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of slaves, hanging on to their property and slowly losing the Gullah culture that has prevailed for generations. All of the people we come in contact with, no matter how sad and distressing their living conditions, have a faith and trust in the Lord greater than I have ever experienced myself. They trust in God and praise Him openly and fervently. We end up being ministered to as well as ministering. Our family has gone to the Sea Islands twice now and hope to go back again. It is a time where we see and feel God's presence all around us, 24/7.
The work was hard and it was very hot, but knowing that we have made life a little better for someone else makes the work easy. It's a blessing and a pleasure to be able to share our skills and time. The pictures below show one of the homes we worked on that week. We cleaned, we painted, we built a porch on the back of the house and a ramp on the front. The homeowner was very happy and thankful.
2 comments:
Emily really wants to go on a mission trip. She keeps asking when we are going to do it.
It really is a great experience. Even Julia wants to go every year. We are going to try and work it in our schedule again this year. Our leaders always find something for everyone to do. And if it's a slow work day, there's always the beach!
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