Day 5

Quote of the day: "We ain't buildin' no violin!"

Today was our last full day of work here in Tuscaloosa. Most of us had trouble getting up for breakfast at 6:30 this morning. So tired that most didn't remember the words to "Blessed Be Your Name".....including myself...during our time of worship. We are all dinged up, brused, sore, legs shaking, heads aching, falling through ceilings...the list goes on. We started off with with tons of energy and set really high goals. Of course, the list of repairs climbed with every layer of roof we peeled off, but we knew we could do it. But as the days wore on, we all started to wear out. Things weren't exactly going to plan and went much slower than anticipated.

But yesterday as we showed up to the site, I feel that the morale as a group turned the corner. Aaron prayed for us that morning before we started and he said, "God, let us be able to look back at our work today and say 'Wow!'"

Well...after looking back...we really could. That momentum carried over to today, regardless of brused bones or brused egos. All framing, bracing, sheeting, and papering of the roof is now complete. All that is left is to put shingles on the roof. We may not complete this in the 4 hours we have tomorrow, but it's something we can look back and be proud of. We know that we helped Miss Mary with something that she couldn't have done, otherwise. We were the encouragement and light for people in a hurt community. Finally, it exposed our own need and dependence for God and showed that we're really nothing without him. It's only him working through us that we can do great things. We're just middle men. :)

This is a before and after of Miss Mary's roof:

Just one more day here in Tuscaloosa and then we're on our way home. If you are in charge of picking us up, we get back at 7:40 in Sacramento. Don't forget, please.. But we might not have any money because we're stopping in Vegas....and we bought everything in Wal-Mart.

Thank you again for all the support and funny comments...we need more of those by the way. We're going to miss this place a lot but are looking forward to come back home.

Michel Mann