Another day in paradise!

My Saturday:

4:40 a.m.- "Bubble" sounds on my phone...time to get up
5:15 a.m.- Arrive at my parents house. There must be SOMETHING left in my old closet that can get trashed. I hear we are about to get really dirty. Found an old UNC sweatshirt. Child size large. Try it on. Perfect, it still fits!
6:00 a.m.- Arrive at the Stuarts Draft Fire House to start on the BBQ chicken in the rain.

The day consisted of getting soaking wet and having the wind blow charcoal dust in our faces. We had to open about 30 bags of charcoal and put them in the pit. Then lighter fluid was poured on top and then the flames came! Chickens went on the rack. They had to be sprayed with sauce that was stirred over a fire that kept blowing out because of the wind. We put boxes together and lined the boxes with foil. After the chickens were cooked (all 631 of them), they went into the lined boxes and were sprayed with more BBQ sauce. After they marinated a little longer, the chickens were wrapped and ready to go. People could pick up the chicken they ordered starting at 11:00. Mind you, the rain never stopped once.

Around 2:30, I decide to take a quick nap. Luther decides to come upstairs and watch TV while I sleep on his chest.
2:45 p.m.- Luther wakes me up. That was a quick nap!

There's water pouring inside our bedroom around the chimney. I run to pull the TV cord out of the wall since the water is coming in directly over the power strip and outlet. We hold a towel to stop the water. Once the rain stops, the water stops coming inside. It poured rain for at least 45 minutes. Luther decides to check the basement. He doesn't think any water went in. Then he opens the door and sees a few inches of water on the floor. Great! Thankfully, Luther had organized the basement so that not much would be ruined if water did ever go into the basement. We talked to some guys from the city because apparently when they repaved the road next to us, they didn't put a bump like in the old road to keep all of the water from coming down the hill and into our basement. We make some phone calls and are very appreciative to all our friends who were giving us advice and referrals for people who work on a metal roof! Luther goes to Lowes to buy something to get the water out of the basement while I stay home and make sure no more water comes in through the roof! By the time he gets home (45 minutes later) the water in the basement was gone. Weird, but thankful.

Sooo, I think I was asleep by 9 because I was so exhausted! I woke up to hear that Draft had a tornado. It looked awful as we drove to church today and saw the damage. I have not heard that anyone was hurt and for that, I am thankful. Many people still need our prayers though as they are going to try to rebuild their houses and farms.


On a different note, I am almost to $2,000 for my Zambia trip! Almost enough to buy the plane ticket and almost half way to the $4,300 total needed. Very thankful for God's blessings and I get chills thinking about who God is asking to support this specific trip of a lifetime. I can't wait to see how we are used and to share with those who donate what a difference they made for the people of Zambia by donating money to this cause.

Until next time...