Day 4 | Riley Skeens

We have worked at the same house site all week and needless to say I don’t want to see paint for awhile. Today Adison and I painted doors and finished up the trim work. It was very warm today, but the Lord provided a breeze and work continued. I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience here, but I am ready to be back in the hills.

Day 3 | Riley Skeens

Today was another amazing experience! I have been working at the same house for the past three days and needless to say I’m covered in paint. I have grown to know more about the members of my church and have grown very fond of everyone. Even though today was very warm, there were no complaints or grumbling. Everyone worked as usual with a smile on their face. It was been so fun and I am sad that the week is halfway over but excited for what the next two days hold.

Day 2 | Riley Skeens

Today was truly a blessing. I worked with the same group from yesterday and we worked on the same house. We painted all day and the laughter lasted all day as well. I got to know more of my church members and got the opportunity to hear their stories. By the end of the day, I was covered in paint and soaked with soapy water, but I was ready to begin work again. I thank the Lord that I got the amazing opportunity to work alongside the youth of our church.

Day 1 | Riley Skeens

Over the course of three days I have learned more about our church members than I have in the 15 years I have attended Gassaway Baptist. I have slept and laughed more than I probably should have, and I have been so blessed with every person I have come in contact with on this trip. To hear the stories of the past before I came along has been such an amazing experience. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be around such humble people and am excited for the days to come.

Day 8 | Riley Skeens

Yesterday we went to Yellowstone, and the trip was very interesting for me. I have been sick since we left on Thursday and it gets better and worse on different days. Yesterday my fever spiked and my cough worsened, and it just wasn't a good trip. I ended up going to the hospital and found out I just have a virus and that it should go away in a couple days. Today was kind of an easy day for our group. We swept the church sanctuary and cleaned the bathroom. Then, we ate lunch and rested at the church until Kenny told us what to do. I went back to the cabins though to sleep because I did not feel good.

Day 6 | Riley Skeens

Day two went very well, but it was very long as well. Today I had the lesson for VBS so I got to see all the children come and learn and play. It’s always a blessing to see young children learn and grow in God’s word. After playing games, doing crafts, drawing with chalk, and blowing bubbles, it was sadly time to end the good times and go to our other worksite. We went back to the church to place the rocks back after putting a tarp down. It was a long day, but God has blessed me so much today. I am so excited to see what God has in store for us during the rest of our week.

Day 5 | Riley Skeens

Day One of work started out very slow. We went to go set up for VBS and decided to pick up some trash around the playground. I did not know that one park could accumulate so much trash and firecrackers. Then, it was off to the church to dig up rocks. Little did we know that there were rocks under the rocks. Needless to say, I never want to see another rock again! As the week continues, I am excited to see what God has in store for our groups.

Day 4 | Riley Skeens

our first day in Montana went very well. We went to Kenny’s church and got to hear him preach. Then, we went out to eat and headed back to the camp. I have slept the whole day, so I don't know about what the rest of the group did. I am excited to see what God has in store for us during the week!

Day 1 | Riley Skeens

Today was our first day on the road to Montana. I honestly slept most of the way here, but the times I was not asleep I got to know the passengers on my van. Even though I go to church with them, I normally just give a smile and move on with my Sunday morning. But today I really got to talk to the members of my van. I learned that many of the people that I was riding with had some of the same passions for Christ as I did. It was amazing to see that even though I have known them my whole life, a long van ride brought us closer together than just passing by each other every Sunday mornings!

Day 14 | Riley Skeens

Today was my last full day in Haiti, it was very saddening. We did the house dedication, and the most important thing to them was giving a gift to us for working so hard. They gave us a certificate, most people would have thought it was doubt but I cried because they showed us how much they cared that we built the house. Then, we went to meet our sponsor children. My day took a downhill then because my family’s child didn’t show up. I let it get to me for a while but Bron made me get up and play with the kids. Afterwards we went to mountain made a resteruant on the compound. I order chicken and fries, and then daddy and I shared a banana split. Next we went bartering, dad bartered for me. I got a chain bus for my backpack, a carved rock, a small painting, a necklace, a wrap around headband, and a metal Phillipians 4:13 hang for my room. Today was a sad day but a good day at the same time. Thanks for the prayers!

Day 13 | Riley Skeens

Today was my last work day of the week and it was sad to leave the sight with all the kids watching us leave. I was stationed at the church and I sifted some of the day but then my sifted died! (It had a couple holes that could not be repaired) Then after I couldn’t sift we saw ten boys watching and Hannah and Nick invited them to play soccer. I decided I would play too; I really could not hit the soccer ball today. I was uncoordinated! After we had eaten the wife and children we were building for came by. The wife wanted to help and she told me that I could watch the baby. He was so easy to watch until he got hungry! Altogether I had a very good day! Thanks for the prayers and comments.

Day 12 | Riley Skeens

Today I was at the church, we did VBS and I was the line leader. My group was mostly boys, but they all listened. We did a game called “cona cona goose”, which in America it is called “duck duck goose”.(Those kids are like lightning bolts!) Then, they played bingo and had goldfish and fruit punch. Next, and finally, we made door hangers but they use them for other uses. At the end we sang some songs and we reviewed our lesson which was about “ The Fiery Furnace”. Altogether it was a good day! Please keep us in your prayers.

Day 11 | Riley Skeens

Today was my best day ever. I went to church and it felt like it took forever because of the language barrier, but it only lasted an hour and a half. Then many went on a hike, but Allie and I stayed back to watch the kids play at Noah’s Ark. We brought down a Frisbee just to play by ourselves not knowing that our lives would be changed when three boys came by… We were throwing the Frisbee when I accidently hit one of the boys in the head .OOPS! When we got the Frisbee back he wanted to play so we started throwing it back and forth. Then, another boy playing soccer wanted to throw too, so of course we wanted to play. Not too long after another boy wanted to play, so we gladly said yes! We played Frisbee for a long time until I finally got enough courage to ask them their names. To my surprise one of them spoke some English. Their names were Landom, age 11, Sunfly, age 9, and Koreen, age 11. We played for three and a half hours and they asked if we could be friends for life. Allie and I were so overjoyed we were almost speechless! Finally our day had to come to an end and I had tears in my eyes. We said our goodbyes and they were on their way. As soon as they left I had forgotten I had not taken a picture of us together for the last time. Thankfully they had stopped to talk to each other before they went their separate ways and we caught them to take a pic. After we took it they were so surprised to see themselves . So altogether I had the best day imaginable! Thanks for your prayers!

Day 10 | Riley Skeens

Today my group was working at the house. I had my first experience at sifting sand, I will be honest,it was horrible. We also cleaned and scraped the floor so that the workers wouldn’t slip. There were no children but we still saw people watching us work. There was no one to watch us eat so that was a plus. The end was the best part because we met the wife and the children of the house. The oldest was 6 and the youngest was 4 months old. Altogether I had a good day except for the heat. Thanks for the prayers!

Day 9 | Riley Skeens

I finished day 1 and I can say I am happily tired. I didn’t get to work much in the church because the work was too heavy and hard for me. So instead I played with the children. There were many children wanting to play with me, so I gladly excepted. We sang shauna-loo which means nice to meet you while they went around me and I spun. Then two little girls, Falene and Linda sat on my lap while Hollis blew bubbles.(they loved them) We played so many games I cannot even name all of them! I now want to take one home. Today was a GREAT day. Thanks for all the prayers.

Day 8 | Riley Skeens

Today was very interesting. The plane was okay except for the turbulence, I held on for dear life when we landed because it was so rough. The airport was very different than I thought it would be it looked kind of like ours. I didn’t expect that for a third world country. Then we went through everything so we could enter. The trip up the mountain was exciting but very saddening to see the homes and people staring at our skin color .The compound was quite different than I expected, it was nicer than I thought it would be. We are very tired and ready to get into bed. Keep us in your prayers and the Haitian workers.