By Emily M.
Today was the last day at the Soaring Wings Ministries ranch in Wellington, Colorado. We finished up construction work on the addition that will house a homeless family, recapped the week and did devotions, and bid a fond farewell to the Rennells and the Peters, who we will miss dearly when we are back in New Hampshire tomorrow.
Construction, sewing, cooking, cleaning, and packing all went smoothly and cheerfully today.
The "inside" crew made more blankets and continued with the chicken care and kitchen cleanup tasks we've been doing most of the week. We are leaving Soaring Wings with many Blessing Bags pre-made and enough supplies to make a lot more. Anita and Meredith got to use Anita's new KitchenAid stand mixer today to make gluten-free shortcake and homemade whipped cream. The stand mixer was a gift to the ministry to help with food preparation for the many meals they prepare for the homeless and for volunteers each week. The mixer will also help with the cooking the Rennells and Meredith plan to do with the future residents of the addition.
The "inside" crew made more blankets and continued with the chicken care and kitchen cleanup tasks we've been doing most of the week. We are leaving Soaring Wings with many Blessing Bags pre-made and enough supplies to make a lot more. Anita and Meredith got to use Anita's new KitchenAid stand mixer today to make gluten-free shortcake and homemade whipped cream. The stand mixer was a gift to the ministry to help with food preparation for the many meals they prepare for the homeless and for volunteers each week. The mixer will also help with the cooking the Rennells and Meredith plan to do with the future residents of the addition.
The construction work today focused on one specific interior wall that yesterday the team did not have enough 2" x 4"s to build. After a quick stop at Home Depot for the wood that was needed, the "outside" team got to work on the last wall. They finished that and cleaned up the site, packing the tools and other items that needed to come back to New Hampshire with us. Wood that wasn't used was sorted and stacked to either be used later or to be returned to Home Depot. The construction site is in great shape for the work that was planned for the week.
So, what's next with the addition?
The next steps are to put on trusses and exterior "house armor" (my words, not a real contractor's!) like a roof and siding. A group of men from our host church in Fort Collins, Council Tree Covenant Church, with skill in truss work and a desire to help will be out sometime this fall to install the trusses that arrive next week. After that there are some women from Council Tree who will volunteer with Anita on some ranch projects, and Meredith (who coaches field hockey) has some players' moms coming out to help as well.
This is definitely an area that could use prayer, so please be praying that the addition gets finished well. We pray that the people who start on it next will love it and pray over it as much as we do, and that the work will be glorifying to God. The subfloor on Phase 2, which is the other part of the concrete foundation visible in photos, must get finished before winter to avoid any rework in the spring per the excavator's instructions.
The next steps are to put on trusses and exterior "house armor" (my words, not a real contractor's!) like a roof and siding. A group of men from our host church in Fort Collins, Council Tree Covenant Church, with skill in truss work and a desire to help will be out sometime this fall to install the trusses that arrive next week. After that there are some women from Council Tree who will volunteer with Anita on some ranch projects, and Meredith (who coaches field hockey) has some players' moms coming out to help as well.
This is definitely an area that could use prayer, so please be praying that the addition gets finished well. We pray that the people who start on it next will love it and pray over it as much as we do, and that the work will be glorifying to God. The subfloor on Phase 2, which is the other part of the concrete foundation visible in photos, must get finished before winter to avoid any rework in the spring per the excavator's instructions.
After devotions and lunch (and dessert!) we packed up the trucks and headed for Denver. The ride back to the hotel provided us with some time to decompress and analyze the week we've just wrapped up. It has been truly amazing because of our amazing, wonderful God.
We checked into our hotel near the airport and debriefed the week. There are so many prayer requests that have been answered throughout the week that I will dedicate a blog post to sharing how God is working through things big and small. Some of us mentioned that they learned how to relate to one another and to the homeless throughout the week. Many of us said that something we learned this week is how simple it can be to help the needy. One of Ed's favorite sayings is, "It's not rocket science." We just need to help.
A few ideas came up in answer to the question "what can we do next" and we'll be sharing those with TBC and with our blog readers over the next week. Please pray that God blesses our endeavors and that we can "transition" well back to our normal lives and the East Coast time zone. We want to be changed by this experience, and we want to be prayerfully listening for God's call to guide us in our next steps.
Finally, we had dinner with the Rennells and Meredith. Dan and Jim awarded each of us superlatives for the week, with a corresponding Bible verse. Once they send me an email with the scripture references, I'll update this list. But to give you an idea, here are a few that I can remember:
Finally, we had dinner with the Rennells and Meredith. Dan and Jim awarded each of us superlatives for the week, with a corresponding Bible verse. Once they send me an email with the scripture references, I'll update this list. But to give you an idea, here are a few that I can remember:
- Anita Rennells received the "Joyful" Award, along with the scripture Psalm 28:7. This fits Anita particularly well because of her positive attitude and her praises to God throughout the week. Though she initially didn't want to leave New Hampshire and it's beauty and homey comforts, she adapted quickly and found things to celebrate about Colorado. Anita is quick with a story to share how God is working in her life!
The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.
I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
- Josh received the "Leadership" Award with the scripture reference of Proverbs 11:14. He consistently led the practical tasks of framing out the construction site and teaching the rest of the "outside" crew.
Without wise leadership, a nation falls;
there is safety in having many advisers.
... more to be added soon! Check back Sunday night.
Dan and Jim recognized each member of the team for their unique contribution this week. This dovetailed nicely with the devotion today, which said, "God does want us to serve. But He wants us to serve humbly. He does want us to pursue our passions. But with prayer."
We said a tearful goodbye to Ed, Anita, and Meredith today after dinner. Their health, their ministry, and the homeless family that will soon be joining them are in our prayers. Please join us in praying for Ed and Meredith's health situations. We pray that Ed will be healed of the lung ailment he is suffering, and that his doctors' appointments this week about a possible internal bleed (not lung related) are helpful in making progress toward complete health.
Thank you for praying this week. This may be the end of the CO:Mission work in Colorado, but it is not the end of CO:Mission or of the work that needs to be done to "continue to remember the poor." (Galatians 2:10). This is simply the end of the beginning of our personal ministry to the homeless. We are returning to New Hampshire with the perspective that we will have compassion for homeless people because they are God's people. We will strive to love them as Jesus did, meeting them where they are to answer their cries for help. Matthew 25: 35-40 says it best, that what we do for the least of these we are doing for God.
Dan and Jim recognized each member of the team for their unique contribution this week. This dovetailed nicely with the devotion today, which said, "God does want us to serve. But He wants us to serve humbly. He does want us to pursue our passions. But with prayer."
We said a tearful goodbye to Ed, Anita, and Meredith today after dinner. Their health, their ministry, and the homeless family that will soon be joining them are in our prayers. Please join us in praying for Ed and Meredith's health situations. We pray that Ed will be healed of the lung ailment he is suffering, and that his doctors' appointments this week about a possible internal bleed (not lung related) are helpful in making progress toward complete health.
Thank you for praying this week. This may be the end of the CO:Mission work in Colorado, but it is not the end of CO:Mission or of the work that needs to be done to "continue to remember the poor." (Galatians 2:10). This is simply the end of the beginning of our personal ministry to the homeless. We are returning to New Hampshire with the perspective that we will have compassion for homeless people because they are God's people. We will strive to love them as Jesus did, meeting them where they are to answer their cries for help. Matthew 25: 35-40 says it best, that what we do for the least of these we are doing for God.
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’