{ our work is done }

Yesterday was our team’s last day at Ms. Hester’s and we finished her covered porch minutes before the rain started falling. The team had a great week and did an excellent job on the entire project!

It must have been our sheer exhaustion, or incredible sense of humor, but we were still laughing and having a wonderful time on the project site. Each time Nicole held Sissy, the dog, Brandon would impersonate Paris Hilton and say, “That’s hot!”

What a funny guy.

Ms.Hester is so grateful for her new covered porch. She was so proud to show it off to family and neighbors who visited throughout the week. One thing’s for sure, many hours will be spent on this porch!

Thank you, again, for your continued prayers and support throughout this trip.

At publishing time, the team is currently eating breakfast in Sulphur Springs, Texas and we’re just a few hours from home. We will see you later!

Love you!

Closing Worship at Henderson Settlement

Good foggy morning to ya from Frakes, Kentucky!

It is (sadly) our last morning at Henderson Settlement. We have a few more hours of work to do at Ms.Hester’s house and then we’ll be headed back to Texas. Please pray for our safe travels and return home ….. we are all ready to sleep in our own beds!

Last night, after supper, we went to Hope UMC for the closing worship service. The praise and worship music was led by members of the Henderson Settlement staff, including the Executive Director. They did a really great job! Kirsten was also a part of the worship team, as she served communion.

Pastor Kevin and his wife, Cindy have been so welcoming and gracious to us this week. Britton told Cindy to call her when the next batch of chocolate eggs were ready to be decorated!!!!

In a few moments, we will eat breakfast and then visit the Settlement’s craft store where local handmade products are sold to the public. Afterwards, we will return to Ms.Hester’s and finish her covered porch.

Thank you for all your prayers and comments, keep them coming!

The Mission Team

Day 4 in Kentucky

It’s been an interesting day in Frakes, Kentucky. We awoke this morning to the sounds of rolling thunder and were skeptical about the weather but as soon as we arrived to Ms. Hester’s, the clouds cleared and the sun was shining.

The group working on the vinyl skirting completed their project before lunchtime. It was the wah-hoo moment for Nicole, as she celebrated “the end” of installation!!!

The porch’s roof was installed today, but soon after lunch the clouds returned and it began to rain again. We loaded up the tools and equipment and headed back to the house for a couple of hours of R&R (rest and relaxation). We have just a few more hours of work before the entire project is complete ….. we’ve been busy bees!!!!

Unable to work on the project site, we went on a sight-seeing tour with the campus director and another Settlement employee this afternoon. It was nice to drive around the area and see the various properties Henderson Settlement has worked on. Unfortunately, for every Settlement project, there are a dozen other residences still in need of attention. This area is very poor and unemployment is extremely high – nearly 50 percent – so living conditions are often in poor shape as well. Luckily, residents can apply for housing improvements through the Henderson Settlement. Because of mission teams like ours, improvement projects are completed and living conditions improve. We are a part of a great mission and ministry in Frakes!

We just finished supper and are headed across the street to Hope UMC for the Closing Ceremony of Mission Week here at Henderson Settlement. We’ll post more pictures later!

Hugs!

The Mission Team

{ more mission team photos }

Good morning!

Clint led the praise and prayer service at the community center this morning, and a did a very fine job! We are blessed to have him leading this team.

Here are a few more photos from our trip at Henderson Settlement, enjoy!

The “egg-ceptional” team of egg decorators FINALLY finished decorated at 9:30 last night. The group frosted and adorned 60 eggs. Britton was so excited to share her knowledge with the rest of us, she’s so talented!

We pray that the rain and thunderstorms move out of the area quickly ….. we’re smart enough to know NOT to install a metal roof with lightning in the area – HA!!!!!!!

Have a great day, Y’all.

“egg”cellent work continues

Wednesdays at Henderson Settlement are usually non-work days for teams, but we went to the project site and continued working on the vinyl skirting and covered porch.We also enjoyed another lunch outside enjoying the beautiful sunshine!

We rushed off the project site this evening in order to make supper at the dining hall — it was close, but we made it just in time. Then, we went to Wednesday night Bible study at Hope UMC with Pastor Kevin. His wife, Cindy, is leading a fundraising ministry selling decorated chocolate peanut butter eggs. Clint has done this before and was super-duper excited to participate! Britton is a baker-extraordinaire and showed the rest of us how to properly hold an icing bag and pipe the ooey-gooey-deliciousness onto the eggs. With a little practice, we were decorating with the rest of them!

It has been a long couple of days and we are all exhausted, but ready for another productive day at the job site. Ms. Hester is so grateful for our service and expresses her appreciation often. Roy and Brandon receive fresh cups of coffee every hour and she has graciously escorted many of us around her property sharing family stories.

Clint enjoyed a moment with Ms.Hester, her sister, Josie, and a neighbor “from the holler over yonder” on the front porch. Community and family are so important to the people in this community, we are so proud to give Ms.Hester an additional space for her and her family.

Keep your comments coming, we love you and appreciate your support!

The Mission Team in Frakes, Kentucky

Progress on Day 2

It’s been another glorious day in the hills of southeast Kentucky!

We arrived at Ms. Hester’s home this morning ready to work. Most of the group resumed working on the covered porch in the back of the house, while Nicole led efforts on replacing the vinyl skirting in the front. Everything accomplished today was a TEAM effort.

The staff at Henderson Settlement have been incredible and their hospitality is warm and welcoming. Jerry, the campus director, visited our project site this afternoon and expressed his gratitude for our efforts.

The big accomplishment today was completing the deck floor of the covered porch. In fact, we finished before lunch and were able to share our mid-day meal sitting on the back deck with Ms.Hester …. it was a great moment for us all!

Nicole has tried to hide away from the camera as much as possible, but she let her guard down a bit today. She also met a new furry friend, no surprise!

No doubt this mission trip is hard work. Brandon fell asleep at the dinner table and Charlotte passed out on the way back to the house. This construction work wears us out!

After dinner tonight, we attended a true Kentucky Pickin’ Concert at the Settlement’s conference center. The Stone Mountain Band performed traditional Bluegrass and gospel songs and sounded great!

We’re headed to bed …. we have a big day tomorrow!

Good night, Y’all – we love you bunches!!!!!

{ our project is not a porch }

Last night (Monday), after supper and a campus debrief, we returned to the house for our evening devotion and time of personal reflection. This has become a sacred time of communal worship for us, especially concluding our first day at the project site.

Britton shared that she was “happy when Ms. Hester walked outside, saw the progress our team was making, and had a huge smile on her face!”

Roy commented on the team’s accomplishments, “I am so proud of this team and the work we accomplished today – we exceeded our own expectations!”

Another team member stated that while he’s impressed with our progress, his energy was not focused on the real purpose of this trip. “I realized earlier, when we were about to leave the site, that I had only focused on the porch. I did not start conversation with Ms. Hester, or try to establish lines of communication with her. My focus was solely on the finished project. I told myself tonight it would be a shame if all I did while I’m here was build a porch for a lady.”

After everyone had shared their moments, we served one another the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

We also had a belated birthday celebration for Kirsten, who turned 13 last week. In the craziness of preparing for this trip and leaving late Friday, we really didn’t get a chance to acknowledge her special birthday. Debbie was so sweet to get a chocolate birthday cake for everyone to enjoy ….. even though she gave up chocolate for Lent!!!

In a few moments, we will be leaving the Settlement and return to the project site. In order to focus as much time and energy there, and establish a relationship with Ms. Hester, we will not return to the dining hall for lunch. Instead, we will take prepared lunches for everyone, including Ms. Hester. This will cut excess driving and lost time from the project, and provide us with the opportunity to be in relationship with Ms. Hester.

Have a blessed day and keep your comments coming!

Day 1 – we’re off to a great start

What a wonderful and great day to be in Frakes, Kentucky!!!!!

After cleaning the dining hall and loading the van with supplies, we left the main campus and traveled about 20 minutes to our client’s home in a nearby hollow (that’s pronounced “haw-ler” in these parts!). Our client’s name is Hester and she lives alone on her family’s four-acre property. Her husband recently passed away, but she has family nearby, including three children and five grandchildren.

Our main project at Ms. Hester’s home is the construction of a covered deck. We will also replace, or install, new vinyl skirting around the perimeter of her home.

Today’s progress is extraordinary ….. we made a promise to ourselves last night during devotion that we would start this week with a bang and get off to a great start. YAHOO!!! Two sides of Ms. Hester’s home have brand new vinyl skirting and the old steps were demolished (that’s always a fun part of reconstruction projects, right?!?!). Roy and Brandon led the way for constructing the new covered porch and everyone participated.

The expression on Charlotte’s face tells the story: today was her first time to use an electrical saw! She still has all 10 fingers, but an Un-Named Team Member accidentally bumped Charlotte in the head with the level. She’ll be alright.

One thing is for certain: we will sleep well tonight!!!!

Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and wonderful comments on this blog and the church’s Facebook page. Your support is so appreciated and it is a joy to read your messages! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

WE LOVE OUR CHURCH FAMILY 🙂

a heart for service

Rise and Shine!!!! While cloudy, it’s a beautiful morning in Frakes, Kentucky!

The trailer is packed, the tools’ batteries have been charged, and our leaders have been briefed on the project specifics.

There are four different mission groups at the Henderson Settlement this week representing three states (New Jersey, Iowa, and Texas) and an international team from Ontario, Canada. Surprisingly – wait for it – our team traveled the furthest!

Charlotte, Kirsten, and Debbie took over kitchen clean-up duties. Each team staying at the Henderson Settlement is responsible for taking care of the dining hall at least one day. These women jumped right in and took care of business!

Celeste, Dennis, and Britton wiped down tables while other team members were washing dishes and helping the dining hall staff.

Stay tuned for project details and pictures later tonight. We’re loading the van soon and traveling to our client’s home. We’ll talk to you later!

Love,

The Mission Team

P.S. Thank you for all the comments posted last night. We really appreciated reading the comments before morning devotion this morning and we’re so glad to know your prayers are continuing. We love our church family!

 

We’re Here!!!!!!

23 hours, four states and 1,086 miles …… we’re finally here!!!!!

We arrived late last night (Saturday) and settled into our home-away-from-home, perfectly suited for mission teams serving at the Henderson Settlement in Frakes, Kentucky. After unpacking the equipment and luggage, and a brief team meeting, we went straight to bed for a restful night’s sleep.

At 6:00am, the entire house abruptly awoke to the sound of the FIRE ALARM ….. Roy and Charlotte were preparing the team’s breakfast and a few slices of bacon got extra crispy baking in the oven. The bacon was just a tad-bit black. No harm, no foul. All is well and it was the perfect wake-up call for everyone to get ready for church!!!!!!

At Hope United Methodist Church, we enjoyed a great service and warm hospitality by Pastor Kevin, his wife Cindy, and the entire congregation. After the service, the church hosted a potluck for us. Everyone (except Brandon and Nicole) enjoyed Miss Wilma’s famous banana pudding!

This trip has become a family affair for several team members. Clint’s parents, Don and Belinda, traveled from Kingsport, TN (about two hours away) to spend the day with us.

After church, we drove to Cumberland Gap National Historic Park. The area is absolutely gorgeous and today was a beautiful for sightseeing.

If you counted the number of people in our group pictures and are wondering if we are missing someone, you are correct. Darrell is expecting the arrival of a new grand baby, but the team is extremely grateful for his support and hard work prior to the team’s departure. (We miss you, Darrell!!!)

Thank you for your patience. The situation with Internet access changed a bit but we are flexible and doing the best we can. Finally, thank you for your continued prayers.

Tomorrow is a big day. We will travel to the work site and meet our client to begin our project.

Stay tuned for more pictures and project updates! Don’t forget to post a comment below, we really appreciate hearing from family and friends back at home.

Blessings to you,

The Mission Team