Once our group gathered that first morning, we drove to the work site. Our group was given the task of building a wheelchair ramp, lucky me, I have never built such a thing. I was in charge of pictures, and talking and helping the kids build a relationship with our lady. When we arrived, right off the bat we hit a glitch. No one was home! What?!?! They knew we were coming didn't they? There were a couple of numbers on our sheet of paper and so we called. Come to find out our lady, Mrs. Loyd was unexpectedly back in the hospital. So, naturally, I suggested we go see her! Hello! What elderly person doesn't like company?! We called the family and they gave us the go-ahead to go. Right then our group decided we would work for 3/4 of the time and spend the rest of that day at the hospital. I was pumped.
In the mean time, we got busy!
This was our friend, Lulu. She was supposed to be a "police dog" for Mrs. Loyd and bite and be scary. Needless to say, she was by far the WORST "police dog" ever and in fact wouldn't stop licking everyone! :) Too funny. We told Mrs. Loyd and she just shook her head like "great." lol.
Anyway, did I mention we had two INCREDIBLE adult men on my team?!?! Mr. Bruce was from FUMC Monroe and Mr. Billy is from Trinity UMC in Ruston. Both had experience out the ears of how to build a wheelchair ramp! It was soooo cool to not only learn but watch as the youth just absorbed their wisdom. *Just in case you are wondering, I did in fact work, but the adults had strict instructions to INSTRUCT and not just do the project and let the kids watch.* ;) I did learn how to "toe-nail" a screw. :) See, told you I did work!
By the second morning the group was ready to knock the project out so we could go see Mrs. Loyd! We finished by noon. It worked out perfect, because we were able to complete our project, but do it BEFORE the peak heat of the day hit! After lunch we went to Mr. Billy's house and made a quick slide show to take to Mrs. Loyd so she could see what she had to look forward to when she came home! We also stopped by Walmart to print a picture of our group, get a frame for the picture, and a couple of night gowns for her to have. This woman was precious. She is the mother of 10 children, over 20 grandchildren and several great grands. She just glowed when you spoke of Christ. She shared her testimony with us and how she was saved and baptised. She prayed with us and by the second day, she claimed us as 'friends'. This woman is a jewel. The best part was listening to her lead our prayer the second day. She could hardly get the words out, she was so overwhelmed with happiness. She said that her husband had passed just a year prior and that he constantly prayed for her to get a wheelchair ramp in fear of her falling. It was by far one of the most amazing experiences to know in that very moment of time, no matter how each one of us got to the Weekend of the Cross, God had been planning for that answer to prayer for years. When I think about it, I can hardly understand! OUR GOD IS SOOOO INCREDIBLE! It is THE most amazing thing to know YOU are part of answering a prayer, even better - when you had NO idea. :) Overall, the trip was definitely impacting. David and I were both thrilled to sleep in our own bed come Sunday night, but it was definitely an experience. I truly believe, Mrs. Loyd will heal faster now and be able to enjoy her home knowing she can get in and out freely because of the wheelchair ramp.
