on Friday the weather was beautiful. blue skies, with pretty cotton looking clouds, and many many people excited to serve and be served. we had a blast, that is until people started leaving because they were scared of the rain. the troopers were the ones that stuck it out! we had free food, a rodeo, music, games for the kids. oh the fun!
i started out shuttling people around. i love it! ask me to do it anytime! got to go driving through fields to pick up people, and to deliver them to the fun field! many many happy, dirty, faces. well, the kids had dirty faces. the adults looked pretty clean! this day went without much incident. we were home by 9. did i mention i also helped in the food service part too? that was a lot of fun to. while we were serving, the excitement was going on at the rodeo. the bull named "Marshmallow" jumped the fence and headed for the trees, it took 2 cowboys and 10 minutes to get "Marshmallow" back in the fence. the guy announcing the rodeo said "Marshmallow ain't no fluff." we had about 12,000 people there.
onto Saturday. it rained and rained and rained. oh how we were praying it would stop! we got to the tent at 9 a.m. and it was so yucky! we were putting wood chips and straw down everywhere trying to soak up the mud, so it wasn't so messy. but to no avail. it was still as nasty as ever. it didn't prevent 6,000 people from coming though! so that was good. it seemed as if everyone was in good spirits during my shuttle hours. wet, a little muddy, but good spirits.
the fun came when people wanted to go back to their cars. i knew this one field was where people were getting stuck, so i tried my hardest not to go down in it, but then there was this 89 year old little man who was using a cane to walk got in my van and said "Lot C please" i cringed! anything but lot C! that's where people are getting stuck! please not lot C. so he rode around with me for a few min. then to lot C we went. i thought i stopped on some solid ground, but when i tried to leave, i was stuck! did i mention i had about 15 people in the van with me. the man sitting in the bench seat behind me said "hun, i think you're stuck." i dreaded getting on the CB. that was the last thing i wanted. but i had to humble myself and get on there and i eloquently said "ummm, i think i'm stuck, i'm in lot C." the guy behind me said "hun, there ain't no thinkin' you are stuck." the men tried to tell me how to get out, but nope, didn't work. they abandoned ship and headed for the hills. (we were down in a valley). they told me the captain must go down with the ship. so i sat for 15 min and finally they came and towed me out. oh the humility! that made it 3 times i've been stuck in a ministry vehicle. ugh! we go about our day still driving soaking wet, cold people to their vehicles. one time someone asked me at the drop off point if the folks that were standing there were coming or going. i said "well, they look pretty dry, so they must just be coming." they thought that was funny. i got stuck another time in a lot, but the parking attendant helped me out with that one.
the last group of ladies that i had in the van told me they were from Hamilton/Warsaw area. i said so am i! so they started to ask me if i knew so and so, and so and so. i told them no, and the lady right behind me asked if i knew Brad Heitman. i'm sure my eyes about popped right out of my head and i said "Yes!!! he was my high school crush for some time!" she just laughed and told me he was dealing cards at a casino, and he'd gained some weight. (i was thinking, who hasn't). she proceeded to tell me that she was his adoptive mom. it was so funny! out of all the people there, his mom gets into the van. she told me she would tell him hello for me, b/c she was going to be talking to him that night, but i assured her he wouldn't remember who i was. talk about funny!
so i get to the food service tent. i had to bring the big van, and i wasn't real happy about that b/c i didn't want to get stuck again. but i took it anyway. the food line was moving smoothly, then got real slow. it had gotten colder and wetter. not fun. but we continue to serve our hearts out and making the best of any situation. the ladies told me it was time for a potty break, and i tried to get them to jump in the mud with me since we were already muddy, but they weren't so sure. then they were sure. we started jumping trying to get one another dirty, but we only ended up getting ourselves all messy. it was a blast. then we did it again in a big field. one of our families from India was here and he was laughing and laughing. i don't think women in his country do things like that. i invited his little boy to come with us, but his dad wouldn't let him (no harm in asking). we had so much fun. everyone had their pants/shorts/capris covered in mud, and some on their shirts. 10 min had gone by and it was time to get back to work. only a little bit to get the tables cleaned up before fireworks.
so to work we went. trying to get things the way they needed to be. we were standing there waiting for something to do and one of our ladies takes a step back and trips over a bag and flops into a box of nacho chips! the box split and the chips crunch. we laughed and laughed and laughed. about the time she got off the ground, the camera man was there! oh how funny! she said this is the first time she's fallen and she's been sober, at least she will know where the bruises came from (funny, sad, but true). there were many of these moments. i won't bore you with them all, b/c like i said they are the "had to be there moments."
okay, one more story then that's it. we were told to throw away some of the ketchup, so i dropped a ketchup container (about a 1/2 gal container 1/2 way full) into the trash and turned my back, as i turned my back the ketchup splashed up went all over my back, over my shoulder and into my hair. the ladies thought it was so funny! we just laughed and laughed and laughed. they helped me to get cleaned up some, but it was just way to much! our stomachs were hurting from laughing so much!
the fireworks were pretty good, and this man that was behind us was quite the jokster! he was so funny! oh, i forgot to say that i got stuck in the parking lot and 6 men's center guys had to push me out! but that was the last time i got stuck :)
the best part of the whole thing was we got to take part in making God famous! i believe that many people got to see how the church is suppose to work. i don't think i'll ever forget it! it was such a blast. hope i can help in another 20 years!
No comments:
Post a Comment