If these ladies chose Charlotte over the gulf coast because they thought it was going to be cooler --- they were wrong!!!

Let me back up to yesterday and give you the whole story.  Our trip to Charlotte was quick and uneventful!  Praise God.  The seniors might be better travelers than the teens.  We had traveled over 2 hours and not one person had made a request to stop!!!  So I called the other car to see if everyone was OK.  They were so busy socializing that no one cared!  However, the next exit had a DQ, so ice cream was in order for everyone!

Last night we met Helms and got a tour of the Hyaets House.  She gave us some background about the ministry and told us about their vision for the neighborhood.  We learned about some projects that we could work on over the next couple of days.  After that we went to our hotel and immediately began to "dream" of ways to complete our projects!!

This morning began with a devotional about sowing seeds and watching them grow.  That image pretty much sums up Hyaets.  They plant seeds of love, encouragement, discipline .... and then watch them grow over time.

During the day, while the kids were in school, we began working on the projects.  LeeAnn and I went supply shopping while Gertrude and Martha worked in the kitchen.  Upon our return we painted flower stems and leaves on the shed.  To finish that project, the neighborhood kids will put handprints on the shed as the petals of the flowers!  Yet another way to build community in their neighborhood.

When the 90 degree temperature became too hot, we went inside and started a huge organization project in the laundry room.  Shelves were assembled and installed. Hosehold items were sorted. 

After school, several kids started showing up at the house.  One of them said he wanted to play the Memory Game, and that he was unbeatable.  So Lee Ann took him on.  Fifteen minutes later Rhaji (11 yrs. old) retained his crow as Memory Game Champ!  (And I don't think Lee Ann was showing him any mercy!)

While this game was going on, Gertrude and Martha were doing what they do best --- cooking dinner!  Everyone is excited about homemade chicken pie!  We're expecting about 25 folks to eat with us.  I'm sure that's not a big deal for Gertrude and Martha!  In fact, I walked into the kitchen and asked if I could help.  And they suggested that I leave the cooking to them.

We're taking some great pictures, but I forgot to bring the cord that allows me to put them on the computer!  It's been suggested that I had a Senior Moment, but I'm not buying it!  So you'll have to check back next week to see all our photos.

Well, it's my turn to try and beat Rhaji at Memory Game.  Talk  to you tomorrow.

Julie