Day 2 – May 20th

Day 1 ended in a very awesome way.  Myself and three other friends spent the final hours of the night up on the roof of the parsonage staring into the endless galaxies and bringing much deserved praise to the One who created it all.  Two songs still stick out to me from that night.  The first being the old fashioned “Doxology”.  By the end of that first day, after seeing how the majority of the world lives outside the U.S., I couldn’t help but give praise to the God who has given me way more than I need and way more than I deserve.  The second song that I grabbed on to that night was the chorus to “Glory to God Forever”.  The title pretty much sums up this song completely.  The chorus says, “Glory to God, Glory to God, Glory to God forever”.  While singing that chorus and staring into the never ending, mind blowing stars above I kept thinking about the words to Psalm 19:1-2, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.”  It was as if I could hear the universe screaming out “Glory To God”.

Day 2 was a challenging and interesting day.  It was the first day we started the work projects.  People began digging the postholes for the fence around the new farm, others were inside the nearly completed farmhouse applying the first coat of paint, and others were beginning construction on the porch roof on the front of the house.  In the afternoon I decided to try and help out with the construction of the porch roof.  Let me inform some of you who might not know me as well as others, I am a disaster with tools.  Pretty much worthless.  But despite my knowledge of this fact, I still thought I might be able to contribute by hammering nails or something semi manly and constructive.  After about an hour of not really finding my niche on the construction team John Chapman, who was the man in charge, told me he had an assignment for me.  I started to get excited thinking my time had finally come.  All of a sudden John opens up the palm of his hand and shows me a nail.  He then looks me in the eyes and gives me my assignment.  He said, “there is a box of rusty nails sitting over there, start digging through that box and find me as many nails just like this one as you can find.”  I was startled to say the least. My assignment had finally come and I was told to sort nails, a box of rusty nails.  Seriously?  Yes.  I moved to the edge of the porch and started sorting through the old and worn nails feeling around searching for matches.  In my head I started questions myself, asking “did I really travel all this way to sort nails?”  I left the farm that day feeling defeated, thinking that I had missed my purpose, knowing that there had to be more for me to contribute.

Later on that evening during our nightly devotion I will still struggling with the day’s events.  I remembered a simple verse from Colossians that I had focused on during tough times in college and while working crappy jobs.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men – Colossians 3:23

In my mind I thought that I was going to be making huge contributions that day, but God had other plans.  For whatever reason it was, he chose me to sort through the nails. The dirty, rusty nails.  A job I thought I was to good for.  A job no one really wants to do.  But this verse was a slap in the face challenge reminding me that whatever job I find before me I should work at with all my ability and with great care because I am working for God not man.  While I wasn’t doing the most glamorous job, I was given the task to find the perfect nails that would help secure the roof onto the porch.  This roof, which will give shade to the farmers who work in the scorching heat to harvest crops to feed orphans and families.  A roof that will provide shelter from the storms.  To have a secure roof you need nails.  The roof doesn’t stay up by itself.  Instead of having such a negative attitude about my task I should have been working at it with joy, knowing that this roof was going to give relief and shelter to farmers and families for years to come.

I went to sleep that night humbled.

Whatever task you find in front of you, big or small, celebrate it and work at it with all you have.  You never know how God will use that work to bless others and bring glory to His name.

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Here is a live video of Steve Fee leading the song “Glory To God Forever” – It’s an amazing song, give it a listen.

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Here are some pictures of work being done on the farm and farm house.  Thanks to Michael Yost & Aly Thompson for these pictures.

A look at the farm house before work on the porch roof started...

Jarrod doing work on the roof...

A group digging post holes for the fence around the farm...

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