It’s hard to believe it’s already been 15 weeks since I started the Equip program! So much has gone on in the past 3 months, it’s going to be hard to remember it all. My first vocation was working in the mechanic shop with Nick and Sam. I had a lot of fun there, and those 4 weeks in the shop seemed to fly by. I worked on a couple of side projects while I was in there; a lawnmower and one of the dump trucks. In the middle of the first month, we got the opportunity to load a shipping container to send to Haiti. It was so cool to see how God worked out the timing and what we packed into the container. In September, I started working with Ray on general maintenance projects. I only worked with him one week before we went to our first missions trip at a local camp. I know my fellow students have already written about that, so I’ll just say it was a really beautiful camp, tucked into the woods, and I had a really good time there.
When we got back, it was time to finally tackle the big roof project. Some friends of CMTS came to help, from as far as Canada and Mexico, and some folks came from close by. What we expected to take a week and a half stretched into more like 3 weeks, but it was overall a good time. I learned more about my fellow students and the staff, and I learned a lot about the roofing process. Needless to say, we were pretty tired when we were done. Aidan, Donny, and I were the last ones on the roof, and I got to nail down the very last peak shingle. It was a cool moment, and then we had a big celebration dinner. I have been hanging out with my roommates a lot, and getting to know them by working together on the shipping container and the roof, adventure trips, and just hanging out in our dorm. Jesse has also been here from Holland for 7 weeks, and it has been a blast having him here. We have all done a lot of fun stuff over that period of time with him, such as hiking, going to Cabela’s, and going to Washington DC.
I started working in the body shop with Doug in October, repairing the rust on one of the ministry trucks. I was able to see the whole process from dented rusty metal to fully painted. That was really cool. This week I just started working with Justin in the warehouse. I’m looking forward to what I’ll be doing there this month. Yesterday we delivered 5 pallets of water to a church that will distribute it out. A couple evenings this week, the four of us helped Ray and Debbie at their church packing Christmas boxes for Samaritan’s Purse.
It seems crazy that three and a half months have gone by so soon. I’ve been learning a lot, through both teaching and hands-on work. I’ve been having a really good time with my roommates and the staff, and I’ve been moving closer to God through the classes we’ve had and insightful discussions with the wonderful people here. As we’re drawing close to Thanksgiving, I thank God that he sent me here to learn and grow.
So long,
Caleb
