Lavender

Lavender
It was a busy week for the high school mission team. The group had worked tirelessly to raise money for each member to take the trip to the West Virginia mountain town of Princeton. Finally after months of planning, prayer, and fund raising, their drive down the mountain road led them to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Brooks.

The students began work. The ladders and various tools were unloaded from their church van. What supplies they brought were carefully placed on the carport that would eventually become their work staging area. Walking to the front porch they were greeted by Mrs. Alma, a very kind lady who felt somewhat ashamed of the condition of their home. Both she and Mr. Brooks were proud people who had worked all their lives to make a living rearing their children on that little mountain plot.

As they introduced themselves, the group began to discover something unexpected. Mr. Brooks was unable to come to the door. He wasn’t feeling well that day. Mr. Brooks had been fighting cancer for some time. Work in the coal mines had finally taken its toll on this loving father of three children. Mr. Brooks was too ill to do the work that needed to be done to their home. They were so happy that the group had come to assist, and he had planned to help the students, as much as he could, providing the guidance they needed for the project.

Not long after the group began work on renovation of the kitchen, Mr. Brooks was taken to the hospital for what appeared to be his final days. The students not only worked on the house but also provided kind acts of love and support to Mrs. Alma who needed to be with her husband each afternoon. At the end of each day the group would make the journey down the mountain road to the hospital to provide comfort and support to the family. Their beautiful smiles, the giggles of the junior high girls, and their group singing provided the necessary support for Mrs. Alma and her boys.

On Wednesday, a decision was needed to choose colors for the kitchen. Since Mrs. Brooks was not available to help make the decision, the group chose the color they thought was best. Some of the girls had decided on “lavender” as a color they believed would make the kitchen attractive. The adult group members were concerned that Mrs. Alma would not like the color they had selected. Since the group insisted, a decision was made and the paint was purchased. Later during that day, Mrs. Brooks came home to check on the progress and to see if anyone needed assistance. To her great surprise the kitchen had been painted in her very favorite color! Not only did the color please her but she revealed to the group that she and Mr. Brooks had already settled on “lavender” as their color choice. She also confessed to the group that Mr. Brook’s great desire was to remodel the kitchen before he died. She was grateful that his dream would be accomplished.

The students completed the project on Thursday of that week around 2 PM. After cleaning up and loading their van, they went to the hospital for their final visit to Mr. and Mrs. Brooks before their return home.

They were not prepared for the news. A family member greeted the group as usual, but this time informed them that Mr. Brooks had died about 2 PM. The Brooks family was solidly on the minds of each group member. The saddened group could offer nothing more than prayer and words of sympathy.

As the shadows of the summer evening began to fall, they began to realize that this experience was more than a random event in the life of their mission team. With visions of their week etched clearly in memory, they journeyed back toward home with the realization that God had sent them to do a special job, at a special time, for a special family.