Princeton, B.C. – July 24-30, 2022

Staff: Marilyn Armstrong (Cook) Sara Wiebe (cooks helper) Philip & Elvira. Volunteers: 2 Families from LaCrete, Alberta, 1 Family from Ontario, Harold Friesen, Calgary.

We had a very productive week with landscaping.  Both men from LaCrete were skid steer operators, the entire team was hard working.  We tried to end our day at 3:30 due to the heat (37-40C). With the river being right behind our sites, this gave lots of opportunity for our youth to bond friendships with cool downs.

#44 front and back yards were almost completed; chain link fence and the side fence were put into place.

#27 the large amount of deposited material from the dike was removed and used for landscaping, all landscape fabric and crushed rock were in place.

#24, the retaining wall in front of their home was knocked down when the city removed the garbage from the street, 3 of our volunteers rebuild it was them, we also landscaped their front yard, placed landscape fabric and crush rock. (This was not on our list but an add on, but was a really rewarding project)

Highlights

We have turned our devotional times into a time of sharing. Why MDS, looking back over our past 2 weeks; my observations are that MDS serves the volunteers in a very important way.

This past week were all first-time MDS volunteers, all came for personal reasons as well as to help the people hit with disasters.  One family came to rest from responsibility of being a leader, one couple came to be rejuvenated out of exhaustion, one couple came just because it sounded like a good idea, and all left having been ministered to be in a variety of ways.

As MDS we serve to help but we in turn are being served by building each other up.

Family reflection: Vanessa, Devon, Erica and Greg Peters

The MDS family program has been such a fun experience! The MDS leaders were so easy going and such a blast to be around they made us almost forget we were tired after a day of service.  The goal of the whole week wasn’t just to get the job done, but to build relationship, be safe, and have fun.

We’ve met new people, learned new tricks, and have both felt and seen God’s hand at work. Everyone on the team was hard working and still, we could share laughs and quality conversations.

Hearing the local people talk about how much the MDS have helped their community and given them hope again as well as seeing how grateful the homeowners were, touched us in ways we will never forget. We believe that God has blessed us in this experience, and we would strongly encourage anyone contemplating joining the MDS team to open your heart and jump right in.