Ok, it’s late…pardon me! As I walked into the kitchen, the 24 eggs were being whisked in a large bowl. I’ve never seen that many eggs in a bowl in all seriousness. Kirsten was toast queen and I simply cut the fully cooked sausage out of the package and placed them on the pan. Voila! That completed MY part! After breakfast, the line formed once again to prepare sandwiches for lunch!
We left at 8:15 for the Tiny Pine Foundation. Saw a billboard that announced: “Stress Less. Say yes.” I’m not sure what company’s advertisement it was for, but I felt this was a direct message for me. I WAS feeling a bit stressed on the first day and this made me take a few deep breaths and relax!! When we arrived at Tiny Pines, it was like a family reunion! Alyssa and one of her kiddos greeted us warmly. It was decided that we needed three groups today: one to stay at Tiny Pines to work on a tiny home on site, one to go to Concow to do some painting and replacing a front door and the last to go to Feather Falls to install insulation. Alec and I volunteered to stay on site. The rest piled back into the vehicles after picking up some supplies.
Alec and I worked on a tiny home on the Tiny Pine Foundation lot. We were assigned to Dave. Alec nicknamed him Uncle Dave. He welcomed us and assured us that anyone could sand the plaster. Well, sand we did! We decided our duo needed a name and Team Snow was decided upon due to the heavy amount of snow we generated with sanding! Plus, we kept well hydrated using electrolyte powder (also white powder…). Don’t worry - we kept track of which was which! Dave seemed happy with our work and decided that we had earned having fun in the afternoon and tasked us with the job of mudding! Do you know what mudding is? It’s using a spackle type compound and filling in or covering other areas of the walls. Having spent over four and a half hours sanding, we were very careful with our application so there would be less to sand! Uncle Dave kept us laughing throughout the day. Our nicknames were Boss Man and Boss Lady.
Kirsten climbed up to the peak of the house using her Spidey skills and painted it. Mike climbed up on the roof and painted the underhang on the 2nd floor. Jay installed the front door which should have been a simple job but turned into a project. However, it was reported that he had a Cheshire Cat smile on his face while using his power tools. Later he mixed concrete and gravel to fill the space under the bathtub so it could meet building codes. Lia patiently painted the underhang. However, paint dripped right on her eye. It’s “frosted”. In my opinion this is better than her PTSD regarding seeing any bird in the vicinity. Two years ago she got pooped on by a seagull and has never gotten over the incident. Jenna did some painting and then she entertained two children at the job site – Legacy and Aurora. Her gymnastics skills came in handy! They became friends with a blue bellied lizard and named him Bob. Unfortunately, Bob had a short life. CPR was attempted, but did not revive a very dehydrated Bob. Services were quick and he was buried on the Tiny Pine lot under a cool shrub.
At the Feather Falls location where insulation installation was happening, Laura took the community tape measure and figured out what dimensions were needed for cutting the insulation. She relayed this info to Debby along with the community tape measure who would then measure and cut. Cam and Julian were installing together on one wall and Aiden and Laura worked on another wall. Debby’s tip on installing the insulation was “Make it look like a present!” Neat and tidy! While the first part of the day was cooler, the second part was definitely warmer when they started working on the loft area. Seeing Aiden lying on his back with his legs dangling through the rafters was a sight to behold! The entire downstairs was completed! SUCCESS!
FUN FACT: Lots of animals seen today! At Tiny Pine Foundation, there were numerous spiders – one Alec named Antonio. At Concow, there was a blue bellied lizard and they actually drove by a RATTLESNAKE sunning on the side of the road. At Feather Falls, a JACK RABBIT was running along the dirt road trying to outpace Debby’s driving!
After being picked up, we were on our way “home” when we passed Butte College. Jenna piped up from the back: “Who would want to go to Butt College?” We hastily explained how the word was pronounced. Showers were enjoyed by all. A Home Depot run had to be done to pick up supplies for tomorrow. Mike and Jay headed out for that duty while we started dinner. When they returned, dinner was ready! Chicken Piccata for the win! Once dinner and clean up was completed, Mike decided it was time for a Community Event! All youth jumped into the van for a Winco Candy Run! This was a much anticipated outing and suddenly the tiredness on the youth faces were erased! Mike, Debby, and Jay headed up the group while Kirsten, Laura and I hung back and shared some of the day’s highlights which you are reading now!
Again, as a newbie on the trip, I am amazed by my mission family. They seem to take everything in stride and go with the flow. The camaraderie is evident. Although they are all dedicated to God’s work in their lives, it is particularly obvious this week as we work side by side.
