Friday, September 02, 2005
Community Control
I received a call from our Deacon of “Pain,” I mean “Youth,” (Brett) last Thursday. He asked me if I had any “big” plans for Sunday. I told him other than getting the house in order to my wife’s satisfaction for Randy’s impending visit, and then recovering from said activity, not really other than going to Worship. Bad answer. Brett asked me if Steven and I would be interested in going to Kendall, Florida which is just south of Miami to help his former church (Sunset Church of Christ) clear out some fallen trees from their visit from Hurricane Katrina.
So 10 of us in two Ford (dual wheel) “pick-em-up” trucks left Cocoa at 5am for the 3 hour ride to Miami. My son plus two of his friends (Zack and Matthew) went along with us. Getting a 15 year old up at 4:30am usually isn’t that easy but the boys got up and away we went to Miami.
After stopping at MacDonald’s for a quick breakfast, we arrived at the Sunset Church around 9am. We found out from one of their elders that several of their men had worked most of the previous day to clear out their parking lot of fallen trees and branches. In his words, they were “whipped” and very appreciative that another group had shown up to finish their job of clearing out their Christian School Playground as well as the rest of their grounds.
I’ve practically grown up in Florida and visited Miami on several occasions. However, I’ve never physically “labored” in Miami. I quickly discovered how much more “tropical” the climate in Miami is vs. ours in Central Florida. In fact, several of the fallen trees were next to Cocoanut trees. This fact fascinated our boys who enjoyed cutting up some fallen cocoanuts to enjoy their contents. I think we adults enjoyed the “show” that they put on in trying to break into the cocoanuts as much as they enjoyed the fruits of their labors.
The good people of the Sunset Church came by several times to encourage us and show their appreciation for our efforts. It was during one of these encounters that I received my idea for this blog. A lady asked Brett what possessed us to come down in such hot weather to work so hard for them? Brett answered by asking her if she was familiar with the phrase “Community Control.” I guess we looked and smelled bad enough to be mistaken for a “chain gang.”
After finishing up at the church we went to the homes of 3 different families to clear out debris and finish cutting down trees that Katrina had damaged. We ended up back at the first home that we had worked at earlier to take advantage of a kind offer. The older couple that lived at the home invited us to come back and take a “dip” in their pool once we finished our efforts. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more refreshing water in my life.
We ended our efforts at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Boytan Beach. Only the fellowship we enjoyed was better than the food (and chocolate cobbler) we consumed.
Let’s keep our prayers going up for the folks of the Gulf Coast and the efforts to help them recover.
So 10 of us in two Ford (dual wheel) “pick-em-up” trucks left Cocoa at 5am for the 3 hour ride to Miami. My son plus two of his friends (Zack and Matthew) went along with us. Getting a 15 year old up at 4:30am usually isn’t that easy but the boys got up and away we went to Miami.
After stopping at MacDonald’s for a quick breakfast, we arrived at the Sunset Church around 9am. We found out from one of their elders that several of their men had worked most of the previous day to clear out their parking lot of fallen trees and branches. In his words, they were “whipped” and very appreciative that another group had shown up to finish their job of clearing out their Christian School Playground as well as the rest of their grounds.
I’ve practically grown up in Florida and visited Miami on several occasions. However, I’ve never physically “labored” in Miami. I quickly discovered how much more “tropical” the climate in Miami is vs. ours in Central Florida. In fact, several of the fallen trees were next to Cocoanut trees. This fact fascinated our boys who enjoyed cutting up some fallen cocoanuts to enjoy their contents. I think we adults enjoyed the “show” that they put on in trying to break into the cocoanuts as much as they enjoyed the fruits of their labors.
The good people of the Sunset Church came by several times to encourage us and show their appreciation for our efforts. It was during one of these encounters that I received my idea for this blog. A lady asked Brett what possessed us to come down in such hot weather to work so hard for them? Brett answered by asking her if she was familiar with the phrase “Community Control.” I guess we looked and smelled bad enough to be mistaken for a “chain gang.”
After finishing up at the church we went to the homes of 3 different families to clear out debris and finish cutting down trees that Katrina had damaged. We ended up back at the first home that we had worked at earlier to take advantage of a kind offer. The older couple that lived at the home invited us to come back and take a “dip” in their pool once we finished our efforts. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more refreshing water in my life.
We ended our efforts at a Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Boytan Beach. Only the fellowship we enjoyed was better than the food (and chocolate cobbler) we consumed.
Let’s keep our prayers going up for the folks of the Gulf Coast and the efforts to help them recover.
