Barrels o' ___?

Today started like any other. Windy, cool (meaning 80-85 degrees). It was pretty cloudy as I ran. I finished outlining a book to help up change our paradigm and philosophy basically from looking at those who give to BSSI as donors, to investors. And seeing their money not as gifts, but investments they wish to have a return on (no a monetary return, but nonetheless they want their money to accomplish something). So, that 1st outline is done.

Things were going just as normal as can be…Tiffin (breakfast), morning devotions at the DLRH. And then we were dismissed from the staff room. Suddenly Kathryn smiles and says, “are you ready to help my mother clean out the storage room.” I had forgot about that during the morning.

What followed from 9:30 -6pm yesterday (actually only accomplishing 1/3 of our work, if that) was the slow movement of one 50gallon drum barrel after another out of this storage room and into the living room for evaluation. We are taking many pictures of this process (for your amusement, and our documentation). It was not “fun”, lets say. However from childhood ‘junk’, to Kathryn’s 700 children’s books, to then ledgers from 1920!, to discovering books from 1860-1910 from great grandparents, to Emrys’ photography collection from the 70’s, to finally a mother load of family pictures from the early 1900’s in Wales (Emrys father’s side) all the way to 1990’s.

My back is killing, my muscles seem to take about 30-50% longer to repair themselves in this climate, I have a headache, I went through 2 shirts (the pre-lunch, and post-lunch shirt) – but something happened amidst the frustration, overwhelming ‘stuff’ of it all, when we started this morning emotions were a little…mmmm… short. And when we finished my mother in law was discovering her husbands family that she had not known—or was seeing people she has met in her life as children. My wife was making homemade pizza (that we enjoyed around 7pm) and it was just neat. I can’t describe it any other way.

There are things that should have been burned 30-40 years ago that we are discovering. There are “trinkets” that don’t make sense to hold onto. But you also have the never opened original ‘Indian Barbie’ of Kathryn’s which I am sure is worth something. Or Roberts early 1980’s Michael Jordan cards. Especially the Indian made ones – I am sure there are not many of them out there!

So, last count I think we have around 46 barrels and around 14 metal chests. I told you it was a project! So I wonder what pain I will feel at the end of tomorrow, and what discoveries we will have made. (I also found out that our house has an attic yesterday… actually it is an outside stair case to a flat roof with a asbestos roof constructed over it, providing a place for the cats to sleep (I have never seen a cat here in 4 visits until yesterday) and more empty barrels!!!

Prayers: Pray for our bodies to keep up doing this sorting. BUT even more pray for two things. (1) Bascavel (an chaplain for the hospital) ‘met with an accident’ (as they say here) about 48 hours back. He is missing work this week as he recoups. There are little outside signs of the accident (a van ran into his motorcycle with both himself and his wife on it). We are praying for a fast recovery and that his internal tests (taken yesterday) will come back negative of damage.

Praises: (2) I hesitate to make this a total “praise” column request, since it will remain a prayer request, and a link on this blog for some time. But I was relieved to get a good connection tonight (basically around 100Kb’s in the village area is good). So that I could actually upload and catch up on the last week of “Baby McKStellan’s” life. I should just say Stellan. So rather that recap – do me a favor and visit that cute picture on the right column of this blog. You can read the whole story of Stellan McKinney about half way down on his mother, Jennifer’s, blog on the left. It is captioned “The doctors told me my baby wouldn’t live…” (something to that nature).

Okay. Thanks for reading…. And everyone should tell my sister happy birthday tomorrow on the 29th (mysweetlittlefamily.blogspot.com)!!! As we celebrate 31 years of marriage between my in-laws also on the 29th!!!!

God bless all the eyes that read this blog,
Thank you all.