Tuesday 3 July 2012

Philadelphia Times Vol.1 #3


July 2, 2012

We began our morning by celebrating Adam’s 19th birthday. For fun we wrote a song for him using the tune of ‘Jehovah Jireh’ and now none of us will ever be able to sing that song again without laughing. The song went like this:

 ‘Oh, Adam Bootsma! Happy Birthday!

‘We’re so glad to have you on our team, our team, our team.

‘Thanks for coming on your birthday!

‘Too bad you’ll be working all day.

‘You’re tall like a mighty oak tree...

‘You’re muscles rival those of Hercules.

‘We wish you all the best as you’re turning 19!

‘We hope you don’t rupture your spleen...

‘Let’s celebrate and eat some icecream

‘Oh, what a pleasure it has been!’

At the church we began by deciding what we would need to fix up the church. While Mark and Martin went to get the supplies the rest of us began to wash walls. At least we girls did. The boys went to check out the roof and decided that it was fixable. Then began the long and arduous task of unscrewing the pews from the floor. Arm muscles behind screwdrivers and an electric drill loosened the screws and the pews were moved to the middle of the sanctuary.

When our supplies arrived Lisa and Heather began taping the baseboards and around the door frames. Grace found a ladder and began cutting in the paint at the ceiling. She did a marvelous job. Various others started cutting in around the baseboards. By lunch time there was a major difference to the white walls.

After lunch Alice and Matt started in on the wall behind the pulpit and soon the white wall was transformed into a pale yellow wall. By the end of the day with paint running out we managed to get a first coat on all the walls and the second coat of cutting in started.

Up on the roof Dan and Adam spent some time cleaning out the clogged drains and then with Matt’s help started tarring the holes in the roof. Later Matt and Adam came inside to help with the painting and Lisa went up on the roof to help Dan.

When the roof was finished Matt and Dan began tearing ruined drywall out of a small closet and removing the flooring to see what damage had been done. The rest of us were still labouring away on the walls.

When Grace was tired of painting she went outside with Mark and they scrubbed down the front wall of the church. With a new coat of paint it will look much more inviting and warm.

Around five we began to slow down and a half an hour later we called it quits for the day. After spending some time cleaning up we headed back ‘home’ for supper.

By that time we were all covered in paint or tar or both. Some of us more than others. Rosie thought it would be fun to use Matt as a doodle pad and as a result at the end of the day he had an ‘R’ on his arm and a stripe down his back.

The thought of a nice shower appealed to us all. One of the Calvary’s elders and his wife are on vacation this week. They have graciously offered us the use of their two showers. We are very thankful to them.

The Snodgrasses joined us again for supper and delivered an ice cream cake for Adam. We all enjoyed the cake immensely.

All in all, it was a wonderful day. A day filled with laughter and fun. A day to become closer as friends and brothers and sisters in Christ. The citizens of Germantown are friendly and very curious. They slow down to watch us as we work. We hope that they will become curious enough to enter the doors and come to know the Truth.

Quotes of the Day:

Rosemary: Hold your metaphorical horses!

Grace: I have another nose growing on my head!

No comments:

Post a Comment