Friday Morning

We started off the morning together and I shared a devotional from Psalm 2 and Revelation 1. The passages gave a picture that the most central part of being a Christian is Christ and submission to  Christ. From before the foundation, through the writing of the Old Testament and Prophets, through His birth, life on earth, burial, and resurrection, until His heavenly state in Revelation 1, Christ is central. Christ is the reason we do what we do each day, and we must remember to keep the main thing, the main thing. I challenged them to remember this as we walked through today and as we would try to finish the build. 

After breakfast, we headed to the Mercy Home with the goal that we would get all of the trusses up and set. It was a tall order because of the mud and because it depended on how much Haitian help we could get. We had 31 trusses to set. 

We started at 9:15 and by lunch time we had 12 tresses up. We were tired. It was hot and it was muddy. Troy, Chuck, and John Fritz were up in the air. John Fritz was in the middle on the top and Troy and Chuck were on the sides. They moved  down little by little once we got the trusses up to them and set. Adam, Allan, Dr. J, 3 Haitians and I were all on the ground. We each had jobs to do for each placement of the truss. The Haitians would carry the heavy trusses to a spot right below and all of us on the ground would lift the trusses up using a pulley, sticks, and brute strength. It  was hard working because we were in sludge that was sticking to our shoes. About  every third truss, I would have to clean off my shoes.

Even though it was exhausting, the work was fun because the team enjoyed each other. There were times when we would joke, especially Dr. J and there were times when it was completely silent. The Haitians were the same way. They would talk to each other and laugh. Only God knew what both groups were saying.

At noon, we took a break for lunch. I had a conversation with Adam and we commented to each other that the rest of the day was all mental. Our bodies were  exhausted and we knew that even if we worked until dark, we had to get the last 19 trusses up. 

Check back next week to see how the construction of the secondary school continues to unfold.

Wiley Kennedy serves as Director of International Ministries with Connect 2 Ministries. To learn more about Wiley, visit Who We Are, and to learn how you can make a difference, visit Join the Impact.