On Friday, we were able to go over to Jasper's mother's house because she needed work done to her roof and house. Typically, he would not ask a group to work on his mother's home, but we did it as a surprise for him. His mother is in her 80s and has Alzheimer's. Carolyn and Jasper have to go visit her several times a day and they have to cook all of her meals because she cannot do it herself. Her home is old and the exterior was in somewhat rough shape because she hasn't been able to keep it up. What we did was replace some boards, nail in a rain protector lip, and we painted some of the house as well. The project was done that day and Jasper was so thankful that we had done that for his mother. I'm glad that Carolyn felt comfortable asking us to work on the project because I can understand why that would be uncomfortable. But, thankfully, we were able to help Jasper and his mother out in a huge way. That is the most important thing, because God was glorified with out ability to help the Bacon's in that way. Later that night we went to Mama Hamil's for dinner, and it is a classic southern style buffet. I had beans, fried chicken, mac and cheese, and I even tried catfish! It was so good. FOr dessert I had bread pudding and that was lovely too. I really enjoyed myself and had a good time chatting with some of the girls on the team.
On Saturday, we got to go into the Saw Mill Quarters and hang out with some of the neighborhood kids. I was really nervous because I was unsure about how some of them would behave. But I was happy that we did not run into any problems and the kids were amazing. Glenn and Robert were playing basketball with some of the older boys, which was fun to watch. I really admire Glenn for his ability to make such strong connections with some of these kids over the years. He is really great role model for that. As he was doing that, I was getting to know a six year old boy named Dimitrius. On Thursday we had gone over to the Saw Mill Quarters to patch up their basketball court, so Saturday we went to go get some more of that done. Dimitrius came right over and immediately wanted to help and was helping Nick tamp the patches. He was so adorable and friendly and I was instantly in a constant smile. He was so funny and was always saying the funniest things. Some of the girls on the team were going for a walk, so I asked him if he wanted to come along. He said he did and that he wanted to ride on my back. So I walked around the Saw Mill Quarters with him on my back, pretending to be a car. It was certainly one of the cutest things I have ever encountered. We walked around and said hello to different people in the area and Dimitrius just chattered away the whole time.
We got back to the basketball court and hung out there for a little bit again. Then Anders and some of the boys went to go play baseball, and Dimitrius wanted to go too. So he climbed on my back again and then he decided that he wanted to keep walking so we went farther. He saw a toad so we stopped to see if we could find it again, but we didn't. Lauren, Kyra, and Emily were walking towards us and I asked if he wanted them to walk with us and he said yes. "I want them to be my friends," he told me. It was just about the cutest thing I had ever heard. I told this that they already were his friends and that I was too, and that really made him happy. We then sat in the shade for a little and took some pictures, then walked another round around the block.
As we walked, I saw the Louis house that I worked on last year and was so excited to see it. When I got back to the court, I told Carolyn that I found the house, and she told me that they moved. She showed me the new house and then she took me over to see the family again. I got to go with her and Glenn and we saw Angel, the mother, and Timmy, the oldest son, and another boy named Eric. That was great to catch up a little bit with them. Timmy is going to a community college, which is great! I was so glad to hear that. He isn't sure about what he wants to do, but he has so much time to figure that out.
We hung out at the basketball court some more afterwards and then we left to finish one last detail on the bushes. We just needed to put pine needles around the base so that moisture would stay around the shrub. After that we had a light lunch and then some of us went out to explore the town center. The center square had a bunch of little shops and neat places to poke your head into. It was nice to walk around and see the community from a different standpoint. And when we got back, we had a home-cooked southern meal by Jasper and Carolyn, which was very generous of them. We had pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, beans, and sweet tea. It was wonderful. They really are some of the kindest people. And at 10pm that night, we had a foot-washing service. The purpose was to close such a humbling week with an act of humility. Anders and I had pots to wash their feet in and everyone came up and had their feet washed. He and I traded off reading John 13 to open, then we washed, and then we debriefed on the week. Everyone had lovely things to say and I was so happy. And they all got a lot out of the foot washing as well, which was awesome. I will write more once I process.
:{I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.}: ~ John 13:15-17
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