Saturday,
July 23, 2015
We left
Denver uneventfully, and arrived in Chicago around lunch time. The ride to
Chicago was turbulent. We had lunch in Chicago and had about a two hour
layover, before heading to Charlotte, NC. When we arrived in Charlotte, we discovered
that Judy and Ramsey’s luggage didn’t arrive with us. We went ahead and rented
our vehicles anyway, and drove to South Carolina, to Trinity United Methodist
Church in Blythewood, where we will be spending the night. We are in the Waffle
House now, having a very late dinner.
Pastor John
Thompson showed up to greet us at Trinity, and how wonderful it was to see him!
He is happy and enjoying his retirement. After dinner, most of us will head
back to the church, while Judy and Ramsey head to the all-night WalMart to find
sleeping bags for the night. In the morning we will worship at Wesley UMC, at
Pastor John’s suggestion, and then head to Charleston, where we will pick Perri
up at the airport, and then find the church we will stay at in Charleston, Aldersgate.
Waiting to leave at DIA
Parents dropping us off at DIA
Adult Sponsors Wiley Daniel and Scott Kelley
Parents waiting for us to leave
Layover in Chicago
Waiting to pick up vehicles and lost luggage
Wiley is the leader of our caravan
Pastor John greeted us in Columbia
Sunday, July
24, 2015
We left
Trinity UMC early in the morning, and after a quick breakfast we attended
worship service at Wesley UMC, at Pastor John’s suggestion. They are housed in a temporary location
downtown, at another church, due to flooding. The Rev. Tiffany Knowlton led us
in a wonderful service! The Youth Choir led the praise music, and played a
musical tribute to peace, moved by recent events.
After church
we drove the 2 hours to Charleston, SC. After lunch, we checked into Aldersgate UMC
where we will stay for the next week. John is our work foreman, and we found
locations to sleep in, anticipating another Youth Group from Pennsylvania who
we will share space with. Wiley and Judy left to pick up Perri and Ramsey and
Judy’s luggage from the Charleston airport.
The
Aldersgate church has a big building behind their main church building, which
is where we will be staying. They have a large kitchen and dining area, and
rooms upstairs with bunk beds, a game room and bathrooms. The showers are
located in a shower trailer outside.
We had the
rest of the afternoon to rest, prepare for the week, and play in the courtyard
behind the church, in the extreme heat and humidity.
We had a
late Chipotle dinner, and one trip to WalMart before a lovely devotion and a
good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, Monday, will be our sightseeing day, because our
work days are Tuesday through Saturday. Pastor John will meet us at the Mother
Emmanuel church in the morning and stay with us all day.
Ramsey and Madie repairing Madie's glasses
Breakfast before church at McDonalds
Youth Choir
After worship at Wesley UMC
Play time on Sunday afternoon
Monday, July
25, 2016
Today’s
Scripture: I CORINTHIANS 7:15b – It is
to peace that God has called you.
Monday was
our “free” day before we start our physical work in flood recovery. This
morning we had a tour scheduled at Mother Emanuel AME, in historic Charleston.
Mother Emanuel AME church has a rich history, but had already suffered tragedies before the horrible event of June
17, 2015, when a deranged man entered a Bible study, and shot nine precious
members of their congregation to death. We took a tour of the church, and
listened to a presentation by church historian Elizabeth Alston. We were overwhelmed by the beauty of the
church itself, the historic structure, the love and resiliency of the people,
and how they have overcome all of the challenges that they have faced. Here are
some testimonials from the Youth:
“Mother
Emanuel Church was beautiful and inspiring, and I think everyone should strive
to react to tragedy the way they did.”
Makenna Casebolt, who is on her first Mission Trip.
“My
experience at Mother Emanuel Church surpassed my previous expectations by a
wide margin. I never thought I’d learn so much about not only the church’s
history, but its significance in the history of my culture. Mother Emanuel
Church has not only faced several devastations at the hands of hatred, but the
church has overcome those tragedies and established itself as the heart of our
culture, driven by the collective yearning for freedom of worshiping our God,
the Creator of all. Not only does this church represent who I am, but it
represents the mindset necessary to overcome ignorance in today’s world; as a
person of color, I must never back down when faced with adversity, rather I
will embrace it, for as long as I know that we are all children of the same
Father, I can never be taken from my faith. Most importantly, Mother Emanuel
taught me that love for everyone, for or against you, is the only way that we can
bring peace upon the earth; reciprocating love is the ideal way to bring about
peace. “
Anthony
Nelson
After the church
tour, Pastor John took us to “Old Slave Market,” where human slaves were
auctioned in the antebellum south after arriving in the US. We were expecting
something a little darker, but it turned out to be a light-filled marketplace
filled with all kinds of vendors, including Gullah people, hand-weaving
beautiful baskets. After a nice seafood lunch, we drove around South Carolina,
visiting a shipping port, where a battleship and aircraft carrier were docked,
then Daniel Island. We ended up on James Island, where we swam in the Atlantic
at Folly Beach for a short time, because it was getting dark. After returning
to Aldersgate, we had a wonderful devotional, focusing on today’s scripture.
Tuesday,
July 26, 2016
Scripture:
Acts 26:16 – But get up and stand on your feet. I appoint you to serve and
testify to the things in which you have seen Me and to those in which I appear
to you.
Today was
our first work day on the site of the damaged homes. We are working on three
homes, across the street from one another. The homeowners lost everything in
the flood. Their homes were flooded with four feet of water!
Here are
some testimonies from the work crew:
The work was
more fun than I expected, and it was a real learning experience.
Farhaan
The time
went by really fast for me. We all learned how awesome Scott is as a work
leader.
Ramsey
We worked
really hard in the heat, and I was sweating a lot. I felt like when I was
sweating, I was really doing something to help somebody.
Madie
I thought it
was a good day and I think we kind of struggled a little bit, but we overcame
it and were flexible. We did really well in spite of our lack of knowledge.
Perri
We were very
productive.
Rashad
We had a lot
of work to do, and we got it done.
Asko
Overall it
was a good day, but there were definitely some times of frustration. There were
some small failures, but definitely some successes.
Lena
Overall
today was good, there was some frustration but we ended the day on a good note.
Callie
Virginia,
the homeowner of one of the homes told me, Judy and Dawn the how the flood
happened. Water came pouring in to her ankles, and the authorities came to
evacuate. They couldn’t get back in right away and she was displaced for two
months. There were people floating boats up and down the street. Everything had
to be replaced, and she lost everything. One contractor didn’t complete the job,
so it was turned over to John and the volunteers of UMVIM (United Methodist
Volunteers in Mission). I wanted to share this because it shows how all of the
work that we are doing is.
Wiley
We really
made things happen with what we had. Rashad took on the drywall and did really
well with it. Asko really did well installing peepholes in the front and back
doors. You can’t hire people that work as well as these kids.
Scott
After we
completed our work, we returned to Aldersgate for dinner. The Mission Team from
Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, who we are sharing space with, cooked dinner for all
of us tonight (we will reciprocate on Thursday). We had a lovely spaghetti
dinner with strawberry shortcake for dessert. Following dinner, we had a lovely
devotional, focusing on today’s scripture, and what the word “Flexibility”
means in the work we are doing this week. We ended our devotion with a
reflection on Skip Scott, and the role he has paid over the years in Youth
Mission Work. Our late Youth Sponsor, Skip would always ask for a bedtime story
on Mission Trips, and Judy read “The House in the Middle of Town” to us, a
story that she read for Skip and the Mission Team on our trip to New Orleans.
We had some
free time this evening for games or quiet time, to rest up for another day of
hard work. Amen!
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
Scripture: Romans 8:28 - We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.
Work continues on the three houses that we are working on. One of the men from Edenburg is an electrician, and came with us to our site to work on the electricity in the kitchen, in preparation for the cabinet installations. We put in part of the cabinetry.
All of the shelves in Ms. Jefferson's house (the house that is currently unoccupied and requiring the most work) have been painted and installed. The windows have been cleaned and blinds hung, and we have assembled all of her furniture.
Bryce and Farhaan have demolished the old soffit on Juan's house, and installed new soffit.The holes in Virginia's drywall have been patched.
