last week 11 staff and students spent the week in lexington, ky, working alongside the Fuller Center for Housing. we helped rehab two homes on the boston court (nice!) block of the shawnee neighborhood.
aside from the work done on houses the week served as an experiment in telling better stories for our students. i loved watching them jump into this experience completely and was blown away by their enthusiasm for each other and for better stories.
there are so many things i could share, but i will narrow it down to two: first, i have never seen a more mature group of students on a trip of this nature. i was continually humbled by the grace they extended to us (as staff), each other, and in the midst of difficult circumstances (we had some bad weather and some REALLY hard work). no trip is conflict free, and that is not the goal, but the way in which these students responded to each challenge demonstrated a maturity beyond their years. and i am super impressed by each one of them.
second, i have never seen a group of students so genuinely interested in each other. no one turned the tv on all week. no one got lost on their computer or their phone. even on the long ride home, when it would have made total sense to sleep or put the headphones in and tune out, they continued to ask each other questions and engage one another with genuine curiosity. they loved each other well and respected each other, and as a result there was a lot of space to explore relationships and God's movement through each other. truly amazing to watch.
thank you to those who were praying for us during the week. here are a few more pics:
