Back to the DTC...

6/18/2011

Today began very similar to yesterday.  The team woke up early, ate breakfast, and packed our lunches to take to the DTC.   We loaded up the truck with supplies and all hopped into the back.  Sometimes, the members of the team had to become part-time contortionists so we could all fit in the back of that truck.  It was not uncommon to have someone’s legs on top of yours while your stretched out legs were encroaching on another’s personal space.  Needless to say, we became very close during these rides, but as I mentioned earlier, I loved it!  Nathan had suggested that we sing some songs on the way, so Amy and I would come up with songs and start the team off.  It was pretty fun singing worship songs in the back of a pickup truck in the Dominican Republic!!

We were able to get a little earlier start than the previous day, so we arrived at the DTC around 8:30.  It didn’t take long for the team to get to work.  We knew the rest of the rafters needed primed and so did the outside of the building and we needed to start painting, so we lugged the paint, brushes, rollers, and trays up to the second story.  The team split up with Adam, Rachel, Daniel, and Christa on the rafters.  Amy and Whitney worked on painting the windows, while Nathan, Stefanie, and myself moved outside to get priming and painting done.

I can’t really tell you what happened on the inside of the DTC because my perspective only came from the outside where I was working.  I was with Nathan, and we had to lay down some plywood on the deck to avoid paint stains.  He was priming the outside of the building, while I was painting the top of the DTC.  It was a little comical to see, because we were constantly changing positions and switching places with one another.  I was using my roller above his head, while he was priming below me.  A couple of times, my paint would rain down on him, giving Nathan white speckles all over.

Stefanie soon joined us, ladder in hand.  An admiration for Stefanie began to well up in my heart.  I noticed what a hard worker she was and admired the fact that she would volunteer for the hard jobs.  She was one of the members on the scaffold the previous day and now she was unafraid to climb a ladder to paint the places that the roller couldn’t reach.  I was very proud to have her as a teammate. 

After lunch, a majority of the team was inside the DTC priming the rafters still and painting the walls.  Daniel and Adam moved outside to help Jim paint the outside of the building.  Seeing that Whitney and Amy were painting the walls left me with no other option but to grab a brush and ladder and help the team with the rafters.  To be perfectly transparent here, I HATE ladders as much as I hate heights.  I am not very comfortable on any ladder and this job was not received with a welcome invitation.  I actually wonder if I had a sense of panic that was read on my face, because shortly after, Amy asked if I would like to switch jobs with her.  I tried to play it cool and said, “I don’t care.  Whatever you want to do.”  However on the inside, I was screaming “THANK YOU!  Please get me off this ladder!”

I grabbed her roller and handed my ladder and brush over to her.  I was so thankful to have the ground under my feet again.  I picked up where Amy left off and began to paint the walls.  The roller seemed to be a little defective as it would only roll about 25% of the time while the rest of the time was spent globbing the paint on and smoothing it out.  Not ideal at all, but hey, I wasn’t on the ladder.  Also, since the walls were concrete, tiny rocks and pebbles would get stuck in the roller.  This created a daunting task of repainting areas that were just covered because the rocks created huge streaks.  I was constantly picking out these rocks, even to the point of Adam commenting that I kept playing with my roller because more time was spent with rock removal than actual painting.

As the work day came close to an end, the team began to sing worship songs while we were working.  It was a great experience and I wish I could describe how uplifting this was to be a part of.  It was a little funny as well, because here we all are, Christians who love the Lord with all our hearts, and so many people were too shy to sing praises to God.  I don’t quite understand, but we all have insecurities I guess.  I considered the hesitation of some and it shifted my thoughts to heaven.  When we are in heaven, the praises will flow naturally and the music will be perfect.  There is no worry of singing off key, but the praise is pure, undefiled, and perfect.  Sometimes I can’t wait for that day!

Day two complete.  Another hard day’s work added to accomplishments.  Tomorrow is church.  As for me, I am looking forward to a good night’s sleep.