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| Lots of construction takes place here. Side note: this might be on my next book cover. |
One of the amazing ministries the Church of Christ does is making beds for foster care. The man who started this years earlier has managed to expand it to East Texas and parts of Arkansas.
Last year, I asked for donations for my birthday from the lunch bunch crowd for this ministry. Part of me did it for selfish reasons. I don't need more tea towels and lotion--two staples of Southern gift-giving. But the ministry always needs pillows, sheets and Home Depot gift cards. I'm pleased to say, this started a trend of donating to charity in lieu of Lunch Bunch birthday celebrations.
Additionally, there is a group of women who get together about once a month and make these beds from raw materials. I've been known to brandish an electric drill and sander on a few occasions in a warehouse across town--come to think of it, I'm probably the youngest woman there. A group of men install these heavy wooden beds in their intended locations.
But yesterday, the ladies were asked to install five bunkbeds (which is ten beds, stacked) into a domestic violence shelter. There were eight of us and we managed to get this done in three hours. The first few beds weren't heavy. One person could manage a foot piece or a railing. By the end of the day, it took three of us to move a twin mattress. And my arms are so tired today--but not sore.
We weren't able to take pictures because of the nature of our mission. (I didn't have my phone with me, and I couldn't convince Ruthie to do it on my behalf, that's okay. She has boundaries and she's definitely a rule follower.) You'll just have to take my word for it. It was impressive site to see these beds fully put together--mattress and all.
In other news, Marty has an interview tomorrow. A first interview--which is more like a speed date and doesn't have any significance at this time. However, I thought about his interview as we constructed these beds. I love living purposefully. But I kept thinking throughout the afternoon, would this be another probably last moment here in Texarkana.
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| This is not a picture from the domestic shelter. Just a photo of the beds we constructed in the past. |
