West Virginia Mission Trip, Day 4, Wednesday August 9, 2017

   Our blog continues with God’s Amazing Grace.  Today the weather was perfect: not too hot or humid, and plenty of sun.  I was touched by the beauty of the early morning and the rising sun, as we had to be up and ready to go sooner than previously in order to meet Project Manager Gary at the local Lowe’s to pick up more supplies.  We included the new kitchen cabinets for Joni’s house, as well as stuff for Michelle’s, and of course the new bathroom accessory for Gary’s Mom.  We were happy to hear that our prayers had been answered and that Michelle’s Dad, who had an accident yesterday, was doing better today.  And another young girl that we had been praying for also came through her surgery ok.
    The 2 teams were the same as yesterday, so the work could continue.  For Team Joni, Jean, Dave, Kelly, and I continued with the drywalling.  Almost done with hallway and bathroom!!  Shawn and Greg continued to work tirelessly on the various plumbing issues and were the first ones on the job site, skipping the Lowe’s run.  They included one more trip themselves to the local hardware store.  What a good team they make.  Local volunteer Phil, who helped them yesterday, had a Dr. appointment today, let’s pray all went well.
   Meanwhile Team Michelle comprised Pastor Bob and Pastor Peter, and Kyle and his Dad Elvis, Becky, and those two soulmates Autumn and Pete.  Elvis and Pete completed the job of making the main roof of the house watertight.  Becky, Peter, Autumn, and Kyle finished putting up the insulation, with Michelle pitching in and doing her best alongside. Pastor Bob continued on the framing design and roofing, with Elvis joining him after he completed his own roof project.  The rest hung the drywall on the ceiling, no easy task.  At least there were buckets on which to stand. 
   We had an easy day, quitting work around 1PM, so that some of us could visit a local swimming spot at a nearby creek.  I hear the water was deep and clear.  I decided to call it a day and come back to the church for a quick nap on my new air mattress.  Thanks everyone for understanding that those cots were just not made for everybody (especially me!!)  Jean and Dave loaded their vehicle with everybody’s dirty laundry, but then the local laundromat was so crowded there was no way to get all that laundry done in a reasonable time.   Then they were driving all over town in vain trying to find another one. Too bad we have to wear the same clothes again. The rest of us went spelunking as the local famous attraction, Lost World Caverns (except for Pastor Bob, who sacrificed a seat so we could use the church van.)  How we wondered how God could have the patience to keep the caverns a secret for so long.  His beauty was displayed everywhere there.
   Then we all ate dinner at the local truck stop and restaurant called The Meeting Place.   There the food was great and plentiful and reasonably priced.  I think we all ate a little too much, no room for dessert.  Back at the church for evening devotions we all thought about and shared who or what inspired us that day by showing God’s touch.  Kelly and Pastor Pete entertained us by singing and playing on guitars.  They are doing it now even as I type this blog.
   Once again Thank You God for such wonderful day, and hope for more tomorrow. 

   Signing off, Clark

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

West Virginia Mission Trip, Day 6, August 11

Today was our last day to help the people we had been led to by God, and of course we awoke with the break of dawn anxiously to finish our mission.  After a quick breakfast and a group prayer we headed off to our two work sites. We had originally thought in the planning stages in June that we would be helping victims of last year’s bad flooding in this area.  But it turned out that the need is so great in this area that there are many people not directly affected by the flooding that desperately need help.  On our way through the town of Rupert to get to Joni’s house we passed many run-down houses and businesses, with apparently nobody able or willing to fix them up.  Some may have been abandoned by their owners after the flooding, who did not have the resources to fix what had been damaged.  But one gas station at a street corner had a big hole in the roof, and trees growing inside the store.  I compare this to my community of southwest Butler County in Pennsylvania, where real e
Read more

Sunday Evening

Church Mission Trip 2017 Greenbrier County, WV We left Old Union Presbyterian Church this afternoon at 1PM, the 6 th of July.  We also picked up a few people in Bridgeville, where some of us bought lunch at the local McDonald’s,  bringing the total in the group to 14, before continuing South on I-79.  The weather was cloudy; the main interstates were pleasant to drive on, whereas the lesser roads were very hilly with many twists and turns.  But the scenery was great, with the mountains seemingly extending forever to the horizon.  In the more rural parts we noted many houses that were real fixer-uppers, showing the extreme poverty of some regions.  Elvis drove the van, with Rev. Peter helping with navigation and coordination with the other vehicles.  Kyle sang songs to help pass the time, and Pastor Bob got in his afternoon  nap.  Jean talked about anything and everything.  Autumn and Peter kept each other company.  Greg says the best is yet to come, so just wait to hear what he
Read more

About Our Trip

During the week of August 6-12, a work team organized by Old Union Presbyterian Church of Mars PA will travel to Greenbrier County, West Virginia to assist with the rebuilding work following the devastating floods of June 2016.  The team will include fourteen people of all skill levels, ranging in age from 14 to 78, from nine different churches. This is the eighth such trip organized by Old Union Church.  Previous trips have gone to Joplin MO after the tornado, flooding in northeastern Pennsylvania, an Indian reservation in Montana, and rebuilding work in New York and New Jersey after Superstorm Sandy.  Ten of the fourteen team members participated in at least one of the previous trips. Partner organizations for this trip include Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, a national agency that coordinates disaster response, and West Virginia Presbytery's Ministry of Advocacy and Workcamps, which has experience organizing volunteer work teams in West Virginia.  The team will be host
Read more