I woke up bright and early this morning feeling a bit stiff and a little short on sleep but still excited to see what was in store. The accomadations here at Faith Mission may not quite be what we are used to, but I sure appreciate the hot, hot shower.
Oh, by the way, the accapella snorus did not disappoint last night. If you go to bed with the right attitude, this is actually a pleasant experience akin to listening to a running river or maybe more like an ocean. I know you snorers out there get a bad rap most of the time but if you are part of the snoir thanks.
Breakfast was very good and I am thankful for the guys who get up early to prepare breakfast. Mikah Davenport is our fearless leader in the kitchen this week. I had the privilege of working with him and my Power brother Moose on lunch crew today. I hadn’t seen Moose since my last Power trip two years ago, but we picked up where we left off two years ago. Good times and great fellowship.
I may be somewhat unique in this, but in my day to day job, I rarely see anyone. I do get to take my dog Sadie to work with me most days, but once she gets a good scent trail, she is off on her own for up to two to three hours at a time before she checks in with me. So I get plenty of alone time. I really don’t mind that aspect of my job as a timber cruiser, but I think for me these Power trips satisfy a need to do something with other men. Working with my Christian brothers on these projects is just plain healthy for me; mentally spiritually and emotionally. I have no doubt that anyone who reads this that has been on a Power missions trip would say amen.
After having lunch together at Faith Mission, Allen Ehlers, the founder of Faith Mission gave us some really good reminders of Gods amazing faithfulness. Please keep Faith Mission in your prayers. If it is to continue on, they’re really needing someone(s) to take over running the place.
We left for Laredo Stepping Stone. It was a long drive, but the time always flies by when you have half a dozen Power brothers to share the trip with. Due to the hard labor of holding the van seats down for 3 hours, we arrived at Luby’s restarant ready to conquer another huge plate of really good food….Which never seems got be a problem? My theory is, we eat more to make up for our lack of sleep.
Late night prayer: Every night we have the opportunity to join with whoever shows up for a 30 to 45 minute time of sharing personal prayer needs and then praying together. This week the average attendance has been around 15 guys. Tonight was my first time at a prayer meeting and it won’t be my last. I just love praying together and sharing our burdens and praise reports. There is no pressure to pray out loud, which is always a difficult thing for me. Is there a better way for us to truly exercise our faith than to spend time before God in prayer, trusting the only one who truly sees all our problems, knows what is best, and has the power to answer. Speaking of faith, Doug Husen shared an acronym for faith that struck a chord.
F. Forsaking
A. All
I. I
T. Take
H. Him
Let that sink in for a while….
After prayer, I wandered around Stepping Stone in search of a good place to spend some time working on the blog. The problem is I kept running into guys that I couldn’t help but engage in conversation with. One of these guys was Marty Read, our operations manager. In my mind, the trip experience wouldn’t be the same without him(actually there are a number of leaders and others that really make this trip what it is). I was blessed to be able to share on a deeper level with him for I think might have been over an hour, maybe even an hour and a half. As bossy and bristly as Marty comes across when barking out intructions over the radios as operations manager, he is really a softy, with a heart for men to get their acts together and walk uprighly before God. I am honored to be a recipient of his counsel.
I think it is only fitting that I close todays blog with the classic Marty Read qoute.
“THAT IS ALL!!!”