Painting the Desert Red

Our vehicles traveled quickly down the long straight stretch of road out in the Northern Arizona desert towards a location we only knew by name, our imaginations piqued but our bodies weary from our first day of work.  There was hesitance by many students whose fatigue wanted them to remain in the cool comfortable church we had made our temporary home.  Some made their reluctance known through noise, others through their quiet.  Yet as soon as our vans (and one SUV) came to a stop at the Little Painted Desert, before we could even turn off our ignitions, the doors were flung open, and the students flooded out onto the dunes and silts that could only be the act of God.

Our earlier concerns of whether or not they would enjoy themselves were replaced by our concern for geting them to return.  They sprinted up and slid down, hurled themselves about and soon looked like ants to those of us who merely admired the view from the top of the ridges.  One student remarked that seeing all the others sprinting about in the distance was another reminder of the magnificence and glory of God.  After we were able to reconvene at the top of the ridge, we watched the sun set behind a mountain in the distance, the sky lit in reds and oranges in wondrous fashion.

Being a huge fan of breakfast, I also want to mention that so far we have been treated exceptionally well when it comes to our morning meals.  The first work day we were treated to pancakes and bacon, and this morning we had warm oatmeal to fill our bellies.  The excellent home cooked meals have made it much easier to go out and do a hard day's work.

Our normal morning devotionals have had a wondrous backdrop.  The students find places to sit out on the church's land where they are immersed in God's work.  The views from the church are amazing, and they can only help to inspire the students as they meditate on the scriptures and ideas their fellow students have written about.

After we had a good rest, we began the second day of work.  My work group is with the amazing Debbie Stoddard, and has been a true blessing.  Our task is to fix up a roof that has seen better days.  The first day we removed shingles during a cool overcast day before scurrying off the roof ahead of a coming rainstorm.

Today the weather was more of what we expected, bright and sunny with only soft fluffy clouds floating overhead.  After finishing up some last bits of cleanup on the removal, today we began the long process of fixing up the roof by laying tar paper down.  The students were excellent, both working diligently and making sure to take care of their own health.  We nagged them about sunscreen and water, and they didn't complain or falter.

With two more work days left, I am hoping we are able to keep up our pace and finish up the roof work.  The feeling of accomplishment and blessing of being able to serve has already been great, and I look forward to the potency of feeling of seeing what we've been able to do at the end of four hard work days.

Peace and God bless,
Stace Peterson