Saturday, November 12th, dawned bright and clear. A hum of expectation and excitement hung about the campus. The day for our Two Hands Big Build had arrived, a day I had been looking forward to for weeks. Two Hands is an organization designed to assist families in adopting children through sponsorship of a church or school in their work on widows’ homes. This concept is based off of James 1:27: “This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (NASV) This was the first time that Two Hands had ever worked with a school before. Ellerslie students had a huge envelope stuffing party several weeks before as we asked our friends and families to support us in this venture. All of the money raised goes straight to helping orphans.
We were all there - almost one hundred of us - at seven in the morning, packed into the Everett Center, munching on donuts and fruit for breakfast - yummy! - while listening to Ben announce the different groups we would be in and their various locations. Several students went to work at different widows’ homes, and most of us, including me, went to the local retirement/nursing home center where we frequently have community outreaches. As we piled into cars, we were eager to be warriors for the Lord by serving in our community and supporting adoption.
Upon arriving at the retirement home, we were directed by Mr. Dan, the overseer for this project, to our various tasks. These included raking leaves, re-painting the fence and gazebo, cleaning out, washing, and painting gutters, and visiting with the residents. Some of the guys climbed up into trees and chopped down dead limbs. One branch that was particularly stubborn took four guys and many spectators to tackle the job, but they prevailed! Spirits were high as we laughed, worked, and sang the day away. Lunch was a festive affair, complete with pizza and Oreos- more good food. After raking a huge pile of leaves, a bunch of us took turns jumping into the pile before we bagged it up. For some of the students, it was their first time jumping in a pile of leaves! The race began to see who could fill their bag up the most. We definitely enjoyed our work!
After the work was done, a bunch of the men played an intense game of football in the side yard. Teams were decided upon, plans were hatched, and the game began- hilarious to watch. When it was time to return to Ellerslie, we were tired, but joyful in knowing that God had given us this opportunity to serve both our community and orphans.
That night, we all gathered in the chapel to celebrate the day and honor various students for their endeavors - the messiest painter, the best encourager, and the hardest worker, among others. It was a time of fellowship and laughter as we recounted the different ways God had worked throughout the day. It was a joy and privilege to fulfill one of Christ’s commands, and we are eager and expectant to see Him glorified through the seeds that were planted! “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matt. 25:40)
Here is the video that shows a snapshot of everything!
Big Build Project from Ellerslie Student Life on Vimeo.
