Day one in Abaco for the Pella Christian Winterim IMPACT team was truly fulfilling! From an amazing sunrise to helping a single mom, Tomar, move one step closer to reuniting with her children by painting her new home. Read about their joyful start to the trip, six years after Hurricane Dorian.
After arriving Friday afternoon, we got to make camp feel like home and enjoy the afternoon on the beach along with getting to explore the ocean. Last night, we had devotions as a team and were told about what our first day would entail.
This morning we had the chance to wake up early to an amazingly beautiful sunrise over the ocean and got to enjoy God’s beautiful work of art. We followed this beautiful sight with some personal alone time with God before we headed out for the day.
On our way to the worksite, we saw more of the community and noticed some of the cultural differences. Once we got to the worksite, we learned that we would have the opportunity to serve a single mom named Tomar. Her house got wiped away in Hurricane Dorian six years ago. Since then, she has been separated from living with her kids and lives with relatives. That story was really touching to both of us because we were able to experience some of the joy of being reunited with her kids again. It also broke us in ways to see that she hasn’t been living with her kids for six years and made us all the more grateful for the families we get to live with.
Today, we were able to help with the building of a new house for Tomar where she would once again be able to live with her two children and rent the two other apartments attached to her house out to others. Most of our workday consisted of painting the exterior of the building along with some construction to get it closer to being finished. We were able to complete the first coat of paint along the entire exterior of the house and got to a good stopping point before returning to camp.
Upon our arrival, we had the amazing opportunity to enjoy the ocean and take in the beauty of the Bahamas. As our night winds down, we get to enjoy some time making memories together as a team between our laughs and games we may play. Today was a great day and we are looking forward to seeing what ways God will use us to bless others and ourselves on the rest of the trip.
— Olivia and Breckyn
