A few weeks ago my squad was in North Carolina doing hurricane relief ministry in a town called Black mountain. This is what the first day of ministry was like…
I woke up with sleep in my eyes and grabbed my Bible from beneath my bed to read a chapter of the Psalms, before starting the rest of the day. Quietly, I closed my Bible and rolled out of the bottom bunk in the trailer. It was only a short walk to the bathroom trailer and the mixture of green, red, and yellow leaves of the trees around the property waved at me as I passed. In the bathroom, a swarm of girls were crammed like sardines, as we attempted to get ready all at once. Then, to breakfast we went and we gathered joyfully around white folding tables, which were set up in a big military-style tent. After our stomachs were full with food and pumpkin spice coffee and our spirits were full from worship, we listened to the day’s announcements and then left to start ministry…
Me and my team were with Chris, the head director of Adventures Relief ministry, on the first day. Our goal was to help restore some of the homes in the area that had been damaged by the hurricane, which swept through merely a year ago. Chris informed us that the home we would be going to that day was owned by an elderly man, who had survived a near death experience during the hurricane. In no time, we arrived at the home and began unloading all of the tools that we needed for the project. I must admit that I went into that day with some nervousness because I had basically no experience with any form of construction. Quickly, though, my fears disappeared. Chris kindly explained what needed to be done and showed us how to do it. So, we joyfully began demoing the kitchen, cleaning the floors, spraying the spray foam, and pouring concrete. After a few hours of this, we took a break and drove to Dunkin’ Donuts to use the bathroom. Afterwards, while we munched on some sandwiches on the porch of the home, my team grew closer through talk of our dream homes and wild would-you-rather questions. Giggles and smiles filled the air. Also, we took a moment and studied a chapter of Romans together. Then, we got back to work for a couple more hours. At around 4pm, we ended for the day and headed back to the base. Thankfully, we had some free time to rest and relax before dinner. Next, we headed back to the big military tent to eat dinner all together. After dinner, there was a time of worship in the big tent and then me and my squad mates just spent time with each other and played games. As the day came to a close, I got ready for bed, snuggled up in my bunk, chit chatted here and there with people in my trailer, and recapped my day with the Lord. Slowly, my eyes closed and I fell asleep.
This is just a little glimpse into what life was like in NC for domestic ministry. Each day we did something a little bit different. Regardless, I hope this paints a picture of my time in North Carolina for domestic ministry.
And right now as this goes up I am in Columbia! But we’ll talk about that later…
Bye for now,
Elina 🙂
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