Final pictures from the trip

Hi everyone! I was finally able to get all the pictures from our last day in Hazard, as well as a few from our Stockholders Dinner, during which we shared with the church all that we did on the Mission Trip. Enjoy!

6-22-08 and Stockholders Dinner

Still Thinking about Hazard

Hi everyone! Well, we’ve been back over a week now from our mission trip, and it’s still fresh in my mind, so much so that I preached about it on Sunday. You can read the sermon here.

We had our Stockholders Dinner last night, during which we shared pictures and stories of the mission trip with the congregation. It was a great success and I think people really appreciated hearing first-hand about the trip from the adult and youth participants. I’ll have pictures from that event, as well as from the last day of the trip, as soon as I can ge them. 

We’re Home!

Hey everyone! We arrived back at church at 10 p.m. tonight. It was good to be back in familar surroundings and see family faces again. I’ll write more when I am able to get some shut-eye and reintroduce myself to our family. Needless to say, it’s good to be home again!

The Big Clean

Today was our last hurrah at Hazard Christian Church, and we gave it everything we had! We started early this morning with a wakeup song from Tim and another hardy breakfast. We packed up all our stuff and gave the Presbyterian church a good cleaning. We did our best to leave to the church just like we found it, if not cleaner. The Presbyterian church was very friendly and hospitable for us, and we appreciate everything they did for us.

The focus today at Hazard Christian Church was cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. A large part of the crew started in the sanctuary, cleaning the pews and the floors. There are literally decades of dust around this church, so it takes more than a little elbow grease to get things clean. Even with a day full of work, we feel like more cleaning could be done.

In addition to cleaning, we finished some electrical work and put tile down in the men’s bathroom. We also had to clean up the messes we made putting up drywall and painting. It was unbelievable how much dust and dirt there was to get rid of.

You would have been so proud of this crew! The work today was far from glamorous, and yet they continued to push hard and not complain. It was obvious that our energy level was wearing down, but every single person worked as hard as they could to make this church sparkle. We are frustrated because we feel like there is more we could have gotten done, and yet when we look around the church the transformation is obvious. We are proud of what we have done, and we can’t wait to see what the congregation thinks about it tomorrow.

We finally knocked off work around 5 p.m. and headed for the hotel. Heaven! Warm showers, a nice pool, and comfy beds. Compared to this past week, this is the Four Seasons. We ordered Papa John’s Pizza and ate dinner while sharing our final reflections. The depth of what people shared was moving, and it is clear that this trip has made an impact on us. We’ve all been touched by the hospitality of the people of Hazard and of the church, and we only hope we’ve made a difference for them.

We’ve spent the night swimming, hanging out, watching TV, and just generally vegging. After a good night’s rest, we’ll worship at Hazard Christian Church tomorrow morning and then hit the road. It will be about a nine-hour drive, so we should be arriving at the church around 10 p.m. We’ll call folks as we get closer.

This has been another amazing mission trip and we are all blessed to have spent this week together. We have seen God in this community, in this church, and in each other. Our relationships and our faith is stronger. This time has truly been a gift, and it’s been an honor to share it with you!

6-21-08

The Penultimate Day of Work

Isn’t “penultimate” a great word? It simply means “the day before the last day,” but it sounds so high falutin’!

What a great day it has been today. As we shared our gathering time tonight, it was interesting to not that the lows were minimal, and several people said that the whole day for them was a high. I’m amazed at the depth and sharing the youth have offered. It’s obvious to the adults that this trip has made a major impact on the youth.

Our day started at 6:45 a.m. again with Laura’s rooster alarm and Tim’s singing. We got up, ate breakfast, fixed our lunches, and then cleared the room of all our stuff for the wedding reception later in the day. It was amazing how quickly the room went from mission trip headquarters ground zero to reception hall. Even though the youth are working hard all day at another church, they worked fast and without a complaint out our home church to get it ready. What an amazing group!

Hazard Christian Church continues to take shape. Today was more work on drywall, more mudding and painting, some minor electrical work, and the start of the cleaning. We also had a few setbacks today, including a stubborn wall in the balcony that refused to be patched. Still, the transformation that’s taken place is nothing short of miraculous.

Tomorrow will be the Big Clean. We will clean up all the messes we have made and spend most of our time cleaning the sanctuary. We will also try to find all of Sean’s tools which have been spread throughout the church and return them to his cargo van. We’ll also pack up our stuff at headquarters and load it up in preparation for staying at the hotel tomorrow night.

The definite highlight of the day was the evening we spent at the home of Ivan and Sarah Jean Woods. Ivan and Sarah Jean are amazingly nice people who welcomed this group of 18 people into their home with big smiles and a lot of fried chicken! The Woods own about 15 acres near the top of one of the mountains and the peace and serenity is simply divine. We played horseshoes and basketball, got a tour of Ivan’s garden, and were all named official Dukes and Duchesses of Hazard and given certificates from the mayor. It was awesome!

The only low point of the day was saying goodbye to Sean, who headed home early to honor a previous commitment. Sean was planning on leaving early this morning but ended up staying until after dinner. I think the more he got into the day, the less he wanted to leave. We were sorry to see him go because he was such an incredible mentor and friend all week. We couldn’t have asked for a better leader. Please pray for his safe travel.

Blogging tomorrow will be from the luxury of the Holiday Inn Express! I look forward to sharing stories and pictures from the finished church. I’ll also have more details about our trip home. We can’t wait to see you all again. Goodnight everyone!

6-20-08

Mountain Day

For us, it’s much bigger than Hump Day! We’re past the halfway point now, and the church is really starting to look different. We moved a little slower this morning, but once we got up and going, the pace picked right back up.

Each morning we eat our breakfasts, make our brown-bag lunches, and pack our shower bags before heading out. Once we got to the worksite today, we jumped right back into our work. We painted two of the downstairs classrooms and the narthex, cleaned the kitchen, and continued work in the balcony and the men’s bathroom. Our goal tomorrow is to finish those projects and painting, so that we can spend most of Saturday cleaning.

I have to share a couple of funny moments with you. First, while Sean and I were at Lowe’s today, Sean (who is Irish, in case you didn’t know) was asking a worker how thick he should mix a certain compound. Sean said, “Should it be the consistency of peanut butter?” The worker replied in a heavy Kentucky accent, “Naw, just like yer biscuits.” The look on Sean’s face was priceless! I said to Sean, “Don’t worry, I think I know what he means.” I guess Sean doesn’t have a lot of experience with homemade biscuits, which I imagine is a staple in these parts.

Now, imagine this: You’re a bride getting ready for your big day. The day before the wedding, you’re running around doing a million last-minute things. You walk into the church’s fellowship hall to get ready for your reception, only to find the whole church downstairs has been taken over by a mission trip group from Chicago!

Thankfully, Pip and Bev met the bride and assured her we would have the room looking perfect for her by tomorrow evening. That will mean stacking all our air mattresses, luggage, and supplies in a couple side rooms before we leave in the morning, but it will all be worth it for the bride and her new husband.

Tonight for dinner we’re having BBQ sandwiches and leftovers from the last few nights. After dinner, we’re going to check out the local miniature golf/laser tag/arcade place. I can’t imagine the youth have the energy for laser tag, but they’ve already told us they’re looking forward to it.

Tomorrow night, we’re going straight from the showers to Ivan and Sarah Jean Woods’ house for dinner, so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get onto the computer to update the blog. It may be fairly late, so don’t panic if you don’t hear from us! I want to make sure you see plenty of pictures from our time at the Woods’ house.

In yesterday’s blog, I mentioned a story I’m going to share with the group tonight. In Matthew 10, while Jesus is teaching the disciples, he says, “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, or the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

We don’t know what’s going to happen after we leave Hazard Christian Church. As far as we know, no other groups are coming in after us to continue our work. There will be plenty left undone, and so much more will be needed to make this old church look new again.

But I do know this: We have placed a lot of patches around Hazard Christian Church. I don’t know if the church will grow after our work is done, but I’m pretty confident it wasn’t going to grow in the condition it was in. Our prayer is that God fills this new wineskin we are working hard to create with new wine and that by doing so both the church and the new people coming into it will be preserved. I hope one day to read about the resurgent Hazard Christian Church, which is just bursting at the seams with new people! May the work of our mission trip group be a fresh wineskin on this majestic old building.

In case you are not aware, clicking on the picture below will take you to an album of pictures from today.

6-19-08

Transformers – The Sequel!

You may remember last summer the big movie was “Transformers,” about a bunch of robots from outer space that could turn into vehicles. OK, so it wasn’t quite “Pride and Prejudice,” but it was still pretty good for a popcorn flick. But I would like to offer a new set of Transformers: the CCC Mission Trippers, who are transforming an old church into a new building.

Today was our second full day of work, and you could see both the level of work increase and the fatigue begin to set in. During our sharing tonight, several folks commented they were moving a little slower (of course, it was mostly the adults!). But several people also shared that their “high” for the day was how much work was getting done and the difference it was making.

Our tasks today were a continuation of yesterday. Some of us were mudding and sanding to patch the walls; others were putting up new drywall to replace the old that had crumbled and fell off; still others were fixing holes in floors or ceilings; and one group thoroughly cleaned their coffee fellowship room. We have a vision of what we hope to accomplish this week. Whether we get there or not remains to be seen, but I’m sure that when the congregation comes to worship on Sunday, they’ll see the a new church.

The weather has been absolutely beautiful the last few days. It makes sitting outside for lunch very refreshing, unlike the last two years in New Orleans. While everyone is taking breaks for water, we’re not seeing nearly the same level of fatigue and need for breaks as last year, which makes us feel more productive. If only this church didn’t have so many stairs to go up and down!

For dinner tonight we had tacos (chicken and beef!) and shared a delicious cake for dessert made for us by one of the church members. After dinner, we found the local bowling alley and had a great time knocking down some pins. Sarah Steele got two strikes, her first ever without bumpers. Sadly, Sean is still looking for his first strike. He more than makes up for his lack of bowling prowess with his amazing leadership at the worksite.

Because we were out a little later, our sharing time tonight was shortened. I have some thoughts to share with the group and with you about a story Jesus told about new wine and old wineskins, but it will have to wait until tomorrow – because I’m tired! We love and miss you all very much, and we look forward to seeing you on Sunday evening. Keep praying for us! So far, this has been a very safe and fun trip. God deserves all the credit and glory for all we are accomplishing this week.

6-18-08

Bringing the Church Back to Life

Hi everyone! This has been such a busy and great day that I’m not even sure where to start. I will begin by saying this is an AWESOME group! Everyone, from the most experienced veteran to the first-timer, pitched in and worked hard today. You would be so proud!

Last night for our gathering time, Tim shared the scripture in Exodus about Moses seeing God’s glory as God passed by. God placed Moses in a cleft in the mountains and then move in front of him, so that Moses could get a glimpse. Tim then challenged the group to “glimpse God’s glory” as we do our work in the mountains this week. Powerful stuff!

We got up at 6:45 a.m. local time (most of us, anyway), thanks in part to a train that passes within 50 feet of the church building. Two or three trains passed during the night, and each friendly train driver tooted his horn to make sure we knew he was there. Thanks a lot, Mr. Conductor!

After we ate breakfast and packed our lunches, we headed off for our first look at Hazard Christian Church. It’s a beautiful old church, built in 1925. In its heyday, the building must have looked magnificent! Unfortunately, over the years it has fallen into serious disrepair. Sean is right; we could easily spend a month working here.

We got to meet Joe Goodlette and Ivan Woods, both members and elders of Hazard Christian Church. Both gentlemen expressed their gratitude for having us there, and their embarrassment over the state of the building. It was obvious this church was very important to them.

After a tour of the facility, Sean put is to work in several different areas. Our tasks included sweeping and cleaning, scraping off old paint and plaster, pulling down parts of walls and ceilings to be replaced, and scraping old tile off the floor. The church is so big we each could have our own room to work on, but we mainly focused on the sanctuary, balcony, fellowship hall, and classroom area.

While taking a break, Sean, Tim, and I met Mrs. Grier, who lives across the street. After informing us she was “four score and three years old,” she gave us a lively history of the church. It seems everybody knows everybody in Hazard, and Mrs. Grier knew a little about all of them.

The weather today was gorgeous! We ate our lunches outside to take advantage of it. We worked until about 4 p.m., then headed to the Pavilion for our showers and a bit of swimming. The Pavilion is a local recreation center with a nice indoor pool, indoor tennis courts, racquetball courts, and a workout room. We’re very thankful they are letting us use their showers free of charge!

Dinner tonight was roasted chickens from Wal-Mart, baked beans, salad, and a Jennifer Abdo’s birthday cake for dessert. Tonight we’re going to hang out around the church and rest from our first full day. Tomorrow night we might check out the miniature golf place or go bowling.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m tired! There are a lot of steps in the church, and much of the work today was bending, stretching, and squatting. None of the youth seem too fazed, but all the adults are groaning a little more loudly every time we sit down. I’m already looking forward to the hotel room on Saturday!

Tonight, our devotion is going to be from Ezekiel 37. God leads the prophet Ezekiel into a valley full of dry bones and asks him, “Can these bones live?” Ezekiel answers, “Only You know, Lord.” The God commands Ezekiel to speak to the bones, and they begin to rattle. Then God breathes on them and they become alive again. These verses are most salient to our trip:

Then God said to Ezekiel: “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.”

Listening to Joe and Ivan, they sounded like these dry bones; their hope is gone and they feel cut off. Our prayer is that, this week, God will use us to breathe life back into this church and help restore some of its faded glory. This is obviously a church with a proud history; we hope God will help us give them a bright future.

Have a great night, everyone. We miss and love you!

6-17-08

A Hazard-less Trip to Hazard

Well, we’ve officially become Kentuckians! We’re now settled into our church home for the week in Hazard, Ky. We had a great breakfast and sendoff at FCC Jeff this morning. We stopped for lunch in London, Ky. (no sign of Big Ben or Parliament), then arrived in Hazard just after 1 p.m. local time. The roads most of the way were hilly but four-lane. Only about one four-mile stretch was really windy and two-lane, but we made it just fine.

The church were we are staying is quaint, which is the Christian way to say “small,” but we all fit very well. I think Bev and Pip are wishing the kitchen was about four times bigger, but those are a couple of resilient ladies, so I know they will make do. This church is very gracious to host a group of 18 people for the week.

Tim and Sean scoped out the church where we’ll be working. It took a little longer than they thought, so they didn’t get back to home base until around 4 p.m. At that point, Bev and Pip still needed to shop for food ($288 spent at Super Wal-Mart!) and Sean needed to make a Lowes run, so we decided to rest for tonight and hit the ground running tomorrow.

I asked Sean if the church had enough work to keep us busy all week. He smiled and said, “Enough for three or four weeks.” I guess there are parts of the building which literally haven’t been touched for decades. We definitely will have our work cut out for us! The cool thing is that with this kind of work, by the end of the week you can definitely tell you’ve made a difference. We hope the members of the church will also be able to see what we’ve done.

We just finished up a great dinner of pasta and salad with garlic bread. Conversation around the dinner table ranged from our least favorite words (“crusty” and “moist” were at the top of the list) to the description of falafel to onomatopoeias (a word that sounds like what it describes, like “buzz” or “whack”). There was a fiery debate over whether or not “harrumph!” was an onomatopoeia. Aren’t you impressed with the deep theological discussion of our mission trips?

A quick techno-note: The cell phone reception here at home base is pretty bad, so we may not be able to check in with you in the evenings. The reception at the church where we are working is much better, so we’re telling the youth to make calls during lunchtime. You can also send them text messages if you’d prefer (if you don’t know how to txt msg, your kids are LOLing at you).

Also, the internet here is pretty hit and miss, so I may or may not get pictures posted on a regular basis. The internet has already cut out on me twice – Harrumph! – but I’ll keep at it. If I don’t get pictures up today, I’ll try again tomorrow.

Tim and I are once again completely overwhelmed and humbled to share this experience with this amazing group of people, and we realize how blessed we are to serve a church that is so supportive of this kind of work. We hope to make you proud, and we hope to bring God glory this week. We miss and love you all!

6-16-08

Oh What A – Beautiful? – Morning

Happy Monday, everyone! We are currently awake and packing up in preparation for our trip to Hazard. It’s raining like cats and dogs outside – I just stepped in a poodle! Ok, I’m already sleep-deprived. We’re waiting for a break in the storm to load up the van. I’m trying to institute a new rule this year that all first-year trippers have to load up the van, but Sarah, Erin, Shaylin, and Emily aren’t buying it. Darn it!

I’ll check in as soon as I can once we get to Hazard. As soon as we arrive we’re going to find a place for lunch, then head to headquarters and settle in before getting our first glimpse of the church where we’ll be working. Talk to you all soon!