Workin' At the Car Wash

In a couple of weeks, two of my friends, Eddie and Daniel, will be flying out to Slovakia for a mission trip in which they'll be sharing Christ while teaching kids how to play American sports. The trip is being done through the seminary, but these guys also needed to raise a great deal of the money needed to make the trip. That's where today's car wash came in.

Got up early this Saturday morning and picked up the two oldest Greene boys, who volunteered their services washing cars. We drove out to the Advance Auto Parts and began setting up for what was bound to be a long, hot day filled with lots of hard work. And it was a hot day and it was filled with lots of hard work, but I can't really say it felt like a long day.

It was actually a lot of fun. I hadn't taken part in a car wash fundraiser like this since I was in college. Back then, we, too, were raising money for summer missions. But this was in Bluefield, VA, a town that rarely reaches temperatures above 90 degrees, even in the hottest of summers. That's not how things are in Raleigh, NC, where today's high was said to be 91.

Honestly I didn't even notice the heat until later in the work day. Really, the only reason I started to notice the heat was because of the amazing sun burn that had begun forming on my face, neck, and arms. That was the heat that eventually started to get to me. But it's nothing that I haven't faced before.

By the end of the day, and at final tally of money raised, Eddie and Daniel had collected over $2000 for their trip to Slovakia. Now, I've only done this car wash thing a few times, but I've never heard of anyone collecting quite that much after only four hours of washing. Pretty amazing, right?

So over the next few weeks, if you pray and you happen to think about them, say a prayer for Eddie, Daniel, and the team they're heading to Eastern Europe with. Pray for their safe travels. Pray for the people whose lives they'll touch.