Restoration in Nevada

Hi all… today is our last day in Boulder City, Nevada where we’ve been helping at St. Jude’s Children’s Ranch all week. We’ve been doing a variety of yard work for them the last four days, including pulling weeds (who knew they hand you a shovel to do that in the desert?!), pruning trees, and digging out bushes. It has actually been a lot more fun than it sounds—we’ve been working outside in the 85 degree weather all week and getting a tan! It has also been nice to have time to work on our own…after a week of zero alone time in CA and the overwhelming emotions we experienced there, this low-key week has provided much needed personal processing and reflection time. My spirit has been restored through this week of hard work...

God continues to amaze me with how He provides each week. This last Sunday we spoke at a small evening service at Grace Community here in Boulder. There were 6 adults present and the rest were youth. We had a lot of fun worshiping with the student-led band and assumed that this week was meant to be a week of spreading the importance of service and probably not for raising funds. However, after the service we had several people come up to us with donations. One man offered a unique‘donation’—to take us boating on Lake Mead to see Hoover Dam from the water (we took him up on that!). Another couple from the church said they had just received a check from their insurance company the day before for the exact amount we try to raise each week…they drove to the ranch to give it to us two days later. It is the people God places in our lives each week who keep us going and who remind us that this isn’t our trip or our ministry in the first place!

As I’m writing this I am sitting outside watching ten girls from St Jude’s do a dance routine for the new dance club they are starting at the local high school. Juanita and Co. have also reminded me of a few things: 1) the reason we pulled weeds all week 2) youth have a contagious spirit of joy 3) and that I really can’t dance!

Kelly