Update from Omak

Wake up! It’s Tuesday and we are still adjusting to the time difference. BUT it is getting better each day. By the time we come home, we will be adjusted and then you guys will have to live with us while we readjust!

Today we almost finished painting the boy’s dormitory and it is beginning to look very nice. Pictures to come. The deck attached to the boy’s dorm is still a work in progress but we made good headway on it today. Some of us had a chance to go to Nespelem to sing at various places. The prison was where some of us went to start off the day. We also sang for a community center while they ate lunch as well as a nursing home. All three singing opportunities were blessed in that we had a chance to talk to the natives and they were very open and appreciative of us visiting them. On the way back from Nespelem the team from Vancouver wanted to visit a lady whose house they worked on the first year they came to Omak. They have been back to visit her every year since then. Some of our team got to go visit her as well. She has quite a few grandkids and pets! Some sightseeing was also done on the way back. You can see the pictures of Sasquatch and Chief Joseph’s grave.

VBS was also held this morning and went really well. The kids have already attached themselves to the VBS workers and we have lots of stories to tell once we return home.
Part of VBS includes a skit for the kids. Ashley, Marilee, Katie, and Chris are four of the members in the skit and the kids really enjoy watching the team members joke around and have fun. A lot of these kids do not have a chance to laugh, and they enjoy the laughter our team members have brought them. Many of the kids do not have stable family relationships and come from broken homes. The fact that our team members are there every day is a great constant for the kids to look forward to each day.

Also, the woodshed that was started yesterday was finished today, and new woodsheds have begun going up. About 6 of us went out to an elderly couple’s house today to start building a woodshed, and finished the entire frame – we will finish the roofing (attaching tar paper and shingles) tomorrow, but everything else on that shed is complete. The elderly couple was really excited to be receiving a woodshed, and gave us a tour of their house. Both of them enjoy oil painting, and told us the stories behind most of the homemade artwork throughout their home, which was very interesting!

And we're off!

Monday was a day of various activities. Some of our group went to help with a VBS, some of our group went and sang for a community center, some of us painted, some of us got the vision for building sheds, and some of us sprayed wasp nests. God was good—there was not a lot of waiting around for directions. Instead, everyone got right to work and things were pretty well organized!

We worked with several other groups and got the entire boys dormitory painted. There are a few spots that need touching up, but the majority of the building is done! The shed crew built their first shed, and finished it except for the roof. They will head back to finish it tomorrow and they have eight or nine more planned for us to build. Along with painting and building sheds we will also have an opportunity to minister musically to the prison, and senior and convalescent centers in Nespelem. We will be busy this week!

Sunday afternoon fun!

Sunday afternoon was a fun time for everyone. There is a beautiful lake about four miles from the longhouse and so most of our group took advantage of the opportunity and went swimming for the afternoon. In case you didn’t know, mountain water is COLD! We felt like we were in the polar bear club (you know, those really stupid people who jump in like –32 degree waters). Don’t worry mom, no one has pneumonia ye—ACHOO! Just kidding! The clear lake and the awesome surrounding mountains were a great setting to appreciate God’s creation all around us. Mr. Diepenbrock, the ever-faithful cameraman, has plenty of pictures of us lying around the rocks looking like beached whales (you’ll have to come to the presentation to see those pictures if they don’t get deleted first).

Sunday night included the arrival of the Philadelphia team in one piece (they survived the wild animals) as well as a time of group worship and devotions. Some of the team leaders had the chance to scout out a few of the worksites and plan for the week ahead.

Internetless at Starbucks

Well, as far as internet connection goes, we are not having much luck. The Starbucks down the road works great for coffee, but for internet connection, not so much. We are posting when we can but it is hit and miss with the connection. Don’t worry, we are learning much patience along the way!

Church this morning was wonderful. We went to Cornerstone Methodist Church. Their 9am service was very upbeat and more contemporary in style. We got some pictures of the interior as well as a group picture standing outside the front entrance of the church. The sun was bright…don’t make fun of us too much for our squinting eyes.

We are still getting used to the time change. Many of us are tired, and the gym was quite frigid last night! We made an after-church run to Wal-Mart (again!) for extra blankets. The bathrooms are nice, but there are only 2 showers for everybody—that’s a lot of fun! The girls have taken over the guys bathroom for showers and the guys are learning flexibility.

This afternoon includes lunch back at the longhouse and orientation as well as visiting worksites. The group from Phillidelphia has not shown up yet…some of us are concerned they got attacked by wild bears; either that or they got REALLY lost.

Well, no pictures for today because of the inconsistent internet but we hope to get better connections somewhere, at some time…..maybe? We’ll try to keep you updated when we can. Thanks for all your prayers!

The Omak 15

Arrived in Omak

Hello once again from the travel-weary Omak 15. We have once again spent all day traveling, but the good news is we are finally here!!! We left the hotel this morning at 10:45am (1:45pm Raleigh-time) and trekked through the beautiful, scenic mountains of Washington. On the Seattle side of Washington everything is VERY green and lush. Everyone’s yard looked perfect! Imagine that—no dry spots or dead grass in your lawn! Inconceivable! The Omak side of the mountains was different however. We were still very much in the mountains, but this side is very barren and dead. Because of the rain-shadow effect, all of the rain falls on the Seattle side of the mountains, but not much makes it over to the Omak side.

We stopped for a late lunch in East Wenatchee and everyone found something they liked. Some of us saw a sign for 29 flavors of soft serve ice cream and decided that sounded yummy. Turns out the milk delivered that morning was curdled—not one of the 29 flavors. Not deterred, we went across the street to a frozen yogurt shop. Turns out lawyers moved in and forgot to take down the frozen yogurt sign. There is talk about getting ice cream tonight while we are on a Wal-Mart run however, so we may get that ice cream after all!

All in all, it has been a wonderful day of cheerful spirits and safe travel. God has answered many prayers and we know He will continue to be faithful as the week progresses. Posted below are some of the pictures we took today of the scenery as well as a fruit stand we stopped at along the way. The fresh cherries are amazing!

Sleepy in Seattle

Good Evening,

Or good morning, or good afternoon….who knows what time it really is. We have landed in Seattle and with the time change we are quite confused…but we all are tired! And so it begins.

We began our cross-country trek this afternoon at 3:30 where we met at the RDU Airport. Things went rather smoothly…imagine that! God is good! We boarded our first flight which took us to Boston. After a short layover, we boarded our second flight which took us to Seattle. This one was a bit long (5 hours). As you can imagine, we are all tired but glad to be back on solid ground.

In case you thought we were self-sacrificing dedicated bloggers…don’t worry. We got smart and typed this in Boston so all we had to do was upload it now that we have arrived in Seattle. Now it’s off to bed because it’s REALLY LATE!!!

Goodnight all!
Calvary Missions Team ‘09