By Emily M.
Tuesday in Colorado brought more hot, dry weather and more progress on the construction site. Beyond construction, we spent some time assembling Blessing Bags with handwritten notes. We gave out those bags this afternoon as we engaged with the homeless of Fort Collins, Colorado, and that time clarified the mission that Soaring Wings Ministries is on.
First things first: we started the day with breakfast at the Soaring Wings Ministries ranch in Wellington, Colorado. This is turning into a morning ritual, to get up and dressed at the church then pile into cars and drive the 40 minutes out to the ranch. On the ride there we've recapped the day before and talked through the day's plans. Then when we get to the ranch we unload any supplies (i.e. today we stopped at Home Depot for wood we needed to complete the floor joist installation) and head inside for prayer and breakfast. Ed and Anita have been preparing us breakfast, which has been unfailingly delicious. (Note: I heard tomorrow is bacon day. Who has two thumbs and likes bacon? This girl.)
After breakfast and coffee, most of the team headed outside to kick off the construction work while some of us stayed inside to clean up and prepare Blessing Bags. Construction work completed today:
After breakfast and coffee, most of the team headed outside to kick off the construction work while some of us stayed inside to clean up and prepare Blessing Bags. Construction work completed today:
- Floor joist installation in the addition
- Floor insulation in the addition
- Storm door installation on the front door of the house
Blessing Bag prep commenced after feeding the chickens. Emily D. took the lead in both of these activities and did a great job. We ended up making close to 30 Blessing Bags and later in the day, all of them got handed out. The toughest part of assembling the Blessing Bags was writing a note to go in each bag. Emily D., Tricia, and I each wrote notes to leave in the bags.
The Blessing Bags are a Soaring Wings Ministries creation that truly seek to meet the needs of the homeless. A gallon Ziplock-style bag is filled with things that we might take for granted, like soap and a toothbrush. The most critical item included is a pair of socks. The image below should give you an idea of the variety of things that might go into a Blessing Bag.
We ate lunch together and had devotionals together again as well. We heard more background on Soaring Wings and their "tips and tricks" for engaging with the homeless. The more we get to know and speak with the Rennells and Meredith, the more obvious it becomes that they have wholeheartedly committed to following God's call in their lives. I plan to elaborate on this in the second part of this post, where I'll discuss our engagement with the homeless in Fort Collins this afternoon. The devotional today focused on Isaiah, and how frequently "servant" and "chosen" are used together. In Isaiah 42:1, Isaiah wrote:
Behold, My Servant, whom I Uphold;
My chosen one in whom My soul delights
This provided excellent perspective for us while we considered the work Soaring Wings is doing in Colorado.
To give the experience of engaging with the homeless sufficiency without causing an unduly long blog to post, I've continued this post into another one here.
To give the experience of engaging with the homeless sufficiency without causing an unduly long blog to post, I've continued this post into another one here.