Day three, Bay City

Day 3 – Wednesday, July 27, 2011- Week of Hope in Bay City, MI

Today, crew #1 dropped crew #2 off at their site. Crew #1 drove out and got started on the rest of the wheel chair ramp. By lunch we had half of the railings up and almost all of the boards screwed to the deck. We took lunch and did our devotion. The other guys (from the Center) kept working. By the time we got back over to the ramp, they were almost done. We jumped back in; some cleaned up, some screwed in more supports and the rest screwed in the boards to the deck. By the end of our work day, we have two things left to finish. First, the 4x4’s need to be cut down level to the railing. Second, the last board, which extends onto the concrete, needs shorter screws. We didn’t have any on site, so we couldn’t finish that last board! Talk about frustrating. So close, yet not finished. But we’ll get ‘er done tomorrow!

Crew #2 has a couple handrails left to hang and then their finished. The “other guys” told us that we’ll work together again tomorrow. That will be fun. Although it is supposed to rain…

After showers at the “Y”, we had a little free time and then it was bbq pulled pork sandwiches for dinner, with baked beans. We are the last “camp” here, so we’re getting the end of all the food. For instance, currently there are two 3 gallon tubs of ice cream sitting out on the table so the youth can have it. It’s 10:20pm as I type this in the cafeteria.

After dinner, our group (along with the other UMC that’s here) had “Hospitality” Duty (hehe, duty. Yup, I work with the jr. high) which meant cleaning the bathrooms and common areas. Then it was time for evening program. We dug a little deeper (spiritually) and had some emotions come out. Devotion time was good. We are having a great week. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Not because it’s taco Thursday, or because it’s the last official day of workcamp, or because I only have one more day to write care cards, but because I can feel the strong bonds that our youth are creating.