Building a Lanai: or The Practical Imports of Being Mentored

(Pictures below)

I (Eric) did not grow up building things.  Somehow, playing with lincoln logs in my bedroom didn't translate to being a handy-man around the house.  It takes quite a bit of effort for me to think through leaky faucets, rotten molding, broken gutters, basic car mechanics, or easy carpentry.  I played in the woods, rode my bike, went hiking/camping, and played sports as a child.  But the practical elements of being able to see a physical problem and fixing it has eluded me.  Manual labor was reduced to mulching the yard and mowing the grass rather than growing my own food or building an addition to our ohana.  But the older I get, the more I feel like those latter things are important to life.  I have this Wendell Berry essay ringing in my head:

In a healthy community, people will be richer in their neighbors, in neighborhood, in the health and pleasure of neighborhood, than in their bank accounts...Do not buy anything you don't need. Do as much as you can yourself. If you cannot do something for yourself, see if you have a neighbor who can do it for you. (from: "Conservation is Good Work").

Well, Joy and I felt as if a second kid might require a little more space.  So we thought up a creative idea: Let's enclose our lanai!  Only, I had no idea how to do it.  And instead of having someone just do it for me, I decided it was time to learn.  So, I asked an older retired man in our church with some building and carpentry experience if he could help teach me.  Ron came over, surveyed the area with me, gave me some tips on how to frame it, drove me to Lowe's to help pick out the proper supplies, and let me borrow his tools.  Now that's a mentor!  He came over the next week and we worked together to begin setting the frame.  Ron showed me what was needed, helped me along the way, watched me as I worked, and critiqued what I did.  His knowledge and guidance paved the way for new learning.  Not only that, Joy and I gained some new friends, enjoying good conversation over dinner with Ron and his wife, Marilyn.

As I think about my desire to learn new skills, it's humbling that I have to rely on others to teach me.  I'm almost 30 years old, but I also know that this is the stuff of life.  Can you imagine what healthy fruitful relationships could look like if we allowed others into our lives and teach us the skills they have mastered?  What if a teenager learned about plumbing, or farming, or roasting coffee, or mechanics, or spearfishing from someone who has mastered that skill?  What if that person was intricately involved in the church and while mentoring that person in legitimate job readiness skills also formed a deep spiritual relationship with that person?  Can you imagine the kind of discipleship that could form?  I think this is a beautiful picture of working toward a healthy community where we are rich in our neighborly love.

Joy was the master painter.

Pastor Ryan even got in on the action, taking two days to help complete the project.  He even took the time to teach his two boys much of the work we were doing.

We've made this space into a sitting/play room.  Joy and I will drink tea together, and Joy's been sewing a little more with the extra room, and we've moved Justice's keiki table outside to make room for Micah's bed inside.