Wednesday, July 25, 2007

painting




My arms are still covered in paint. I look somewhat like a leper.

Many people don’t realize the scale of programs offered by Mercy Ships. While it is a hospital ship and our primary outreach is medical there are a vast assortment of community programs. They range from teaching agriculture skills, woman’s empowerment, church empowerment, HIV education, Mercy ministries (visiting orphanages, prisons, hospitals) and community development. Today I volunteered to work with community development.
Currently our team is building a school in a local village. The concrete building had nine rooms. Only two of them were painted. My job was to help paint the walls.

I rather enjoy physical labor. It’s not something I’d want to do everyday, but sometimes it’s rather nice to work in a manner that leaves you tired and dirty (when dressed for the occasion).
For almost six hours I painted concrete walls in Africa. And had fun doing so. There was four of us painting, including my friend Krystal. We found that scaffolding can double as a concert stage and paintbrushes can be used as swords. We ate lunch is a nearby hut. I had a chicken and fish dish over rice. My stomach is “small small” upset at the moment but it’s part of the African experience. I even ate warm hand-cooked donuts. It was a good day.

And I think the paint will come off. Eventually.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW! Never seen someone so involved in their work (literally)!! Great job and "take it easy".

Anonymous said...

Maybe this is a strange comment....but after looking at these pictures, the very first thing I thought....How is she going to clean off all that paint in a 2 minute military shower?

...Josh