Rachel's Ark Update

This morning was a wet one...  I got to the church and the guys & girls out there were not just wet, they were drenched!  It was pouring for a while.  Here is what it looked like when I got there (with a few extra tents not in pic)

I stood there taking pictures of everyone.  All I could think was 'I can't believe all these people are taking the day off of work and working for free in the pouring rain for my girl.'  It made me want to cry... but then again, everything today made me want to cry and I did quite a few times.

3 Phase came and used their equipment to dig all our holes!  Got them all done in 2 hours!
THANK YOU!!

I had to do some running around... bring Isaiah to pre-school, bring Des to Tri-City for a field trip, and then stop at the store to pick up some food since one of the food people couldn't make it.  I came back and had to leave 1/2 hour later to pick Isaiah back up.  Came back and had to leave 45 mins later to bring Sam home for a nebulizer treatment cause he is sick (perfect timing!) and was having trouble breathing. (me & him were also up most of the night, literally!)  Buy the time I got back, it was 2:00 and I was exhausted!!  But Sam was too and took a good nap in the nursery.  So, I finally got to do what I wanted to do all day long...help with Rachel's Playground! 

While I was out, I was starting to get really discouraged with how things were going.  I just wanted to be there and be a part of what I have spent months planning for.  Nobody gets that cause she's not their daughter.  If they leave for a while, it's a break. When I got back and could actually help with building, it was really good for my heart.  I'm a do-er... I've never been much of a sit back and watch kind of girl.  And this is not a time I want to try stepping out of my comfort zone.. I need this.  It's for my girl.

We expected around 25 people and had 35.  A crew from a program called Working Success came and helped us clean up the edges of the property.  We got a ton done today and according to Joe from Learning Structures, we're about 2 hours ahead of schedule, which in the playground world is apparently really good!  A couple hours into it, the sun came out, the ground dried up and the day was actually pretty comfortable.  Today was also the National Day of Prayer, so at 12:15 we all gathered to pray.

This is a pic of everyone helping to raise the deck of the ark:

This was another one of my crying moments...  it was a "I can't believe this is really happening" moment.

As the people started to phase out for the night, we were left with just a handful of guys who were working on getting the front and back of the ark up.  I sat off to the side looking at the frame of the ark and my heart was so heavy.  I started crying... I wish this wasn't needed.  They called me over to ask a question on how I wanted something and after I answered, one of the guys, who came from The Journey church to help, came over and said to me "thank you for continuing your pregnancy".  I started to tear up and another friend came over and put his arm around me and I started sobbing.  (I don't think I fit in on a construction site!)  What an emotional day.  He just stood there and didn't say a word until I stopped and then he walked away.  That was about the most perfect comfort I've received in a long time.  You know the phrase - You should tell everyone about Jesus and when necessary, use words -  that's what it means.  It was as if Jesus Himself was giving me a shoulder to cry on.

Soon after, Matt got there from after work and the kids came out to check it out with him.  They are really excited... but leave it to my Isaiah to pick up a big rock and be the first to throw something at it!  ergh.  That kid is like a bull in a china shop! 

Anyway, we're ready to go for another productive day tomorrow and everything except the sign on top of the entry way will be done on Saturday! 

Here's where we are now...

The frame of the ark

Posts for the swings



Th climbing wall is up!



Please pray that I sleep tonight, and that Sam will too.  I'll keep you posted on our progress!