Thursday, March 15th – We started out with another wonderful self-serve breakfast and morning devotions. While we had all stayed up past midnight the previous night, there was still plenty of energy for the variety of jobs on our list. Brian led the outdoor team – Chris, Tara, Mick, Justin, and Tom started out with final mapping of the playground, digging (chiseling) postholes, and hauling materials and tools to the work site. Ed took on the metal staircase by starting with sanding, grinding, and chipping away at the old paint and rust. Indoors, Martha and Dawn continued Rachel Ray-enviable planning and preparations. Lori and I had dish duty and then moved on to one of the vaults (of the 3-4 total). This task focused on unloading the suitcases of toys and clothing that had been sent with us in to the inventory system set up by previous Point of Grace volunteers. We got through about four by lunch.

After lunch, there was a quick clean up and trips to deliver ice water out to the playground work site. Trips to the work site started to reveal Brian’s vision of the playground – an object that may be visible from space. As the afternoon ended and before dinner, I had an accident that left me with a broken arm and few cuts and bruises around my eye. As you might expect, this caused quite a bit of commotion and I did go to the hospital. No need to worry – God had his loving arms wrapped well around me and I am at the Pines at this time and helping out in slightly different ways than planned. I am fine and will fill in more details when I get back to Iowa.

I will continue to try and get my story posted. Stay tuned.

Love in Christ,

Dee Dee