Kaylee, Michael , and Aaron deliver a new Lutheran Church of Hope – Ankeny IMPACT team blog! Follow their action-packed day: pancakes and painting, literacy work with primary school students at CAPS, installing and finishing drywall, and a refreshing surprise of locally made lemonade. Read their story now!
As we embarked on our third day here in Abaco, we started by watching the sunrise over the beach. As a group we gathered for breakfast that was prepared by two wonderful Abaconian ladies; Doreen and Lula. The pancakes and sausage fueled the group up to start our day.
One group went to the school and continued literacy work with primary school students at CAPS (Central Abaco Primary School), another continued installing and finishing drywall in a home, while the bulk of us returned to the home we began painting yesterday.
We all met back at CAPS for lunch, which was also prepared by Camp Abaco staff. During lunch we shared stories from each site. The drywallers shared about their growing relationship with the family. The kids; twins age 2, and a boy age 7, wanted to help out and loved giving the team high fives. The school group shared stories of their interactions with individual students, including games used to improve literacy proficiency – hindered by hurricanes and COVID.
The school group joined the painting group as we returned to the house. The team was joined by Miss Shay – a community member who stopped by yesterday in hopes to return today. She shared her story of need, but was adamant to help her community, as she was driven by her faith in God. She requested Cindy Thompson, her favorite worship singer, and she was able to paint an entire side of the home as she sang along. By the end of the day, we had almost completed painting the entire exterior of Marlin and his wife’s home. The drywall group was able to move on to the mudding and taping phase. It was a very hot and physically demanding day for all team members, however our Camp Abaco hosts had a surprise waiting for us at Marsh Harbour. Doug and Carrie provided locally made lemonade, flavors included watermelon, prickly pear, and peach. The cucumbers and freshly sliced fruit revived and refreshed the team as we headed back to camp.
Upon returning to camp, team members had the opportunity to jump in the beautiful ocean that lines Camp Abaco. Doreen and Lula prepared a wonderful pasta meal with garlic toast, followed by homemade spice cake. We closed the night with IMPACT work and preparation for the school children the following day.
-Kaylee & Michael Zweigart & Aaron Winters 🙂
