Wednesday, June 25, 2008

An islander named Willis

Team Sunset is comprised of 6 smaller work teams. Each smaller team is escorted by an islander to various work projects. These islanders guides show us how do our task "island style". For the past two days, I have been working with Willis. He has an African-Carib background with just a touch of pirate blood for good luck.

Willis is amazing. Willis never seems to complain. He has a wonderful bright smile. He seems to have the strength of a man half his age. He is almost forty years of age. His arms would be the envy of most gym rats at 24 hour fitness. I have seen him carry rock, move dirt, and make concrete by hand. I have yet to see him winded. His attitude is to work first, then have fun when the job is done. 

Willis is a noble working man. I heard a lot about the "nobility of the everyday working person" while I was in college. I worked my way though college and most of the guys I worked with, well they did not seem noble to me. They seemed to work hard when the boss was in view, after that, it was slow down time. That is not Willis' approach to work. He loves Jesus. Willis works flat out. Willis never seems to show off. He is not too proud to do any task assigned to him. He just does what he needs to do in a full hearted kind of way. I loved spending the last two days with Willis. Hard, sweaty, muscle tiring work seems honorable when I work along side Willis.

Willis does all kinds of jobs like manual labor, being a fishing guide, and " a bit of this and that don't you know". But his main profession is as an artist. He is also well known as a wood craver. And a lot more.


posted by Scott in Helene     6/25/08  





Friday, June 13, 2008

SUNSET RETURNS TO HELENE FOR THE SEVENTH TIME

On June 14th, a team of 24 high school students and 6 adult leaders will leave Portland, Oregon for a two-week mission trip to assist the islanders of Helene. This will be Sunset's seventh mission trip to the Bay Islands in the past four years. So far, 175 folks from Sunset have been commissioned to serve in Helene.

This trip's service projects include VBS, home visitations, tutoring in the bilingual school, Clean Sweep, sports camps for the children, construction of a community playground near the school, and rehabilitation of an islander's house.

Please pray for this team's safe travel, good health, willingness to serve "outrageously", and many opportunities to share their faith.
May God's blessings be on Team Sunset.


posted by Scott G. in Portland, Oregon  6/13/08