It started off as a normal day of manual labor for ministry. My team and I spent the morning at the playground area, hauling branches and chopped down trees into an enormous pile. We suddenly started feeling painful and irritating bites on our feet and arms, realizing too late that the area was completely infested by ANTS. These little insects may be small but dang their bite is mighty. For the next two hours as we continued our yardwork, ants were constantly biting us, we were hit by pungent smells of decaying chickens, rotten logs infested with termites, and other mysterious odors. It was a very glamorous morning. Poor Abby on my team is super allergic to ant bites, so Amanda saved the day with Benadryl before Abby’s feet could start swelling up. After a much-needed lunch break and siesta, our team prepared for the second half of the day’s manual labor. This time, we were assigned to a different location on the compound of Hope Mountain since we had finished our yardwork in the playground area. THANK GOODNESS. I don’t think any of us wanted to return to those smells or bugs.
So in the afternoon, my team hiked up the mountain, zig zagging on the trail towards the cow enclosure. We had been asked to rake up large piles of vines, branches, and loose brush to help clear the land around the cows. Little did we know what we were about to get ourselves into. As we rounded a corner on the trail, Lauren and Amanda suddenly halted in their tracks. There standing before us was the cow. Now let me explain: this big, black cow is not your average calm, boring cow. No, this cow is CRAZY. HIGH-ENERGY. MEAN. Somehow, he had gotten out of his enclosure and we were now face to face with this callous beast. He ran towards us, jumping up in the air, and freaking us out. We eventually worked up the nerve to pass him and continue on the trail, avoiding eye contact and going very, very slow. Of course, he followed behind us the entire time.
As the day wore on, we created big piles of brush and branches, afterwards lighting them on fire and watching them turn to ash. The cow kept his distance while we did this, so we were finally able to relax. Almost. As we were attempting to light the last pile of branches on fire, we suddenly heard a loud rustle behind us. Turning around, I saw a flash of black darting through the trees and Lauren screaming, “The cow!” As he charged towards us, bucking and kicking his feet into the air like a maniac, my three teammates literally climbed up a nearby tree, hanging onto it for dear life. I was taking refuge behind the huge pile of brush filming the entire fiasco on my camera while simultaneously laughing hysterically at the ridiculousness of the situation. While the cow stared them down a few feet away, Hannah realized that they were clinging onto a tree infested by termites! Meanwhile, Amanda was trying to get all the cow poop off her shoes which she had accidentally stepped in. Twice.
When everything finally settled down, my teammates came down from the tree, and Lauren showed us her completely scratched up arms and legs. By now the pile of branches were blazing nearby. All of a sudden my neck felt incredibly hot… when I glanced down, to my shock, I saw the neckline on my T-shirt ON FIRE. A stray piece of ash had been blown by the wind onto me and my shirt was smoldering. I started yelling, “I’M ON FIRE!” but couldn’t put the flame out. Thankfully Amanda ran up and gave my shirt a few slaps, rescuing me and my now-not-so-pretty shirt. A nice U-shaped scorched area on the neckline of that shirt will now forever remind me of that crazy day. My neck was still burning for about 2 hours afterwards but I’m totally fine now. (Don’t worry Mom!)
When it was time for my team and I to return back to the large group in the main area of Hope Mountain’s compound, all we could keep saying to one another was, “What a day…” Our battle scars from the day – itchy bug bites, poop-covered shoes, a burned T-shirt, and scratched up arms and legs – should’ve been met with exasperated complaints, right? Well, I gotta say, my team and I have never laughed that much together so far in all the time that we’ve spent together. The absurdity of the whole situation had us in humorous moods and we were having the best time relaying the story to the rest of our squad. I know for a fact that it’s going to be one of those memorable days that we reflect on five months from now… “Remember the time that crazy cow chased you guys up a tree and I caught on fire?”
Days like these are what I love. When a group of girls who are still getting to know each other can laugh and bond over ridiculous events. We spend so much of our time together having serious, spiritual discussions and reflections, that we were at a point where we prayed for God to provide us with opportunities to just be silly together and have fun. We were craving friendship with one another, where we can be completely comfortable just hanging out and having a good time, without always feeling like we were co-workers randomly put together to complete the same task. Well, it’s funny how God chooses to answer prayer. I never would’ve guessed that the true beginning of a genuine sisterhood would be on a day filled with biting ants, awful smells, blazing fires, nasty termites, a charging cow, and a burned T-shirt.
