Today we woke up 7:30 and everyone was still sitting in their beds for a while because we are super tired! For breakfast Althea and Brenda made us biscuits, sausage and lots of fruit (and we also had some delicious zucchini bread). After breakfast we met up with Mr. Neil (the site leader) and we all lathered up with bug spray and sunscreen and headed to Mr. Stayton’s house to finish the wheel-chair ramp. The senior highs headed over to finish their work on the stairs at their house. We had to finish the ramp … We had to finish extending it and it was tough to cut it to make it fit. We had to dig out some of the ground to make it fit. We started to cut and make the rails and bolted them into place. It took us all day and we didn’t quite finish but we will go back tomorrow!
For lunch, Jillianne picked us up in the bus and the mid highs headed over to the senior high site to see their work and eat lunch together. We ate ham/turkey/PB&J sandwiches and laughed together! There was a beautiful creek on the property and some of us got in and soaked our feet. We then headed back to work some more at Mr. Stayton’s wheelchair ramp. The senior highs finished up their stair project after lunch. Before they left they told us that they got to walk in the creek and cool off for a while.
It was only about 80 degrees today here but we were very sweaty! Just before Jillianne picked us up at 4:00pm, Mr. Stayton brought out and showed us his bird, “Tookie-Bird.” We also got to play with his dog, Trixie. We sat in the shade and talked with Troy about our work for the day and where we saw God. Jillianne finally got there to pick us back up … after she accidentally ran over a squirrel (which we all thought was funny).
After we got back to the bunk house, we all got showers … the bunk house where we are staying has a boys bathroom with 2 toilets and 3 showers and a girls bathroom with 3 toilets and 2 showers so we have to take turns and it takes a while for everyone to shower. After we took showers it was time for dinner around 6:00pm . The gracious people at a local church brought us pizza, drinks, and salad and we sat outside our bunk house at some picnic tables.
After dinner we all decided to walk down to the park at the bottom of the hill. There were some 3rd-6th grade girls from a local youth group who were there and they offered us water bottles with Scripture on the side of them. We played on the playground and then walked around the walking trail by the Toe River. The boys decided that they wanted to go creek walking. They stayed dry for a while but then one of them tripped and fell in; and before we knew all of them were swimming around and being silly as they fought against the current. We encouraged them to get out the water but they decided to swim upstream. Finally, Jillianne made them get out and they smelled terrible. We decided to go back to the bunk house so they could shower … again!
After the boys had showers, we met to talk about our day and do some games and lessons. One of the games was called “Caterpillar Eating Banana.” In this game there were three teams competing in a relay race. One team member was wrapped in plastic wrap and had to crawl across the floor to eat a banana. The next game was called “Bologna Darts.” It was exactly what it sounds like – throwing bologna at a bull’s-eye. Mrs. Brenda decided that she should be the center of the bull’s-eye and the youth all got to throw the bologna at her! We laughed and laughed!
Then we had a more serious time where we talked about poverty and why it exists and what we can do about it in our nation and world. After a long discussion, at about 10:00pm, we decided that it was just about time for bed. Goodnight! Thanks for your continued prayers for tomorrow, our last work day! We’re doing a great job at staying safe on site and we’re working hard!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Spruce Pine, NC Mission Trip, Day 3 written by Jordan Sommer
Today was a very successful day. We went to the Moore’s house in the morning and finished staining the deck. It looks so much better and it was hard to leave because I wanted to do more and make the house look even nicer. Kara was weed-eating almost the whole time we were there and I pruned some bushes in the front yard. Several other youth worked on finishing the floor inside and other various little projects like adding molding to some cabinets and replacing the door lock.
We went back to the bunk house to eat lunch and then we were off to some other houses to start some more projects. The senior and mid-highs split up on two different projects for the afternoon. The senior highs went to an elderly couple’s house to rebuild some steep stairs and the mid-highs went to a man’s house that was on oxygen and needed his wheel-chair ramp rebuilt because it was falling apart. From what I heard, the mid-highs got far on their project, and the man had a talking parrot that could say Maddie’s name. The senior highs took a while to get going because the area we were trying to build in was very small, so not many people could work there. The couple had their three year old grandson over and he came out and played in the yard with a few of us as the other girls were working. Haley and I held his hand as we splashed in the creek in front of the house.
We’re going back tomorrow to finish the stairs and the mid highs are headed back to finish up their wheel-chair ramp! I can’t wait to complete another project and check another successful day off our list. When we finish tomorrow, we will move on to another house to do some different work! Stay tuned ….
We went back to the bunk house to eat lunch and then we were off to some other houses to start some more projects. The senior and mid-highs split up on two different projects for the afternoon. The senior highs went to an elderly couple’s house to rebuild some steep stairs and the mid-highs went to a man’s house that was on oxygen and needed his wheel-chair ramp rebuilt because it was falling apart. From what I heard, the mid-highs got far on their project, and the man had a talking parrot that could say Maddie’s name. The senior highs took a while to get going because the area we were trying to build in was very small, so not many people could work there. The couple had their three year old grandson over and he came out and played in the yard with a few of us as the other girls were working. Haley and I held his hand as we splashed in the creek in front of the house.
We’re going back tomorrow to finish the stairs and the mid highs are headed back to finish up their wheel-chair ramp! I can’t wait to complete another project and check another successful day off our list. When we finish tomorrow, we will move on to another house to do some different work! Stay tuned ….
Monday, June 27, 2011
Spruce Pine, NC Mission Trip - Day 2 written by Blake Rauch
Here is an update on our first day of work and our second day on the trip, Monday, June 27th! It is written by Blake Rauch:
I woke up at about 5:45a.m., ready to go. Everyone else was up (in my room - meaning the boys), and we headed out to go for the river just down the hill from our cabin. We walked for a good 30 minutes, got a little wet in the river, then began hiking all the way back up a steep hill (that part wasn’t fun) and had a great breakfast of pancakes and sausage. We chilled out for a while in the cabin, then headed out for our first job.
We went to the Moore’s house, and got started on the shed. Some people painted, some cleaned out the shed (I was in the second group). Afterwards, we started to put up insulation on the walls. We put it up, and then stapled it in. Then we had a nice little water break, and I got to work on my project for the rest of the work day: the porch.
I started off by sanding, and I sanded for a few hours until lunch. I ate, then continued trying to make it perfect, and then, after it was done, I sort of had to leave, because everyone else wanted to do the fun part of actually staining the porch, so I couldn’t finish with my project. I stood around, doing a few random things, then left and slept on the bus ride home. We came back, and rested at the cabin.
Then we left the cabin to go eat an amazing dinner ith Berry Baptist Church. They fixed us ham, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, Salisbury steak, creamed corn, biscuits, green beans, and banana pudding. I had some of everything. Then we got a little lesson from the youth leader of their church that was providing dinner, and drove back to the cabin in the rain. We came back, and had a great lesson and some games led by Jillianne, then went to watch the baseball game at the hotel lobby, where I am typing this now. I am pretty tired, and I am ready for bed. We’re getting up early to explore the area, so I need my sleep.
I woke up at about 5:45a.m., ready to go. Everyone else was up (in my room - meaning the boys), and we headed out to go for the river just down the hill from our cabin. We walked for a good 30 minutes, got a little wet in the river, then began hiking all the way back up a steep hill (that part wasn’t fun) and had a great breakfast of pancakes and sausage. We chilled out for a while in the cabin, then headed out for our first job.
We went to the Moore’s house, and got started on the shed. Some people painted, some cleaned out the shed (I was in the second group). Afterwards, we started to put up insulation on the walls. We put it up, and then stapled it in. Then we had a nice little water break, and I got to work on my project for the rest of the work day: the porch.
I started off by sanding, and I sanded for a few hours until lunch. I ate, then continued trying to make it perfect, and then, after it was done, I sort of had to leave, because everyone else wanted to do the fun part of actually staining the porch, so I couldn’t finish with my project. I stood around, doing a few random things, then left and slept on the bus ride home. We came back, and rested at the cabin.
Then we left the cabin to go eat an amazing dinner ith Berry Baptist Church. They fixed us ham, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, Salisbury steak, creamed corn, biscuits, green beans, and banana pudding. I had some of everything. Then we got a little lesson from the youth leader of their church that was providing dinner, and drove back to the cabin in the rain. We came back, and had a great lesson and some games led by Jillianne, then went to watch the baseball game at the hotel lobby, where I am typing this now. I am pretty tired, and I am ready for bed. We’re getting up early to explore the area, so I need my sleep.
Spruce Pine, NC Mission Trip - Day 1 by Savannah Wingard
Here is an update on our time together Sunday ... written by Savannah Wingard:
We started our lovely Sunday sitting in the front of the church, at 11 o’clock service, all of us in youth. T-shirts on an excited to go on our trip to Spruce Pine, NC. After the service we packed up the bus and headed out to North Carolina, but first we stopped at Zaxby’s to grab some lunch. From here we were in for a 3 and a half hour ride. The bus ride was full of singing, talking, and dancing, everyone was ready to get there. Then we stopped at a gas station and got a snack. When we finally got there, after traveling up a very windy mountain road, we came to a cute little town. We finally arrived at the bunk house that we were going to be staying in. Everyone gathered their stuff and headed into the bunkhouse. Boys in one room, girls in the other, there was a kitchen and boys and girls both had their own bathrooms. In each room there were bunk beds, the best thing about these rooms was that there were more bunks than people, so that everyone could put their stuff in the bunk above or below you. Then once everyone got settled, we ate dinner tacos, that our wonderful cooks, Althea and Brenda, made for us. After we did a bunch of team building games and Jillianne did a lesson on the reason poverty exists!
We started our lovely Sunday sitting in the front of the church, at 11 o’clock service, all of us in youth. T-shirts on an excited to go on our trip to Spruce Pine, NC. After the service we packed up the bus and headed out to North Carolina, but first we stopped at Zaxby’s to grab some lunch. From here we were in for a 3 and a half hour ride. The bus ride was full of singing, talking, and dancing, everyone was ready to get there. Then we stopped at a gas station and got a snack. When we finally got there, after traveling up a very windy mountain road, we came to a cute little town. We finally arrived at the bunk house that we were going to be staying in. Everyone gathered their stuff and headed into the bunkhouse. Boys in one room, girls in the other, there was a kitchen and boys and girls both had their own bathrooms. In each room there were bunk beds, the best thing about these rooms was that there were more bunks than people, so that everyone could put their stuff in the bunk above or below you. Then once everyone got settled, we ate dinner tacos, that our wonderful cooks, Althea and Brenda, made for us. After we did a bunch of team building games and Jillianne did a lesson on the reason poverty exists!
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