Seattle - Day 4
20 cubic yards of wood chips are dumped on the edge of the playground, waiting to be shoveled into wheelbarrows and spread inside the playground border.
We hung three swings, built the wheelchair swing, carried eight 16-foot timbers to build the borders for the playground, then shoveled 20 cubic yards of wood chips into wheelbarrows and spread it over the playground surface.
It took 3 hours to spread the wood chips. Meanwhile, the first to tryout the swings were pastor Jonah and a 92-year-old lady from the community center.
It was a hard day but very rewarding, especially when three kids from the community center got to be the first to test the swings and playground equipment. They climbed all over the playground and sent the swings soaring, grinning the whole time. They had a blast, and we had fun watching them.
Several staff and volunteers from the community center came outside to thank us for our work and thank Englewood for purchasing the playground and swings. A few even helped shovel some wood chips at the end of the project. The center, called Jubilee REACH, is a faith-based entity in Bellevue, and pastor Jonah is involved in the work there. He thinks the center will eventually become a worship site for his church.
We completed the playground after 3-1/2 days of work by Englewood’s mission team - Mike and Mary Ann Montgomery, Jacky and Tommie Campbell, and Dan and Lisa Morris.
While we worked, the Navy’s Blue Angles jets screamed overhead several times while they practiced for this weekend’s air show in Seattle.
We plan to return to the playground and make some final adjustments to the equipment on Friday. But we all agreed that the Lord blessed us with cool weather in the 60s on Thursday when we were shoveling wood chips and carrying timbers.