06/07/2026
I asked my 8 year old yesterday when she got to see the turf on the pool for the first time, "why are we doing this?" She responded "to serve others." That's our mission statement. "To build the community through servant leadership."
The porch is starting to look like a good spot to hangout. It's nice and clean after pressure washing until 11pm last night. I was back at 6:30am to build a new table for a good view and clean up all the debris from the week. Also, yesterday I spent my morning replacing broken shingles and I'm grateful the ceiling on the porch no longer leaks!
So, after putting in about 60 hours of work in 5 days, taking a couple days off because yesterday was my anniversary (which we are celebrating on Monday) and today we got to celebrate our middle kid's 4 year birthday (which is actually next week). It was a good test run on the turf to see if it would drain in the bad rain and hold up with a bunch of kids on it. All successful!
Honestly though, I'm exhausted. My body hurts. This isn't easy by any means and I would have went back to work after the party if a friend didn't tell me "you got to rest dog, take a couple days and then hit it hard again Tuesday." You have to know that we are already seeing the impact on the community. The relationships we've built with strangers becoming friends after helping us. The donations monetarily, materially and laborious. We are seeing the palpable excitement when people see how far we've come in 4 months. But the truth is, I'm seeing 3 years of prayer for a dream idea come to life before my eyes and hands. Don't give up on dreams.
Someone told me a month ago, "you know, everyone complains about the same thing, there's nothing to do around here for families. But you actually got off your butt and did it. You're actually solving the problem."
If you haven't come to check it out yourself or given some of your time to grow our community for the better, you're really missing out on one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life! Every bit of the work, exhaustion and stress is worth it. Be part of the dream.
This is all for you.
