Back on Deck

For devotions today we saw the last of a seven-part video series Prepare to Stand by Andrew Brunson, a pastor who was imprisoned in Turkey for two years on sketchy espionage charges.  His final release only happened after sanctions were imposed by the Trump Administration and pressure from the European Parliament.  His imprisonment and persecution for his faith had some unexpected blessings, as he outlined today:

• Persecution can draw us closer to Jesus
• Persecution can bring about deeper intimacy with God
• Persecution brings one closer to the heart of Jesus, allowing one to bear more of His nature.
• Persecution makes one more sensitive to sin
• Persecution develops perseverance.
• Persecution puts us on display for other believers
• Persecution also puts us on display for unbelievers
• Those who are persecuted will be greatly rewarded for eternity.

Prior parts have outlined danger areas for Christians in terms of persecution.  It’s too bad I missed these.  I’m sure they were very good.

Today’s work was back at the chapel.  Things were starting to dry out after yesterday’s rain, so replacing and painting deck railings could continue.  Not quite as many flights of stairs as Monday, but I still carried lots of tools up lots of stairs.

Deb rolled silverware.  The staff here obtained enough supplies to keep them busy all morning.

After work, Deb and I took the bikes up the hill to the training center.  Everything is steep here and the roads are no exception.  Electric bikes helped a lot, but pedaling was still quite necessary to prevent coming to a full stop.  When one of our fellow SOWERs arrived last week, he drove up this road with his fifth-wheel trailer and came to a complete stop on one section.  His Ford V10 pickup just could not pull it up the hill.  One of the maintenance guys came out with a tractor and a chain and helped him up the hill

Biking down the hill was a completely different experience.  No assistance necessary.  Just very good brakes.

At the training center, there were rows of chairs on the decks just like the ones we were refinishing.  They looked good out there, especially with us in them.

We browsed the bookstore for a while and bought a couple items with the gift cards we received for being volunteers.

After dinner we drove to Black Mountain for a short hike around a lake.  Back to our campsite to catch up on emails and journal entries.