How ordinary work is cultivating extraordinary transformation.
The trailer is loaded before most of Billings has finished its first cup of coffee. Mowers are secured. Trimmers are fueled. The day’s route is mapped out. But before anyone climbs into the truck or heads to the first property, the crew gathers. There is a safety talk. Expectations for the day are reviewed. A short devotional is shared. Only then does the work begin.
To someone passing by, it looks like a landscaping crew heading out to maintain lawns across the city. But what unfolds over the next eight hours is about far more than mowing grass. At CLDI, apprenticeship is built on a simple conviction: meaningful work can become meaningful mentorship.
As the day unfolds, there are lessons on irrigation systems, edging sidewalks, and operating equipment. But woven between those practical skills are conversations about perseverance, responsibility, faith, and the kind of person each apprentice is becoming. Some of those conversations happen while pushing a mower. Others happen riding between job sites. Sometimes they’re sparked by that morning’s devotional. Other times they’re filled with laughter, stories from the weekend, or the kind of goofy joking around that slowly builds trust.
For apprenticeship mentor Mark, those moments are the real work. His goal isn’t simply to teach young men how to maintain a property.
“I am hoping they become hard-working young men that develop integrity and perseverance,” he says.
That’s because many apprentices arrive carrying things no one can see. Some come from difficult home situations. Others carry the weight of past failures or simply haven’t had many people believe in them. Those invisible barriers often affect far more than their ability to hold a job, they shape how they see themselves.
So the apprenticeship begins with something surprisingly simple: showing up. Showing up on time. Working until the task is complete. Learning to work well with others. Seeing what needs to be done without being asked. These may seem like ordinary habits, but Mark knows they become the foundation for a very different future.
Success, he says, isn’t measured by the number of lawns completed in a day.
“Showing up and following through with commitments is success for these apprentices.”
That philosophy is changing lives.
Braxton, one apprentice, remembers working at a fast-food restaurant before joining the apprenticeship, receiving only a few hours of work each week. He wanted something different, something that would teach him skills he could carry into the future. Today, he’s discovered a love for irrigation, enjoys working with his hands, and dreams of starting his own mobile oil change business. Perhaps even more importantly, he’s discovered a new confidence.
“I’ve learned that with hard work you can accomplish anything.”
Angelo was drawn to the apprenticeship because he enjoys hands-on work, but he quickly realized he was gaining something he hadn’t expected.
“I get paid less,” he says with a smile, “but I get to learn about God.”
For him, the value of the program reaches beyond a paycheck. It’s about growing alongside mentors and fellow apprentices while preparing for the next step in life.
Kacey came eager to learn new skills, and while he jokes that the hardest part is simply “showing up,” his goals have grown. He wants to earn his driver’s license, return to school, and build a career in the trades. One conversation about second chances has stayed with him long after the workday ended—a reminder that some of the most important lessons happen far away from a mower.
Ask Mark what makes him smile, and he doesn’t mention perfectly striped lawns or beautifully edged sidewalks. He talks about seeing apprentices spend time together outside of work. He talks about hearing them discuss their future. He talks about watching them begin to believe they have the ability to pursue better jobs and bigger dreams. Those are the victories most people never see. And that’s the beauty of apprenticeship.
Restoration rarely happens in dramatic moments. More often, it grows quietly through ordinary days. It grows when a mentor patiently offers correction instead of criticism. It grows when a young man hears, perhaps for the first time, that he is capable of more. It grows through shared work, honest conversations, and someone who faithfully shows up day after day.
By the end of the summer, the lawns are greener, but that’s not the greatest transformation. The greatest transformation is happening in the lives of the young men behind the mowers. One relationship, one workday, and one small act of faithfulness at a time.
That’s the work your generosity makes possible.
