Post #2 from the Senior High Mission Trip to Hamlin, WV

Firefighters’ Story: We went to work in a trailer park. The trailer park was owned by a man named Vernon. He was amazing because he would let people who didn’t have home live there without having to pay. Whenever he would come by to see how we were doing, we could always count on hearing a story from his life when he was younger. Rusty was the man who was going to move into the trailer when it was finished. He also told us stories of his past, especially from when he was in the military. We also learned that he had three ruptured disks in his back, and it was very painful for him to do much. However, while we were outside painting the trailer (we couldn’t tell if the paint was very light green or gray), Rusty was inside working on the interior of the house. The inside needed much more done than the outside. The trailer had dealt with some flooding, and the floor needed to be redone. Most of the windows were broken and needed to be replaced and the walls were a mess as well. There was a large pile of junk behind the trailer that included an old bathtub. There was siding at the bottom of the trailer that had been taken off so the people could go under the trailer to work too. Aside from this, there were large spiders, mosquitoes, and red wasps. Despite all this the trip was absolutely amazing, and I would not trade one thing out of it. We had the chance to give someone a better home and meet really great people from other youth groups outside of Ohio. We were definitely beyond the limits of our comfort zones, but it was definitely for the best. written by Ally Ballentine

Post #1: Letters from the Senior High Mission Trip to Hamlin, WV 2008

The Hornets team was Mrs. Mosby, Wynn, Robert, Marisa, Chelsea, and Trent from Epiphany. We also had Mike, Breanne, Lindsey, Brian, and Tom from Freeland, Michigan. Our entire team clicked right away. Our first project was to finish painting a trailer, because the group before us had not quite finished it yet. This trailer belonged to a man who drives 2 hours to and from the hospital everyday to get his chemo treatment. A man whose yard and house are full of junk. A man who would take care of these things if he had time, but something always comes up to forestall him. In this case, a cancer that requires so much care. What we thought would take an hour or two ended up lasting all day. We found that there was much more to do, such as scrubbing off all the caked-on dirt and algae from the skirting around the base of the trailer. Even though we walked up to this house almost finished, we were shocked at how much of a difference our day of work made. This sense of completion inspired us and kept us going when we were given our next project: another trailer that would give a homeless person somewhere to live. The Firefighters team also worked on a trailer in this “homeless trailer park”. This was a group of several trailers that a man named Vernon looks after. With dogs running all over the place, and people sitting on porches with each other, it seemed like a great community for people without money for homes to be a part of. The trailer we worked on was very dirty and green from all the algae. Our first day on this project consisted of scrubbing off all the algae with rags and sponges. Once this was completed we worked on the trim, painting it white. The next day we nearly painted all of the house a very nice-looking sage color. We had all intentions of finishing the painting and putting on final touches on Thursday, however the weather didn’t cooperate. Thursday we had rain, so we played “Bear, Ninja, Cowboy” (a variation of Rock, Paper, Scissors) to see what team had to do which chore around the site. Since we lost both times, we were stuck cleaning the shower rooms. We thought it wouldn’t take more than an hour, but it turned into a whole day’s project. The boy’s showers were mopped and cleaned in half an hour. The girl’s showers took much longer. We couldn’t mop until we had “Shop-Vac”ed all the standing water out, only to notice that the floor’s paint was peeling left and right. So we got paint scrapers and scraped chips of cracking latex paint from the floor (a total of 2 garbage bags full). Once that was done, we broke out the Drain-o, Comet, and Tilex and went to town on every square inch of this shower house. When we were done, the room smelled and looked fresh and clean, probably the first time it had been all summer. (written by Trent Compton)

Junior High WV Mission Trip 2008: Observation Day 4

Today was the final work day for our team. The teens did a phenomenal job of finishing up many of the projects we started. It was almost similar to Extreme Home Makeover! They transformed a moldy basement into an incredible play area for the two boys, they stripped and stained a huge deck, they did tons of landscaping, they cleaned gutters, destroyed wasp nests, babysat, cleaned pets, cleaned carpets, installed brand new flooring in the dining room and kitchen, prayed over the homeowners, and went to McD's late at night. Be sure to check back here and on Facebook for many more pictures to come. I am tired right now and want to go to bed as I have to take all these teens white water rafting early in the morning!

Quote of the Day

Sheila: (serious tone) . . . and when I am 75 I hope I am still doing missions and plan to keep on going until this body gives up!

Olivia: Why Mrs. Stebbins, you don't look a day over 63!

Sheila: (hostile tone) WHO SAID THAT?!?!?!?!

Junior High WV Trip 2008: Observation Day 2 and 3

As you can tell from many of the pictures the teens are doing an amazing job. We have been assigned a home that needs a lot of attention. Our teens are working on such things as: stripping and staining a deck, deck repairs, painting, flooring, gutter cleaning, moving lots of stuff, power cleaning, playing with the kids and pets, spending time with the mom, and many other things. It is truly amazing how much work has been done in just two days. Pray that we get some really nice weather tomorrow so that we can complete some of the jobs that we have started outside.

The evening sessions have been great. The themes so far have been Story, Love and Justice. On the first night we learned about the importance of our story connecting with God's story. On the second night we focused on the extreme love that God has for us. And on tonight we talked about the importance of justice and asking the deeper questions of why things are the way they are. The session have been great and our teens have responded well!

Quote of the day (Day #2):
Kid from other youth group: Those eyes, she just has amazing eyes!
Scott: Who are you talking about?
Kid: Cassie!
Scott: Come here kid. We gotta talk.

Near death at Walmart: Our teens entered into Walmart singing a song they made up about Walmart. As they passed by the greeter she made the comment "Teens these days have too much time on their hands!" Shelia overheard this and almost killed her on the spot. She went to the manager to let her know what exactly OUR teens were doing in their community and how they were treated as they walked into the local Walmart which we have been frequenting quite a bit since we got here! Shelia Stebbins wins the "Social Justice in Action" Award for the trip so far! Way to stick up for the teens and to stick it to the man in the name of JUSTICE!

Quote of the day: (Day #3): Hey Sheila, you're lactating!

Junior High WV Trip 2008: Day 1: We Made It!

We got here! Everyone is safe. During our trip I was constantly reminded that this was a Junior High trip as farts and other bodily functions were a prime topic of conversation. Logan won the quote of the day by saying "When my tum-tum hurts, my bum-bum squirts." Many people were blamed for farting throughout the trip until we realized it was Southern Ohio that farted.

Once we got here we got into our rooms, ate dinner, went through orientation and our evening session.

We will be helping a lady who is going through chemo treatments for cancer and needs a lot of help for her house. Please pray for her that we can be a help and that our teens connect with her throughout the week.

Our dorms are not air-conditioned but the rest of the campus is nice and cool so there is some relief. We went and got some cheap box fans for each room. It cools off nice in the evenings down here.

The scenery is beautiful as we drove over to here. Most of the trip we were right along the Ohio River until we crossed over into West Virginia.

We are off to a good start!

Penn Says: A Gift of a Bible

Definitely makes you think. Why are we so scared to share our faith in a genuine sense especially to those we love and have a trusting relationships with? Consider what Penn says in light of his stereotype of Christians and his impression of the guy who gave him a Bible. WHat category do you fit into? Genuine care for others or judgemental "us vs. them" attitude? I've been on both sides of that one.

Did You Know?

Leaves you with a lot to think about.