At work and play!

Tuesday June 7
Today we were working in the warehouse/distribution centre, established at the fairgrounds. There are actually two big buildings - the front one, where the local people can come and select what they need, and the larger rear one, which had been an indoor soccer pitch, where all the extra boxes and supplies are stored and sorted. They are at the point now, they are trying to empty the latter one so it can be returned to its former use. They are planning a big event just before the schools return when they will be distributing new clothing school supplies etc, and then used items will either be handed on to the regular clothing depot or handed on to other poor areas elsewhere in Kentucky. Some of our group were working upfront, while the rest of us were in the back, mainly sorting boxes and bags of clothing and assorted items, but also doing other odd jobs, such as preparing the plastic tubs into secure piles to be loaded onto a truck and returned to the distributor to be cleaned and reused. The amount of donations they received both from companies and individuals all over the country was overwhelming. As an example, it seemed to me they had enough toothpaste to supply the whole of Kentucky for a number of months, and this is six months on from the disaster!
It wasn’t the most pleasant work, as it was soo hot - the warehouses aren’t air conditioned, and the temperatures were in the mid 80s F with pretty high humidity. We finished work about 3 pm, and returned to our base to shower and relax before returning to the other church in Mayfield to eat.
However, it wasn’t all work and no play - in the evening, after dinner we played a dominoes based game and a game of cards - see top right in the collage.