Mission Trip Love

I was really excited for my mission trip team. It was going to be Jake, Joe, Cheryl and me working in a basement. That job got canceled, and I was kind of devastated when our whole team was reassigned to join a roofing job at a church far away from everyone else. That was very stupid of me, because I love the crew I'm working with.

We have such a great dynamic, where everyone is pretty laid back emotionally, but is also a very hard worker. We bust our butts, running around to measure and pre-drill tin roof, and hanging off railings to paint hand rails, and climbing up incredibly tilted ladders to stuff insulation in the tin roof bumps (not to mention Jake and Joe, who spend all day crawling around the roof drilling things into place).

But then we have fun, passing around communal drinks ("Oh, is that Peach Mango water? Can I try?" "Me too!"). And Bruce, the crew chief, took time before going to eat lunch to take me over to a tree to see if I could do a chin up. I could. With the help of him pushing the bottom of one of my shoes.

We work hard with a playful heart, I guess. It's perfect. No drama, no fights, no slackers. Which is amazing considering we have a 5-year-old (Andrew), a high schooler (Michael), four college students (Jake, Ashley, Joe, Troy), a college graduate (me), two 30-ish-year-olds (Bruce and Jenna), two 50-ish-year-olds (Cheryl and Steve) and a 60-ish-year-old (Bill). Not exactly a combination that I would think works, but it does.

I wish this trip could go on forever and ever, because I love it so.


That's our team minus a couple people and plus Frank and John, two men from the church we are roofing who bring us doughnuts and ice cream bars and sleep in their trucks all night so the roofing material won't get stolen.