We just got back from a trip to western Colorado two days ago where we served at a YWAM base for a week. We helped them out a lot with their firewood as every house there used a wood stove for most everything, and they needed a lot of it cut and moved. We used a log splitter for the firewood and hatchets for kindling which was fun until I cut open my thumb and nail with the hatchet on accident. We ended up filling a shed of wood in a day and a half which Tom the wood guy said would’ve taken him a long time on his own. We went on a super beautiful hike up Courthouse Mountain which reached 12,000 feet, and we also visited Black Canyon in Gunnison and Box Canyon in Ouray. I met a lot of cool people on staff that taught me a lot in the short week we stayed.
Here at Equip I’m learning a lot working in maintenance. Mike and I cleared out tons of junk pallets, sorting stuff into a metal bin and the burn pit. I’ve learned how to use the backhoe. We fill the front bucket with metal scrap and then drive it over to the metal bin and drop it in. I’ve also hooked chains to the bucket and to old box trucks to pull them out of tall weeds and then flip it over to be scrapped. I’ve also used it to lift cars up into the metal bin and then used the back bucket to punch them deeper into it and crush them. After we pulled out a trailer from the field into the scrapyard area to rip the container part off the frame, we used oxygen and acetylene tanks to melt through the frame and cut it into smaller parts to be thrown into the scrap metal bin. I really enjoy using the backhoe and Mike said I’m pretty smooth on it.
I’ve also been working with Doug in the Auto Body Shop. We worked on Donny’s Audi since he hit something twice and it had dents and scratches. We had to sand the entire left side over and over, tape it off, and then spray it with paint. Then we had to put a clear coat on, wax it, and put back in the head and taillights and put his front and back bumper on. I’ve also washed a lot of cars and vacuumed the inside of cars. Yesterday I used a heat gun and plastic razor to scrape sap off of the roof of a van and then wash it down. We also sanded and polished the headlights of a Porsche.
I’ve learned a lot while being here these past three months. Thank you to everyone that has supported me. I’m still raising support, so if you would consider supporting me, here’s a link to my online donation page.
