Better and Better

Today started off ruff.. Getting up at 7 am is hard when you wake up at like 1-1:30 pm on a normal summer day. I was dreading having to work 6 hours in the hot heat. My group has been assigned to a project at Eddie Sampson's house. Eddie is an older man and he needed some help putting in a sidewalk as well as demolishing a side room on his house which was in poor repair. Having a bad knee and bad shoulders didn't help to get me motivated for work this morning either. I thought I wasn't going to be able to do anything except dig in some dirt to prepare for the sidewalk to be laid and that's what I did in the beginning. I was mad and bored and didn't want to be there. But i got some friends around me and it really turned around my day. Yeah, I still had to dig in the dirt, but having people around me made me think about how blessed I am to have friends and be able to make new friends too! In the end, we got so much done! I also got to help take the roof off with the demolition part of our project and take walls down! Although I didn't get to swing the sledgehammer, I had a really fun time working with Emma Jo and Jake. We did way more than we expected to.

During daily lunch devotions, we had Eddie, the man we were working for, come out and join us. He answered all of the questions with the same story, but it was really cool to here about something he had experienced in his time working as a police officer. I was also able to pop out of my comfort zone and pray for the group.

Later that night we had our evening church program. During the program we sang some songs that really spoke to me and made me think about how powerful and mighty God truly is. I felt like I was truly worshiping.

After the program, just the Niekerk group took off together and went to the beach, talked through our day, and ate some delicious ice cream! During our talk with the group, the talk of Riley Hoeksema came up and everything went silent. I really felt the God pushing me to pray, so in the end, I got to pray for our group, for Riley's family, friends, and everyone affected by this great tragedy. Later, I got to talk with some awesome girls and comfort them in their time of need.

At the end of the day, I had a awesome day. It got better and better. I can't wait to see where God leads me the rest of the week and what new friendships I'm going to make. I can't wait!

Love, Annie Timmer

As you can feel and see as you read Annie's words, God is surely working through our students this week! What a joy it is for me to be able to watch as our group stretches themselves, supports one another at work, at play and during more serious moments, and how close of a bond an experience like this can place in our group. 

As the week continues please continue to pray for the hearts of our students who are hurting over the loss of a friend and classmate. Pray for safety at our worksites (I am sure many of you will in the future hear the story of Laura losing the grip on her hammer and throwing it down at Emma Jo below her ladder!) and health as we are working in the heat and sun during the day. Pray for continued unity in our group, and willingness to share together as well as get to know the other students and leaders who are here in Ohio with us. And finally, continue to pray for our leadership here... Trisha, Jamie, Jim, Ian and I as we work as a team to love these kids and lead them and be an example for them in word and in deed.

Thank you for your prayers and constant support.

Laura