***A Hard day at the office***

So we are  on Team #2 (Team IvanRest), from Grandville, MI.  This youth group has been down here before and has brought with them a lot of energy.  We literally had 24 hours to say goodbye from Team 1 and get ready for Team 2.  Wow, can you say crazy?  PLUS, we have been under a small attack in the vehicle department.  Right now we have two vehicles in the shop and one waiting to go in!  It makes things very interesting to say the least.  Just keep praying for the drivers and the vehicles.  Today was day one of building 5 homes.  Today was also the coolest temperature day yet.....which should have been a warning sign.  Right at noon, it rained, and rained and rained.  So with trying to keep kids on task and grabbing for more bandaids for me (long story short:  I was grabbing the tin to put on the roof to save the dry wall and someone was trying to help but just as I had both my hands on the tin, they pulled it without saying anything, and well, I have some REALLY nice cuts on both hands).  Well, we got to where we needed to be for the day and only lost 2 sheets of drywall to the rain.  And you know what, when we were walking back to the vans, it was sunshine and heat. 
What I noticed though.  In the morning, it started to rain and we snagged a few kids to get in the corner and pray, and it stopped.  RIGHT AWAY.  Yet, at noon when we were trying to eat, it rained and in our rush to get things taking care of, no one stopped to pray the rain away.  I mean, sure there were some that said, "it sure would be nice if it stopped".  But none or us really stopped what we were doing, and said, "In the name of the LORD, stop raining".  There is power in HIS name and YET, we fail to go to that day in and day out with the "little things".   A few things that Vicki and I have realized is that prayer is essential down here.  We need prayer to stay on roads, for peoples hearts to be opened to the Gospel, for protection from the enemy.  Yet, we need prayer at home too!  Oh how we fail to stay in His presence sometimes.  Matthew 8:18-22 has a great point.  Two people say they want to follow Jesus and His response both times is with a wild statement.  The first has to deal with home:  which equals our comfort.  The second with our plans or agenda....can I get a "Control".  Comfort and control.  Two things that we cling to in life, YET two things that Christ says we MUST give to Him before we are to follow Him.  Sit with this passage as we have and see what God says to you.  HOWEVER, if you listen and hear, you are left with a choice.  To follow Him, or disobey Him.  We are ready for day 2.  It is stucco day tomorrow as well as putting on the porches to the houses.  We build the house, and our prayer is that the LORD will make it a home.

I'm leaving you with a quote that I read (yes, I do have some time for reading).  It is from Edmund Burke, an English scholar from the 16th century.  "To define justice, we need to first define evil.  Evil is when good men and women see injustice in the world, and do nothing!"  Powerful. 

May you go out and do the something that you can do through the Someone who enables you to do it! 

(Read that senstence again, slow and sit with it for a minute.)

Blessings for now.  Justin <><

HE >ME