Mission Trip 2011 - McColl, SC - July 16th - 23rd, 2011
Daily Emails
Saturday - Sunday - Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday
Daily and Site Pictures (You may need to disable your Pop-Up Blocker)
Day 1 - Traveling & Day 2 - R & R
Day 3 (Monday) - Site 1 - Site 2 - Site 3
Day 4 (Tuesday) - Site 1 - Site 2 - Site 3
Day 5 (Wednesday) - Site 1 - Site 2 - Site 3 - Swim Party
Day 6 (Thursday) - Site 1 - Site 2 - Site 3
Day 7 (Friday) - Church - Parsonage - McColl House - Trailer
Day 8 (Saturday) - Home Bound!
Mission Trip 2010 McColl, SC ~ Dates: July 17th - 24th, 2010
Video Loops from Sunday, October 31st Sunday School Session
(You may need to disable your pop-up blocker)
Summary - Team 1 - Team 2 - Team 3 - Team 4 - Team 5
An Update from Grant and Jessica (Site 1)
Click here for a thank you from one of our families
Daily Emails
Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3 - Day 4 - Day 5 - Day 6 - Day 7 - Day 8
Daily and Site Pictures (You may need to disable your Pop-Up Blocker)
Day 1 - Traveling & Day 2 - R & R
Day 3 (Monday) - Site 1 - Site 2 - Site 3
Day 4 (Tuesday) - Site 1 - Site 2 - Site 3
Day 5 (Wednesday) - Site 1 - Site 2 - Site 3
Day 6 (Thursday) - Site 1 - Site 2 - Site 3
Day 7 (Friday) - Site 1 & Site 2 - Site 3
Please pass it on that the young couple in the trailer with the falling porch, have given their life to Jesus. Jessica asked Jesus into her heart and was baptized this past Sunday. Grant was saved and baptized in 1996, but hasn't lived for Jesus, this past Sunday, he rededicated his life to Christ. Fruit of the mission effort! Thanks for your part.
In His Love, Rick
Thank You (the following note arrived Friday, July 30th in the mail)
Hello Young Folks,
Just want to thank you for the ramp you built for me. Your kindness has been a blessing for me. You were the nicest young group I have ever met. You all meant so much to me. You will always be remembered for your good work. I will keep you in my prayers and God Bless you all.
Love,
Lois Hinson
Saturday
Saturday started out as we traditionally do. We met at 6:30AM and after a few delays were able to pull out at 7:15AM. We immediately got on the road and traveled straight through to Bennettsville, SC, only stopped once for gasoline. OK…not really. We took some bathroom breaks, a lunch break and only one fuel stop. The delays due to weather and traffic prevented us from arriving until about 6:30PM Saturday evening but we arrived in one piece and safely so we’ll take it. Pizza for dinner and coffee on Sunday morning and you have a happy set of adults.
Quotes of the day:
Lauren: “Where are we, because the water is now on the right and not on the left?”
Anonymous: "What river is that? Is it the Delaware"? Now, to their credit, we just crossed into Delaware at the time. The owner of this quote shall remain nameless.
Sunday
Sunday morning began about 7AM as we started to wake the Youth up. Some are pleasant early risers and some would have preferred to have slept until Noon. We started with an easy breakfast and attended church at Main Street United Methodist in McColl, SC (the hub of the community and focus of most of our labor this week). The congregation was very welcoming and supportive of all of us. We crossed the border into North Carolina and visited one of the busiest restaurants we’ve seen down here, General McArthur’s. It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet of Fine Southern Food (which is Pennsylvania for Fried Food). As I write this the adults are out visiting the different work sites and the Youth are playing speedball as the thunderstorms swirl around us. Lots of thunder and a power outage later and we’re still a-OK. Tonight we’ll have a light dinner and do devotions this evening.
Access to the Internet is limited so we’ll send emails as often as we can. I’m working on uploading pictures as well and those can be viewed at www.lumcyouth.com/mt.
God Bless,
Brent and the Mission Team
Hi Everyone!
Today was our first work day. Each team experienced warm but breezy weather. Some of us got a little sun burned (ask the kids about Brent’s raccoon eyes). It was a productive day for all. As in the past the Youth/Tweeners have contributed to the emails and Brent has edited it for content and length.
Site 1 (Roof, Decking & Windows)
Elaine, Megan, Kellie, Alex and Michael started the day by caulking the windows around the trailer, while Jim patched the roof so we could start painting it. Sean, Mitch and Noel started by mixing the paint for the roof. Once the caulking was finished Megan and Kellie took the first turn painting the aluminum roof with a silver coating. While this was going on, the rest of the team started pulling rotted boards off the front deck and caulking the top molding of the roof. Mitch and Sean then took over the roof painting while Megan and Kellie helped finish the rest of the caulking. Then Eric and Kellie went back on the roof to paint and then Megan took over for Eric. Also, while the painting was taking place Sean, Mitch, Alex and Michael started digging the holes for the railing posts. Then after lunch Elaine, Michael, Megan and Alex all painted the roof molding, while Sean started to repair a hole in the floor of the house. Mitch and Kellie then began to cut the parts for the door awnings. The last thing we did was put the railing posts in the ground with concrete footings.
Site 2 (Painting and Ramp)
Site 2 found themselves with two locations. The first location is a house that needed some TLC related to paint. Peter, Kelly, Tara, Heather and Ian scraped the decorative railings at the house. Larry scraped the trim around the house. Tomorrow the team will begin painting with spray paint and rolling the ceiling.
The second location was a house that needed a handicap access ramp in order to allow a family member to visit. David, Lauren and Alison (along with Darren) began digging the holes and framing out the access ramp.
Site 3 (Porch)
Team 3 has a very short commute, about 5 minutes from our base camp. We are working on a trailer where a family of five lives (including an 18 month old – Hi Chase!). This trailer had a 10’ deep porch that was the length of the trailer (about 70’). Our task for the day was to remove all but 22’ of this porch because it was no longer structurally sound. A 10’ section was caved in on itself and the remainder of the porch had a roof that you could push your finger through. Katie and Brent worked on sawing pieces off of the porch. Natalie and Erin worked on cutting the roof off the porch and then built a temporary railing for the porch. Ed, Mark, Jan, Connor, Jason, Jamie, Nate, and Paul worked on dismembering the bottom decking of the porch. At the end of the day the porch was removed (all but 22’), temporary railing was installed and the scrap wood was moved from the front of the house to the “burn pile”. The homeowners (Grand and Jessica) were very grateful for the work that we completed and were happy that we were there. The response to our being there was incredible and everyone felt it. As team 3 was loading the van, a brief shower was beginning. We felt it was a sign.
Quotes:
“I have so much wood in my pants.” – Katie
“Watch your feetsies” – Jason, “Feces?” – Jamie, “F-I-N-G-E-R-S” – Brent
“Nate’s new name is Nate aka Jason and Connor come here Johnson.” – Jamie
“Brent…you look like a Neapolitan” – Heather and Elaine
“Brent…you look like a raccoon” – Heather
“It’s better to try, fail and try again than not to try at all” – Dave
“It’s better to count your blessings before you count your downfalls or something like that” – Dave
God Bless,
Brent and the Mission Team
Hi Everybody,
It’s Tuesday and so far so good. We’ve had minimal injuries, very little rain, lots of breeze and a ton of success. Thank you for all of your continued prayers and well wishes. It’s been determined, due to limited internet access, that uploading pictures takes forever. Although I like to have pictures for all of you to view. I’ll do my best to upload as many as possible as soon as possible. Below are the daily reports from each of the sites.
Site 1 (Roofing, Awning, and Deck)
Megan and Mrs. Fisher began the day by re-coating the roof with paint and patching one section of the roof. The rest of the team started by bolting one of two boards on the deck down and cutting and screwing in the new board of the deck. Sean and Mitch then got on the roof to finish painting. Kellie, Mrs. Fisher and Mr. Fisher finished the awning on the back door and then finished the awning on the front door. Sean cut and finished the board for the hole in the floor while everyone else finished putting the railing posts in concrete and finishing up the site. Tomorrow we will begin a new site.
Site 2 (Painting and Porch/Ramp)
The painting team continued on their task of painting the trailer. It’s a hot and not terribly fun job but the Youth are doing fantastic and continue to make me a very proud Youth Director. The follow is what each individual team member participated in (thanks Kelly for typing this out):
- Kelly- soffet, trim, and fascia board
- Heather- fascia board and trim
- Larry- fascia board, soffet, and railings
- Ian- soffet and fascia board
- Tara- soffet, fascia board, and trim
- Barb- railings and soffet
- Jan- fascia board and trim
Today on the ramp site David, Lauren and Alison worked on the base work for the ramp which is all leveled out and almost complete. We had a few complications such as cutting the cable cord while digging a hole, but all was well in the end. We have the porch part ready and we started working on the ramp part of the job. We have made a lot of progress. The work day was ended abruptly with a large rain storm an hour early and we are ready to attempt our workload again tomorrow.
Site 3 (Porch)
Site 3 finished yesterday by leaving a temporary porch for front access to the trailer. When we arrived this morning we removed the remainder of the temporary porch and began replacement of the siding across the trailer (the weather and insects have destroyed the lower section of siding after years of wear and tear). The group involved here was Katelyn, Erin and Natalie (Ed and Mark assisted in the cutting of the old siding and the ladies replaced it with the new siding). The boys (Dylan, Jason, Connor, Jamie and Nate) took apart the deck that we tore down yesterday. This was done in order to recycle and reuse the wood in good condition. The guys also reinforced the floor under the front door and filled in some random holes. Brent and Paul removed and reinforced the roof on the side porch. Once the rafters were reinforced, the roof was replaced and prepped so that we could cover the roof and seal it on Wednesday. The day was finished when a thunderstorm rolled in and then rolled out without raining on us.
God Bless,
Brent and the Mission Team
Hi there,
Wednesday is our typical half day when we take half the day and work in the morning and then relax in the afternoon. Currently we are preparing to leave to go to a local pool owned by a congregant of the local United Methodist Church (Tommy). You can’t believe the confusion and organization it takes to get 38 people showered changed and dressed to go out for the afternoon. We had a fantastic time at the pool, grilled burgers and hot dogs for dinner and returned to camp to do devotions and play cards for the evening. Ask the kids about the taco salad…it’s fantastic!
I attempted to upload pictures again and it takes entirely too long. When we arrive this weekend I’ll get pictures uploaded. Thanks to everyone for your patience.
The following reports are from each of the individual sites:
Site 1
We started the morning at a new site that needed steps stabilized, a new window sill, a screen door and fresh paint on the windows. Kellie, Mitch and Megan began the day by digging around the steps and putting in concrete blocks to stabilize the steps. Also, they put some screws in the railing of the steps to make them sturdier. Mr. Fisher, Mrs. Fisher and Eric began the day by taking out the old window sill, while Sean and Michael cut the new sill. Elaine once again caulked some windows in the front. Once the new sill was in Kellie and Megan began to caulk the window while Mitch, Sean and Mr. Fisher began putting in the new screen door. Elaine and Eric also sanded the windows to get them ready to paint. After the caulking and sanding everyone began painting the windows to give them a fresh look. By the end of the day we had basically finished the new site, hopefully tomorrow we will finish that site and begin a third site.
Site 2
This morning, we started out leveling off the deck and finishing the decking on the landing. Then we poured the concrete on the rest of the posts and put some 2x6 on the posts.
Site 3 (Deck/Roof)
This morning, Brent and Katie finished the roof on the side porch. When we left yesterday, it was bare plywood. When we measured this morning we determined that we didn’t have enough rolled roofing to finish the entire roof. We did however have a huge supply of shingles that the homeowner had hanging around so we got started. By the time we got to the end of the roof (where we had planned to switch to rolled roofing) Katie and Brent wanted to continue the shingles. We finished the shingles and only have to install some trim tomorrow morning to finish it off.
The second project at the same location involves the front deck. It’s a 23’ x 8’ deck/porch. Erin, Nate, Dylan, Jason, Conner, Jaime, and Paul dug 8 of the 12 2’ deep holes needed to hold cinder blocks for the foundation of the deck. 4x4 posts were then placed in 4 of the holes at the corners of the deck. The posts were perfectly leveled and cemented in place. The rest of the holes and posts should be finished tomorrow with precision.
God Bless,
Brent
Good morning from a tired Mission Team,
Thursday was a turning point for all three of our teams and a very productive day. Not to mention a tasty day as we came home to a fine Italian Meal from Chefs Arlene, Mary and Cathy. After dinner we cleaned up around the “house” and loaded the vans to take in a special showing of “The Blind Side” hosted by our friend Larry in McColl. Larry has been one of our contacts down here for years and quite frankly, if Larry can’t get something for us, then it’s not gettable.
Site 1
Heather & Tara - Finished painting the window sills and did a final coat of spray paint on a metal plant holder.
Larry – Was on the roof of the house to paint the fascia that couldn’t be reached from the ladders/scaffolding.
Barb - Finished painting the fascia board
Jan - Painted
After completing their first assignment they were relocated to another site in McColl (707 E. Gibson Street) where they began scraping the porch in order to repaint it.
Site 2
Lauren, Alison, David, Kelly and Ian (Peter got tossed from the island) set up the support beams and installed the crossbeams for the ramp and with those final pieces in place, the ramp was completed. Then they waited…and waited and waited and waited. Eventually someone was able to pick them up. They worked on their tans and enjoyed the sunshine.
Site 3
Katelyn and Brent finished off their roof (Paul deserves credit here too), sealed the edges with caulk and were able to get down off of the roof prior to 11AM (so it wasn’t nearly as warm as Wednesday. The K&B duo then moved onto the stairs of the porch and completed those (all but the railing). We’ll complete those this morning.
Paul, Dylan, Nate, Natalie, Jason and Erin started and finished the decking of the porch.
Mark and Ed led the design and began the installation of the stringers for the railings of the porch.
Jamie, Natalie, Erin, Jason, Connor and our home owners started and finished the priming and painting of the siding on the front of the trailer.
The final push on Friday will be a big one for Site 3 and we’ll do all that we can.
This may be the last email you get from us while onsite. If time allows this evening we’ll send a recap of the day’s progress.
God Bless and we’ll see you on Saturday,
Brent and the Mission Team
Good evening from a very, very tired Mission Team,
Our aim was to return to our base camp today by 4PM. Each team returned as they accomplished their tasks and return times varied from 4:30PM to 6PM. The Youth and Adults were committed to the jobs and didn’t want to leave an unfinished project so as a result, we were all late. The cooks rolled with it and the box truck driver wasn’t happy but in the end we worked it all out. The reports are submitted below. It should be noted that sites 1 and 2 were combined for today and people were moved around a lot in order to enable the completion of all sites. To keep track of everyone was quite a task and several of the Youth didn’t want to talk due to the level of crankiness J. As a result, please see the details from Site 1 until I get more details.
Site 1
Most of site 2 joined us today on our third site. Lauren, Darren and Pete worked on putting the window sills in. Kelly, Mitch, Sean and Megan began painting the fascia boards and window sill boards. Everyone else started painting the porch to prepare it for the screens. Mr. Fisher started by putting the fascia boards on the roof and patching part of the roof. Once everything was painted we began to screen in the porch. Finally we caulked the windows and painted the windows.
Site 2
To Be Determined
Site 3
Today we accomplished a great deal of work. Katie and Brent started off the day by building a railing on the steps to the porch. Mark, Erin, Jason, and Natalie were busy working on the porch’s finer details. Erin, Natalie and Jason measured, cut and installed boards to reinforce the roof of the porch. Ed, David, Paul, and Mark built and shingled the porch roof with the assistance of Katie and Brent later helped to shingle it. Connor and Dylan helped build the remainder of the porch and roof. Sites 3 accomplished a great deal of work today and were very happy with their week. We were also able to provide the homeowners (Grant and Jessica) with a gas can full of gas to help them out with lawn mower.
We are planning to pull out by 7AM tomorrow morning and expect that many of you will hear directly from your Youth via a cell phone. We will not be using a phone chain on the way home to avoid confusion. However, if you need an update on our arrival, please call 215.681.2328 (Brent’s Phone). You can expect our arrival to be between 5PM and 6PM. We will stop for lunch and we will not stop for dinner.
We finished this evening by enjoying dinner, loading the vehicles and going to bed early.
God Bless and please include prayers for safe travel,
Brent
Mission Trip 2009
Daily Emails
Day 1 - Day 2 - Day 3 - Day 4 - Day 5 - Day 6 - Day 7
Site Pictures (You may need to disable your Pop-Up Blocker)
Day 8 (Saturday) - On Our Way Home
Day 7 (Friday) - Site 1 - Site 2 - Site 3
Day 6 - (Thursday) - Site 1 - Site 2 - Site 3
Day 5 (Wednesday) - Site 1 - Site 2 - Site 3
Day 4 (Tuesday) - Site 1 - Site 2 - Site 3
Day 3 (Monday) - Site 1 - Site 2 - Site 3
Greetings from Prestonburg, KY.
We left Lansdale this morning at 7AM sharp with 35 Youth and Adults headed for Kentucky. We made a total of 5 stops along the way including lunch and two fuel stops (not too bad for 35 people!).
Upon arrival (OK, who are we kidding...we got lost). Well, let's define lost, shall we? Lost means, no longer in your possession or control. We were in control of where we were at all times, we just didn't know exactly in what direction we should be going. We did however, after a little luck, locate the LINKS camp and pulled in without a hitch. We unloaded the vehicles, sent for pizza (which means we sent Pastor Max and Bill) and started setting up our rooms. The guys are in a large building with bunk beds that have mattresses from 1962 and the ladies, well...I haven't seen what they have because I'm not allowed. But I'm sure its lovely!
Anyway, tonight was a lot of relaxing and hanging out. The Youth have taken a special interest in a family of kittens that are here and I've already warned them that there are to be no 4 legged hitch hikers on the way home.
Anyway, tomorrow we'll be headed to church in the morning and a park in the afternoon for some R&R. I've not been informed what the different work sites will involve so we'll have more to report on that tomorrow.
In the meantime, check out the web site (I uploaded some pictures already) and have a great weekend!
We're going to try and email regularly during the evenings!
God Bless,
Brent
Good evening!
As I sit here in Jenny Wylie State Park I thought I would recap the day.
This morning we started out with a simple breakfast and with a very tired but hungry crew. We made our way to Auxier United Methodist Church for an 11AM service. We quadrupled their attendance for Sunday morning. After church we returned to LINKS for lunch and to get ready for our afternoon of R&R at Jenny Wylie State Park. Football, Hearts, basketball and ultimate frisbee were played by the Youth while the adults kicked back and relaxed in order to rest.
We know what's coming this week and are mentally and physically preparing ourselves while the Youth are burning off energy so they'll hopefully sleep well tonight. When we returned to camp tonight we had a devotion with all the Youth that discussed God's Love. Every evening the Youth will sit down and discuss their day on the work sites. The theme this week is:
Showing Love through Integrity, Need, Kindness, and Service (LINKS)
Its now quiet time and clearly the tapping of keys is not helping to reinforce with the Youth the point of quiet so I'll sign off for the night.
Tomorrow is our first workday onsite so we'll be rolling out at 7:30AM. Say a prayer for us as we still do not have street addresses for the job sites.
In His Love,
Brent and the Mission Team
Hi Everyone!
Today was our first official workday. We started today with a power breakfast including chocolate chip, M&M, and plain pancakes. Quite tasty and filling. We pulled out (after some job site negotiation) around 8:30AM and headed to three different work sites.
Site 1 - Future home of LInks Offices and Apartments - Links has recently purchased a building and is currently renovating the upstairs of the building so that they can rent the apartments above. Team 1 consists of: Bill, Brent, Barb, Pastor Max, Eric, Nathaniel, David Y., Katelyn, Lauren, Erin, Tara, and Beth. The twelve of us spent the day spackling, caulking, sanding, priming, and cleaning the walls, ceiling, and window casings. Good progress was made today and we'll hopefully be done priming tomorrow and will start painting on Wednesday.
Site 2 - Trailer Rehab - Well...what can I say? This is the most interesting of all of our sites. This site happened to be the furthest from our camp and is the most complicated. Its actually a trailer that needs a lot of work due to the fact that its been recently placed on the property. This means that the driveway, what driveway? Its all mud. We got the vehicles and the Youth there this morning and turned around to come back to Site 1 due to the fact that we couldn't get any of our vehicles up there safely. Several discussions took place over lunch and as a result we've decided that we'll try again tomorrow with a different approach. Jobs to be accomplished at this site include: digging of a 450' trench (we decided to turn this task down), install the necessary plumbing required for a functional home, connect the sewer line, dig a hole for the electrical pole to supply electricity to the trailer, and last but not least...finish a roof for a porch off of the trailer. This team includes: Ed, Darren, Paul, Noel, Jason, Elaine, Alison, Connor, Mike, Kellie, and Jamie.
Site 3 - A house that needs some tender, loving care. There are a total of 11 windows to remove and replace and as of today, we've removed and replaced 6 windows, 7 times (which means that only one window needed to be installed, removed, and installed again). This team includes: Pete, Mark, Jan, Jim, David D., Jeremy, Taylor, Mitch, Larry, and Kelly. This team expects to have all the windows done and the trim and pretty stuff completed by Wednesday or Thursday.
Favorite Moments of the Day:
-Playing with the kittens
-Hearing Pastor Max singing Christmas Carols but replacing the words with references to Ice Cream
-Devotions with the Youth - We discussed Integrity and Character and how both of these have already been challenged this week
-Watching Chez Max present our Italian feast with Chez Arlene and Chez Mary. The problem with this presentation was that Chez Max kept switching between an Italian and French accent. The meal however was fabulous!
That's it for today. We finished the evening with Devotions, an adult meeting, and watching the Play-by-Play of the Phillies Game via the Internet (gotta love technology).
Prestonsburg Mission Team signing off!
God Bless,
Brent
Good morning. My apologies for not getting this out sooner but it was a long night last night. We started the morning like any other morning and got to our work sites without issue. The biggest problem is that Team 2 must drop Team 1 off at our work site before proceeding another 35 minutes to their job. Therefore some carpooling must take place. This helps us begin our stories for the day...
Site 1 - Apartments - Site 1 has made tremendous progress. We are currently patching, priming, and painting a 3-bedroom, 1 bath apartment that will be rented upon completion. On Tuesday we almost finished the priming including the priming of a very, teal green kitchen. All of the Youth have been incredible and are becoming quite the Picasso's so parents...I can give you names and levels of experience if you have painting jobs at home to be completed.
Site 2 - Trailer Renovation - Wow! Tuesday was their first day on the job. The team was anxious to get started and certainly hit the ground running. Upon their arrival the team had to utilize two pickup trucks to get people and tools to the top of the hill. Once at the top of the hill they were able to complete their work. I'm told the pictures do not do the hill justice of any kind. However, due to my motion sickness, I will not be driving out there and will need to take their word for it. Anyway, the team has three major projects while there:
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Sink an electrical pole in a hole (completed yesterday thanks to Elaine and Alison for their hole digging skills and Darren for finishing skills). Its now up to the electric utility in Kentucky to connect the wires to the hole. The second part of the electrical task is to dig a trench and install conduit and wire from the pole to the trailer. The trench was dug yesterday and wire will be installed on Wednesday.
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Task two involves the installation of a roof on a porch. The problem is that all that exists at the moment is the porch and its flat (meaning no supports for the roof currently exist). On Tuesday the team of Paul, Kellie, and Jason attached supports, ran stringers, and began covering the roof. Shingles should be laid down on Wednesday.
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The final project for Site 2 is the plumbing. Because the trailer was recently relocated to the property, all of the pipe has been pulled out. The team (led by Ed and Noel) began Tuesday measuring, cutting, and attaching the PVC pipe under the trailer. By the end of the week the plumbing should be complete.
Outstanding issues at Site 2:
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Hmm...we need to abide by electric code for KY. What's code they say? Who's the inspector they say? You can see where this is headed...
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Originally we were tasked with digging a 450' trench for the sewer lines from the trailer to the street. Needless to say, we didn't do it
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The electrical box at the trailer needs to be grounded to something to safely connect it. Problem is, usually this is done via a water pipe. But how do you ground when the pipes will be plastic. Hmm...Ed is still thinking this one through
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It takes 30 minutes to get people and tools up and down this hill (from where our vans are parked). Needless to say, this does not help with a smooth morning.
Site 3 - Windows - Let's just say, measure twice, cut once. Always words to live by, especially when installing windows. As I recall, 6 more windows went in on Tuesday and they only had to install them 7 times. Not too bad, all things considered. By the end of the day, all windows were installed and on Wednesday finishing and sealing will take place. So far so good!
After all teams returned to the sites on Tuesday (no thanks to Ed who forgot to pickup Site 1 on his way back) we had a wonderful beef stew prepared by Chez Arlene and Chez Mary and then the adults decided to take a trip to Walmart. We did let the kids come along and actually got a few things accomplished including a trip to Lowes. To my surprise upon return we found that those adults who chose to stay home were watching the Phillies game on the 55" television in our dining area. We got back for the 11th inning and watched Jason Werth's winning HR. We even kept our cheering to a dull roar so that the cooks could sleep (I originally typed eat here - I must be tired).
I know what you are thinking, why aren't the kids writing this? I asked and have been told they didn't want to. I'll ask again tonight and see what happens. You're next question, where are the quotes? I'm trying to remember but currently coming up short (must be lack of sleep or old age). We'll work on this for remainder of the week.
Write more later. God Bless!
Brent
P.S. Max finally got his ice cream for dessert last night.
Good evening. You are all going to get the impression that all I do is write to you from parks in Kentucky. Once again, that is true as I sit here in Archer's Park. We spent half of today working and the other half was just R&R at Archer's Park in Prestonsburg, KY. This afternoon's downtime consisted of the Phillies game (we thanked god for the Phillies playing the Cubs and a Chicago station picking up the game), a scavenger hunt, and a trip to a local pool and park. We barbequed in the rain at the park but enjoyed the chicken, burgers, and hot dogs. It was a welcome break from the normal 8 hour workday. Now, for those of you who have spoken to your children, they may tell you that Brent is just walking around with a clipboard. Don't believe the rumors! This is incorrect. I am walking around and filling out paperwork at the same time, therefore multi-tasking!
Site 1 - Apartment - Today was full of painting. Katelyn and Lauren started with the first coat of finishing paint, a lovely off-white, eggshell finish. It looks blah, but that's just a personal opinion. We have discovered however that there were some crazy colors on these walls in the past including: Cherry Red and a Greenish Teal. Erin and Tara spent their morning priming the bathroom that has seen much better days. It did however look much better after they were done priming. Eric and Nate spent their time this morning sanding and spackling a very small utility room. The frustrating part with this entire assignment has been the lack of light as the apartment currently has no electricity. Therefore we've been using an extension cord from the offices below and using flood lights to help us see. The light was working great until I dropped the plastic drop cloth on the light and it melted, oh well...its only plastic. The balance of our team, Beth and David Y, finished out the day painting trim and cutting the walls and edges so that we could use rollers to finish the walls. We expect to finish rolling the walls tomorrow and should be done with the final touch-up and trim on Friday.
Site 2 - Trailer Rehab - The team left with the rest of us this morning but due to the distance that they must travel we made special arrangements so that they could return to camp a little later than the rest of us in order to take advantage of the additional time out there. When they arrived back at camp, the other two teams unloaded their vehicles so that team 2 could get showers and get ready for the rest of the day. Darren, Noel, and Connor continued to run the plumbing under the trailer today and were able to hook up the tub and toilet. Jamie, Michael, Elaine and Alison helped Ed with the electrical work. The conduit was dropped into the trench and they started to run the wires through the conduit. Paul and Kellie, with the assistance of Jason, Elaine, and Alison finished framing the porch roof, installed the porch braces, and laid additional plywood for the roof. As a side note, Paul purchased water guns at Walmart last night (go figure) to settle a score with our LINKS representative at this site, Sue. Needless to say it sounds like the score was settled and Sue lost.
Site 3 - Window Installation - The abbreviated workday hindered the windows team slightly but at the end of the day they installed the final 2 windows and it only took 4 tries. While window installation was taking place the balance of the team was working on trim, both staining and painting. I'm told that nearly 50, 8' pieces of trim have been stained and will be cut for fitting on the interior of the home. These windows required a lot of packing as the old windows were quite large. So I'm sure that all of the trim will be used. I've personally seen the project half way through so I'm looking forward to seeing the final product.
We finished out the evening with devotions and a few snacks. Its been a long week and we have three days to go. We appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers for safety, productivity, and good weather. We've had all three all week (except for today with a little rain).
God Bless,
Brent and the Mission Team
Quotes:
-Bill this is not a wall, this is trim (Brent to Bill)
-If you turn on the radio to Q95, I won't talk for the rest of the ride (Paul Scheetz - and he didn't. God truly blessed us!)
-Updated Quotes from Sunday: Brent mentioned going to Ireland with an ex-girlfriend and Katelyn thought he said "next girlfriend". Needless to say we needed to correct that very quickly!
Today was a very productive day as all three work sites were running at full capacity!
Site 1 - We finished the primer and final coat of paint today. We started the trim paint today and begun the long and involved cleanup process. Cleanup has involved scrubbing the floors because those that did work ahead of us made quite a mess. We then added to the mess when we didn't have enough drop cloths. So, Katelyn, Brent, Bill, Lauren, and Pastor Max spent the better part of the afternoon laying on the floor and scrubbing it. Needless to say we used some elbow grease today. Tomorrow will include touch-up, cleaning, quarter round installation, and the final trim paint.
Site 2 - The team from Site 2 was separated once again into three projects:
Project One - Electrical - The team finished running the wire from the trailer to the pole and is ready for the utility to connect the pole to the electric supply. The remaining electrical project involves the installation of the grounding pole which will be completed tomorrow.
Project Two - Plumbing - The final pipes were run today and all connections have been made. I'm told there are a few items to finalize with the plumbing and then it will be finished.
Project Three - Porch and Roof - The roof on the porch is framed out and all the tar paper has been laid. The shingles are 1/3 done and will be finished tomorrow morning. The home owner has requested a small porch be installed on the back of the trailer and depending on how the work day goes tomorrow, we may or may not be able to accommodate this request. We'll see how tomorrow goes.
Site 2 also enjoyed a home cooked meal for lunch including: Fried Chicken, Baked Beans, Green Beans, Tomatoes, Cantaloupe, Corn on the Cob, and Dessert. They described in detail this meal to the rest of us and even provided pictures. My ham sandwich just didn't compare.
Site 3 - Windows - As all the windows went in yesterday the only thing left to do at this site are the finishing touches. This includes the outside trim, inside trim, caulk, and final paint. The trim on the inside was stained a few days ago and installation began today in the Kitchen. You can see pictures of the progress on the Youth web site. All of the outside work has been completed except for the paint and that will be done tomorrow.
When all three teams returned to camp we had a delicious dinner of Mac & Cheese, Ham, and Green Beans. We then watched the adults perform a devotional involving the D.O.G. (Depend On God). I have to admit, this was a once in a lifetime performance, never to be repeated by this Youth Leader ever again! :-)
That's it from Prestonsburg, KY. We'll write more tomorrow and see you all in less than 48 hours!
In His Love,
Brent
On Friday no email was actually sent because we went to work in the morning and spent the remainder of the evening preparing for our 7AM departure on Saturday morning. However, I did want to provide a progress report on all three of our sites!
Site 1 - Apartment Painting - Well...we finished. We painted a final coat on all of the walls and painted a final coat on all of the trim. We even cleaned the vinyl floors (ask Eric and Nate) and the floors shined better than when we arrived! One of the original tasks for the week was to install a shower and tub surround in the bathroom. However, the parts didn't arrive until Friday morning and when they were taken out of the box, it was determined that they were cracked and could not be installed. Thank goodness! We needed the time to finish the paint!
Site 2 - Trailer - Well, our furthest group had the most work ahead of them on Friday morning. However, they successfully completed all of their work and then some. The electrical connection between the pole and the trailer were finished in the morning and the grounding pole was installed as well. Project two on this site involved the installation of all of the plumbing for the sinks, tub, toilet, etc. All of the plumbing needed to be run underneath the trailer. This was successfully completed as well. The final and probably biggest task of the week was the roof on the porch (which was huge!). The roof was completed and they did such a fantastic job that the homeowner requested a second porch and roof on the back of the home. We were able to start the project and got as far as porch done, roof done, tar paper laid, but we did not have time to lay the shingles. This will be left for the next group or the homeowner themselves.
Site 3 - Windows Site - Wow! These windows looked incredible. I fortunately had the pleasure of visiting this site twice on Friday because Site 1 had borrowed the nail gun in order to finish the installation of the quarter round molding. Of course I got to Site 2 with the air compressor and the hoses but completely forgot the nail gun, so two trips were made. Needless to say, the windows were all in, the trim was all up, and we even had time to fix a concrete step that had broken while we were there.
We had planned to leave on Saturday at 7AM. We were ahead of schedule and ready to roll so we pulled out at 6:40AM. We made excellent time and only stopped four times on the way home. The lunchtime scenery was gorgeous and a perfect backdrop for a group picture.
Thank you to all the Youth and Parents for your support! We made a tremendous impact upon Prestonsburg, KY and our visit will be remembered forever. I hope that you can join us for our next Mission Trip.
God Bless,
Brent
Mission Trip 2008
Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Days 7&8
Pictures (You may need to disable your Pop-Up Blocker)
Day 5 (Play Day) Site 1 Site 2 Site 3
Day 1 - Traveling - Saturday, July 19th
Loading the Truck - Friday, July 18th
Speedball Game while on the Mission Trip (Below)
Daily Emails
So...You all received our email while we were on the road. Shortly after that, the skies opened up and the showers came. They lasted until we arrived at the church of course but we didn't melt. We made it to Bennettsville, SC about 5:30PM this evening. We unwound a little bit after arriving and unloaded the cargo van while we dispatched Chris and Paul for Pizza.
Chris and Paul returned, with pizza in hand and we quickly devoured dinner. After dinner we laid down a few ground rules and the Youth relaxed while the adults did what adults do best, read! I finally realize what it means to be considered an adult on a mission trip. You get to sit in the comfy chairs (because you packed one for yourself) and you read the paper. It's a beautiful thing.
In the morning we are headed to an 11:00AM church service and a buffet lunch. More to report when we get an Internet connection.
Please keep us in your prayers and check back on the web site frequently.
God Bless,
Brent
Sunday in South Carolina, I mean North Carolina, I mean South Carolina
We started out with breakfast this morning @ 9AM prepared by Chez Arlene and her crew. I gotta tell you, this woman knows how to serve cereal. Finest cereal I've had this side of the Mississippi. We finished cereal, cleaned things up, and put on our Sunday Best (they are the best T-Shirts we brought). No really, we all wore our God's Youth in Motion - Mission Trip t-shirts to church. We joined Main Street United Methodist in McColl, SC for service at 11:00AM. They were overjoyed to have us and we were able to partake in communion with them as well.
After church we made our way back to North Carolina to General McArthur's for some Fried, Southern hospitality. As we pulled into the parking lot, we quickly learned that this buffet was quite popular as the line for the restaurant led out the front door and on to the covered porch. We quickly parked in the back and snuck in the rear door because that's how classy people do it. No really, Pete and Bill have become friendly with the General so they knew to expect us and had our table ready. The food was yummy and fried, but very tasty!
We left the General's and drove back to, you guessed it, South Carolina and came back to our host church. Some of the adults headed out to view the different job sites while Brent and the Youth participated in a Scavenger Hunt. Here are a few questions:
1. Who works in center city Philadelphia, but lives in the suburbs (here on the mission trip of course)?
2. Who has recently been on the phone with someone in Africa?
3. Find a symbol for Jesus.
4. Who had a duck growing up as a child?
These can all be answered by our Youth, so feel free to ask them when they return. CDs were given out to the three teams that finished first.
When the adults came back from the work site inspections, the work site teams were divided up and assigned. One team will be staying at the church installing a handicap access ramp, new windows, and doing some concrete work. The second team will be gutting and rebuilding a kitchen. The third team will be finishing and repairing an ailing roof. The Youth were very excited to get their assignments.
We finished the afternoon with some speedball (a Youth favorite) and a ham BBQ dinner followed by devotions. Each Youth received a devotion book that will highlight each day of the work week.
That's it for now. More to report tomorrow. Be sure to check out the pictures on the web site updated daily! Please keep us in your prayers!
God is good...all the time!
-B
Good evening! This morning we were greeted with pancakes (with chocolate chips) and fruit. This also included my name being written out in chocolate chip pancakes. I ate my way through B-R-E but never quite got to N-T. We loaded the vans and everyone pulled out at 8AM. We've been divided into 3 work sites.
Site 1 - Our host Church and Parsonage
Work includes: Access Ramp (Headed by David D), Replacement Windows, and cement sidewalks/pad.
Youth: David D, Kevin A, Elaine D, Erin F, Jason K, Mitch N, Emilee K, Katelyn L, Kellie D, Natalie S
Adults: Pete, Barb, Brent, Beth A
Site 2 - Kitchen Demolition and Replacement
Work includes: Demolition of a residential kitchen, patching walls, replacing cabinets, and floor repairs
Youth: Audrey S, Lisa I, Jeremy E, Lauren K, Kelly L
Adults: Ed H, Reanie S, Phil P
Site 3 - Roof Repair and Replacement
Work includes: Rolling out and repairing a roof, and patching around a chimney
Youth: Chelsea A, Tom, S
Adults: Paul S, Jim F, Noel F, Chris D, Pat B,
Everyone began arriving back at the church at 4:3OPM and we anxiously awaited dinner's arrival. Arlene and her crew prepared for us a delicious Beef Stew Pot Pie and Pastor Rick (Host Church) and his wife joined us for dinner. We had devotions at 7:30PM and the rest of the night we relaxed and stuck with the favorite past time of the week: Playing Cards and Basketball.
We'd enjoy feedback and an occasional hello so please feel free to send them along. Hope your week has started out as successful as ours.
God Bless!
Brent
Greetings from SC. This morning we were treated to a baked apple french toast breakfast. We left at the regular time and made our way to our individual sites. The reports from Youth at each of the sites are what follows.
We finished out the day with a delicious meal back at camp followed by National Treasure 2 showed in McColl @ the town movie theatre owned by Larry who keeps the town of McColl going. He recently purchased the building next door to his theatre to open a soup kitchen.
Pictures to follow in the morning. Talk to you all tomorrow.
Site 1 - The Ramp, Windows, and Painting - Day 1
David, Katelyn, and Kevin started the day off by digging many many holes for a ramp for David's eagle scout project. They later re dug some of the holes and poured some concrete. Kellie, Barb, Erin, and Mitch set up the boards for the framing of the concrete. Brent, Elaine, Jason, and Pete replaced windows. Beth, Natalie, and Emilee took down cabinets and painted them.
Quotes for the day:
All the flies are attracted to my face.
I am the cutter.
Day 2
Kevin, David, Pete, and Katelyn cut the posts, leveled them, placed them in the holes, and filled them with concrete. Kellie filled in the front porch's cracks. Mitch, Erin, and Barb finished framing for the concrete. Brent, Jason, and Elaine continued to replace windows and caulk them. Beth, Emilee, and Natalie finished painting the cabinets and wall.
Quotes of the day:
Where is Barb?
Katelyn your face is all red you're done. (Bill) You're head is bald, you're done. (Kevin)
Site 2 - Kitchen and Bathroom - Day 1
Jeremy dug a hole all day, then he had to fill it back in because it was the wrong hole. Lauren and Kelly spackled the bathroom and hallway. Ed, Rennie, Audrey, and Lisa ripped out the whole entire kitchen, including the floor and cabinets. Phil did a little bit of everything. There were also lot's of bugs!
Quote of the day:
Let's sparkle! (AKA: Spackling)
I got brick up my nose.
Day 2
Rennie, Audrey, Lauren, Kelly, and Lisa ripped out the bathroom floor and cabinets. Kelly and Ed took out the toilet. Ed and Phil were under the house replacing the plumbing. The team finished the spackling and put in a bathroom floor.
Site 3 - The Roof - Day 1
First stop was to the hardware store to pick up some supplies for the day. When we arrived at the site we took a look at the condition of the roof and found there were numerous holes that needed patched. Pat and Chris began work on flashing the chimney but work was slow after pat dropped the trowel down the chimney. Paul, Tommy and Chelsea worked on putting patches on the holes on the roof. Tommy also had the job of cutting all the flashing that went to the chimney. Noel and Jim worked on putting a new cap along the ridge line. We ended the day early and on schedule.
Lingo from the Roof:
I need a 10"X10" with pants
Hey Paul, you cut that crotch very well!
Day 2
Chris and Pat finished flashing the chimney. Tommy screwed down the ridge cap. Noel caulked all the patches and Paul watched. Paul and Chelsea went to the hardware store for the second time in two days to get some concrete screws and more flashing cement and flashing. Chelsea and Tommy worked most of the day silver coating all the roof. Paul, Chris and Pat ripped up shingles on a 10'X15' roof in the afternoon. By days end, the entire roof was silver coated and the shingled roof is ready for repairs and re-shingling.
Quote of the Day:
B'ville Fire tower Road, what is that?
Hi Everyone. Greetings from a tired but much refreshed Youth Mission Team. Today we started out the day with homemade sticky buns and Chef Paul's pancakes. We hit the ground running by 8AM because today was a half day of work for us all. The synopsis of each site is listed below. We all came back to the church about 12:30PM, had lunch and pulled out of here to go to the Lake at 1:15. We spent the day relaxing, texting (we had cell signals), swimming in the lake, and BBQing It was a great day had by all. We returned for showers and then devotions followed by three games of Speedball. We are currently in our evening card game mode while the adults (not Brent) stood around and laughed at Ed Hartman while he repaired lights in our kitchen (I would explain the laughing but the "adults" won't tell me and I think that I don't want to know).
That's it for today. Tomorrow will be very busy and hopefully our most productive day. Talk to you tomorrow. I will upload pictures tomorrow morning.
-B
Site 1 - The Ramp, Windows, Painting
Today Pete, David, Kevin, and Katelyn began the framing for the ramp. The concrete truck came so most of the crew was helping to fill in the sidewalk and porch. Brent, Jason, and Elaine fixed a telephone jack and continued to work on windows. Beth, Natalie, and Emilee put all the cabinets back. Kevin also traveled to other sites to help in his graduation project.
Quotes of the day:
Katelyn: I am the dirtiest person on this site.
Katelyn: It's time for my 10:20 snack.
Katelyn: I worked muscles I never knew I had, my arms.
Beth: They were mauled by a panda bear.
Site 2 - Kitchen and Bathroom
Today Lauren and Kelly painted a door. Phil fought with a different door for basically the entire time. Audrey and Lisa put the drywall into the kitchen and insulated everything. The cabinets and bathroom stuff arrived today and should be put in tomorrow. The laundry room was finished. Kelly sat in some paint. We still have allot to get done in 2 days but some extra hands will be on site tomorrow to help out.
Quotes of the day:
Audrey: Can I just leave this can upside down while the tube uh finishes pooping?
Phil: I just spent the entire day fighting with a door!
Lauren: Kelly what did you do to your butt?
Site 3 - The Roof
Paul, Chris, Chelsea and Pat went to the shingled roof early to finish ripping out the old boards and shingles. Soon after unloading the truck, Tommy, Noel and Jim joined to finish the demo. We moved on to cutting and screwing down the plywood to the rafters. The installation of the plywood proved difficult due to the house not being square. By mid-day, the plywood and tar paper are down and in the morning shingles will be laid.
Quotes:
It pooped again!
I'm gonna take these sunglasses home! Oh is that a store?
This roof stinks!
General Quotes:
Lauren: I hate walking!!
Katelyn said it & Paul thought it: To walk around the lake its either 2.6 miles or 26 miles.
Pat: Who's pink loofa is this? Tom: oh yeah that's mine!
Katelyn: its really lisa lawn. Lisa: can it be katelyn imperato instead?
Phil, lisa, katelyn, kelly d, kelly l: kelly (lawn) was left on the door step by 2 mailmen and she's half black half mexican and katelyn was really adopted from ireland and her real name is katelyn o'rielly. Katelyn: my real last name is o'rielly. Pat: is it really??
So...here we are at day 6. Overall a productive day but a tiring one as crankiness grows and patience wears thin. However, lots of progress was made as you will see from the site synopsis below as well as the pics that I will upload in the morning. We returned from the sites this afternoon and we all got showers and had a wonderful dinner prepared by our executive chef team. Following dinner we invited the congregation of Bruton's Fork Baptist Church to join us for dessert. A few parishioners showed up as well as Pastor Rick, his wife Marie, and Larry (friend from McColl) and his wife. Also, our best friend in the area, Wade and his fiancee, of Wade's Hardware (it's much closer than Lowes and they deliver Caulk) joined us. After dessert the Youth were begging for a night out on the town. Pete and I gave in and we took them...(drum roll please)...to Walmart! They had 45 minutes to walk around and shop. Some shopped, some took in the sites, others called home (cell phones are great!). We returned to quiet time and sleep! More to report tomorrow. God Bless!
B
Site 1- The Ramp, Windows, and Painting
Kevin, Katelyn, David and Pete finished the framing and flooring of the ramp; GO KEVIN!!!!!! Kevin ended up leading the team into a wonderful victory in finishing most of the ramp and bringing humor into the work place. he is the greatest person to ever walk the face of the earth and a blessing from God. without him, nothing would get accomplished and the group would fall apart. (Obviously Kevin wrote this) Anyway Kellie and Mitch joined in and helped place the boards on the ramp. Emilee did some cutting to help the team. Beth, Natalie and Emilee painted doors and door frames. Brent and Jason continued to work on the windows and installed most of the trim around the rest of the windows. Brent left the site after lunch and cruised the countryside with Bill while everyone else worked. OK, not really. Bill and Brent went to site 3 to assist the roofing crew with an additional siding job.
Quotes:
Kevin: Boys all the way.
Kevin: Mmmmm
Katelyn: He's knighting me.....im queen! Kevin: The correct word is dubbing and he said he wanted to chop your head off!
Pete: I have body odor.
David: Almost time for the nail gun. Kellie: Yeah! Katelyn: Uh Oh.
Brent: There's a causality. Beth: Who? (concerned) Brent: Me! Beth: Oh.
Site 2 - Kitchen and Bathroom
Kelly, Lisa and Paul put the bathroom vanity in after getting a new one because the original was broken. paul installed a toilet. Lauren became the spackle queen and ed finished all the plumbing. noel fixed the door that phil fought with yesterday. Audrey and Lisa finished the dry walling and then everyone put the floor in. the cabinets are in place and just have to be installed. paul reinstalled the patch in the ceiling because it was done wrong the first time. he also fixed kelly's bad caulking job in the bathroom. paul became the forman because everyone asked him the questions (says paul)
Quotes :
Paul: STAY AWAY FROM MY HOLE!!!
Lisa: where's shadow (the dog) kelly: oh she's on phil's butt Lisa: oh then. Kelly: oh you know that if you were a dog you'd be on phil's irresistible tookus (butt) too
Kelly: JEREMY YOU BOOGER IM GUNNA FLUSH YOU DOWN THE TOILET TWICE!!!!! jeremy: . . .
Paul: the toilet flushes! amen! someone: so we can pee again?!??
Site 3- The Roof
Our team changed from the last 3 days. We lost Jim, Noel and Paul and gained Renie. We accomplished 2 seperate projects today including finishing the shingled roof and replacing a small ramp. The crew split with Renie and Pat working on prepping the roof for shingles and Tommy, Chelsea and Chris building the ramp. The ramp crew ripped out the old one and started laying the 2X6 into place but had to stop until more materials arrived. The roof crew finished prepping by lunch and shingles were being laid shortly after. Addition help arrived at 2:30 bringing Bill and Brent in for a special project. Renie, Bill and Brent worked on replacing some rotten siding boards from around the bathroom. The ramp crew worked on and off all day and concluded shortly before 4:30. The roof crew shingled and tomorrow they will lay flashing against the house. By the end of the day, all were tired, some were happy and most were relieved so much work had been done today.
Quotes:
We have such a hodge podge of retardedness.
Let's get back to carpentering.
I hit the wrong nail!
Good afternoon everyone! Sorry for the delay of the email (Internet was down last night and this morning @ 5:00AM I just didn't have it in me). Yesterday was a long day for sure. The site summaries are listed below. Last evening after dinner we did devotions while we waited for the adults to return from site 2 (see below for an explanation) and after devotions we played speedball. Brent even jumped in on the action to play and quickly learned that keeping up with the Youth is a challenge as they are quite quick on their feet.
As far as today, Saturday, July 26th: The good news is that all of the sites were complete when we left. the better news is we are on the road. The best news is, we are running ahead of schedule. We aren't quite sure of a time yet but we should be arriving between 4:30PM and 5:30PM for sure. We'll start the phone chain as we get closer.
That's it for now. Photos of the last day should be up tonight or tomorrow, we'll see how much energy I have left. Thanks again for your prayers and your support and we'll see you soon. For future reference, all of our correspondance will also be posted to the website. I will send out an email when it's all ready.
See you soon.
B
Site 1 - Ramp, Windows, Painting
David, Kevin, Katelyn, Pete, Mitch, and Kellie cut the long ends off the ramp and installed the railing. When the ramp was finished it looked AMAZING! Beth, Emilee, and Natalie sanded the doors and then painted them. Brent and Jason spent the day finishing off the windows, hanging the blinds and curtains, and caulked all of the Windows. Chris and Pat (from the A-Team!) joined the group mid day and helped in all the projects as well. Pete also installed a railing on the porch.
Quote Of the Day:
Katelyn: I will miss you Kevin! Kevin: I know!
Jason: Get out of my bug you ear. Bug: Bzzzz.....!!!
Site 2 - Kitchen and Bath
Today a lot of progress was made and finished. Lisa and Kelly lounged around at the site but came back to camp at noon and cleaned out home site. Lauren, Paul and Audrey cleaned and finished the bathroom before lunch and it looks sparkling clean and amazing. Phil, Jeremy, Ed and Mr & Mrs Fisher installed the cabinets and put on the counter top. Towards the end of the day they had some extra help from Chris and Brent and yet we still ran into complications. By the time we were all cleaned up we tested the water under the kitchen sink and realized there was a leak. The leak was caused by a bad drain pipe behind the already installed counter top and cabinets. All needed to be ripped out and repaired. If it wasn't for a one hour trip to Lowes, the job would have been completed much sooner. The good news is though that the sink is working, the kitchen is back together and even the ice machine works in the fridge. The team arrived back at base camp about 8:30PM last evening.
Quotes:
Paul's Ipod: Rain Drops keep falling on my head.... yeahhh hmmmm
Kelly: Lisa you are the light of my life, the water to my sea, and the weave to my basket. Lisa: WHAT???
Chris: What should we put in that empty space? Brent: How about a bucket? Any kind of bucket...
Site 3 (aka The A-Team) - The Roof
Today, once again the A-Team came out rolling at an unprecedented and unstoppable swift pace. Right off the bat, we divided into separate, yet equivalently unmatched factions to conquer the tasks that reared their ugly heads in our direction. Chris and Pat finished off the roofing for the addition by flashing the space in between the roof and the shingles and then caulking the seams. They also HEAVILY cement caulked the space around the chimney guard. At the same exact time in an undisclosed location (on the front side of the house), other crucial A-Team members including Chelsea, Tommy, and Renee were directed by Chris (yes, he's that fast) and put in railings for Peg's (the house owner) front steps. After this was completed, the A-Team continued to dominate obstacles thrown at them, including Pat putting in an impromptu light fixture for the front door. It was at this point that the A-Team forgot to turn off the power to this supposed light fixture and Pat was completely owned by the grounding wire's electrical shock and consequently his arm went numb for 2 minutes. After this, all was completed on the house and it was only 10:15am, so the A-Team came back to the main base, but they were torn apart physically and mentally by outside forces. Chelsea, Tommy, and Renee left to return home to PA and Chris was sent to site 2 to give them the A-Team bump. Pat helped the home base site complete the epic ramp project. A-Team....out!
Quote of the Day:
Pat: Omg! I think I just electrocuted myself!
Chris: Hey, I think Pat might've finally woke up!
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Youth Mission Trip 2008 Forms
Mission Trip Description and Cost Letter
We will be working on the following projects. We may not get to all of them due to time constraints but we'll do our best to complete what we can. Project sites will be selected when we arrive at camp on Sunday.
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I need a ramp built at the parsonage at the church. My knees have gotten very bad and I need both replaced. I don't get around too well and a ramp would be nice. I have removed the bushes that were in the way. We do not have the $$ for materials, but hope you will be able to accomplish this.
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We have nine replacement windows that need to be installed in the parsonage and two replacement windows that need to be installed in the Sunday School building. We have purchased these windows and have them on site.
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I have some paint jobs here at the parsonage and about half of my kitchen cabinets need to be finished. We probably could buy the paint for this, or at least part of it.
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I have two places that I would like you to pour sidewalks here at the church (Each about 20 to 30 feet long). We have the back area between the church and fellowship building that a couple of our seniors park to be closer to the ramp. I would like a sidewalk so they can use their walkers on concrete instead of the grass. Also since you have to order a min of three yards to have it delivered, you could do the same thing at the front of the parsonage between where my wife and I park. Every time it rains, we have to wade out to our cars!! Water is usually 1 to 3 inches deep.
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I have a young lady in our church who's husband left her with two children and a house that needs a lot of work. I am hoping you can do some things for her. She works full time at the hospital, so she can't do much else. I do have some concern with the smell of (sewage or mold) in the kitchen area. (explained more in items c. and d.) Here is a list of some of the problems she has:
a. Several interior bedroom doors have holes or are missing. The side door to carport is cracked and you can see daylight through it. The backdoor has some missing brick around the exterior jam.
b. There are drywall repairs needed and some rooms need painting.
c. The kitchen cabinets are falling apart and smell from years of leaks under the sink. Counter tops are swelled and cracked. Kitchen is very small, Cabinet are in one corner only, about 5 or 6 ft each direction. Her sink is also mounted in that area.
d. Her husband tells me that the cast drains are leaking under the house, three pipes (washer, kitchen sink, toilet) come together and head toward street. Piping at front of house to street is already replaced with PVC. The runs for the drain don't look to be too long or too complicated if you have someone with plumbing knowledge.