MMAP Flovilla End Week 3

Our project here has officially ended, but since there were 10 more benches that had been sanded and had just the primer coat of paint on, we decided to stay a couple of days on our own and finish them up. We helped our contact couple, Ken and Judy, paint and on Friday we got the first coat on, then Saturday we got the second coat on. So that brought the total to 29 pews completed! There are one hundred more to go! Since our crew had the trial and error, they are figuring the next crews will be able to get even more finished. So three more MMAP projects!

On Sunday, we went with another couple to find a church they had seen online and were interested in attending. We could not find it, and stopped at another church to see if they had heard of it; and they had not, but invited us to their service. We did not find the other church, so went back to the church we had stopped at. Their service was starting in 15 minutes. What a joy, to be led to another great time of worship with black believers. Since February is Black History Month, which I have ignored in the past, the service had some special parts. The Zion Awesome Angels, a group of young girls, performed sign language to one of the old negro spirituals, then several successful black businessmen, including the first black woman to receive a Physical Therapy degree at GA University spoke, encouraging the young people to work hard, follow their dreams, and have confidence. Great advise for any young person of any race! Then the young people put on a skit about Rosa Parks, and how she was taken off the bus. It was cute...funny, well done and made the point. The guest pastor spoke on Daniel 6, then started to sing the old negro sermon on the passage. I followed the verses and was impressed and excited to hear this rendition of the story of Daniel. We have a small book of old negro sermons (this one is not included in our book) that are passed down through generations, and wondered if they were still used.....and they are! I am almost jealous of the great heritage these folks have, and after hearing the stories the speakers told, realized that yes, they do have something to rejoice in and celebrate.

Monday morning Paul and I were able to move the 10 benches back to the tabernacle, using a nifty "lift" that the resident manager had devised for that purpose.



Truthfully, Paul was having too much fun!!

Ken and Judy had showed us the original spring that fed the camp back a hundred years ago, so I went back Monday afternoon to take pictures,



and checked out rooms at the hotel here on the campground,

(loved the old linoleum in this room!)


This is the hotel lounge.

Then watched a bluebird, who has been obsessed with his reflection in our mirror for the last couple of days.



He would not let me get to close and the window was dirty, so it is a little blurry. He would start at the top, go to the bottom and then hit against the mirror as he traveled back up to the top of the mirror. He was doing this for a couple of days, and for about an hour a day!! Poor thing, bless his heart.

So now we are ready to leave Tuesday morning, heading back to French Camp in Mississippi. We may or may not stop along the way to rubberneck. We may just stop at a site and sit for the next few days and rest before reporting in to work on Friday.