Colorado Weather and Mission's End

        This morning we woke up to 34 degree temperatures and snow! In the week we have been here, it has gone from sunshine and 90 degrees to this, and it is supposed to be 80 tomorrow. While this may seem unusual to some, it is Colorado weather, and those of us who have lived here joke early and often about about its changeability. It can snow in any month of the year, although it usually snows only in the very high mountains during the summer. The wind can blow until there is no tomorrow, and it often will freeze one day, have summer the next, and then rain with hail the next. Colorado is a place where one dresses in layers and never ranges too far from a raincoat or jacket.


        We finished our mission work today. On Monday, we walked into a home with sheet rock walls, untrimmed windows, outdoor plumbing, open doorways, and everything encased in plastic. While it had come a long way from the destruction of the flood, there was a lot of work which needed to be done for this house to become a home. While Michael and Ken worked on the ceilings, Marsha, Kathleen, and I painted walls. Michael plumbed a bathroom and hung doors, while Ken, Michael, and Kathleen trimmed windows and doors. I ran the vacuum and filled in where needed. When we walked out of the house today, the windows were trimmed, there was a working bathroom downstairs, the dust had been cleared away, the painting was done and the plastic was nowhere to be found. There is still much work to do, but much has been done.

 The other teams reported similar results. We can leave with a feeling of accomplishment because our labors of the week have helped four different families and businesses have a new chance on life. An elderly grandmother has a new paint job in her home. A historic business did not make it to a weekend opening, but it is very close. A farmer has a new fence so he can once again begin to run stock on his land.

Mission work is different in many ways. It is hard, because there is an urge to try to do more than one can do. It is also physical, because when a mission team goes into a place, it is usually to restore normalcy, and that takes work. There are no weather breaks, because there is just no time for such things. But there is another side to the coin, for the people we help give back to us in ways which are never anticipated. Sure, there are often physical gifts, but there are the things which have no price. So we leave here with a sense of a job well done, and even if this particular team of people never come together again, we are a band of brothers and sisters who have spent a week doing something special.

Vacation begins tomorrow, and I am ready. We have not really stopped moving since we left California on August 31. My sister has already made a massage appointment for me, and Monday will bring some relief.

Let the rest and relaxation begin....