Trip Information:
Destination: Mount Hope, WV
Date: 7/23/16-7/30/16
Youth Participants: Michael Wernig, Connor Leggett, Max Sawyer, Joe Sawyer, Melanie Nix, Hannah McCourt, Shaun Edson, Vincent
Fleck, Tyler Hanf, Sam Mercer
Adult Chaperones: Scott Hodsdon, Rick Nelson, Judy Cook
Organization Used: Team Effort
Transportation: Vans
Destination: Mount Hope, WV
Date: 7/23/16-7/30/16
Youth Participants: Michael Wernig, Connor Leggett, Max Sawyer, Joe Sawyer, Melanie Nix, Hannah McCourt, Shaun Edson, Vincent
Fleck, Tyler Hanf, Sam Mercer
Adult Chaperones: Scott Hodsdon, Rick Nelson, Judy Cook
Organization Used: Team Effort
Transportation: Vans
Day 1: Stop at Gettysburg, PAGreetings from Gettysburg! After an 8 hour journey, we are camping out in Gettysburg, PA before finishing our journey to West Virginia. We are staying at a family campground. Everyone is in good spirits, although it is HOT!!!. The youth found a game room (that is air conditioned) so they have spent a lot of time there. We are looking forward to our guided tomorrow on horseback!
|
|
Day 2: WEst Virginia Bound
What a great way to start the day!
We visited the National Riding Stables and took a horseback tour of the Battle of Gettysburg. It was quite the experience. After, we said goodbye to Gettysburg and continued our journey to WV. It was about a 5 hour drive through the Appalachian Mountains. (couldn't help but think of Jesse Ross, who hiked these same mountains not too long ago). We arrived in Oak Hill, WV around 5pm. We are staying at white water rafting resort (Very Nice!). They boys are in a bunk-style house, while the girls are in a rustic cabin in the woods. The resort also has a nice common area, pool, and game room. It will be nice to come home to these luxuries after a hard day of work. We ended the night with chapel. We learned that we will be working in the nearby town of Rainelle. This community was devastated with over 5ft of flood water. We will be helping families continue their relief efforts. I can't say enough about this group of youth members. They are enthusiastic, and ready to start their mission work. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we start our work tomorrow. God Bless, Scott DAY 3: RECOVERY IS UNDERWAYToday we began our mission work. We worked in Ranielle, WV. Driving through the streets was quite overwhelming. Almost every house had significant damage. Most stores in the town remain closed. It reminded me of our New Orleans trip after Hurricane Katrina.
We worked at a couple of houses today, pulling out damaged walls, fixing floors, and cleaning up trash and ruined material. While at one house, we saw a man drive up to his house across the street with his two little grand kids. It was the first time his grand kids had seen the house following the flood. It was very emotional for them. Soon after, our entire crew was in that house cleaning, tearing down walls, landscaping, etc. We later found out that this man is a local pastor at a baptist church in town. He lost everything! This town has certainly taken a beating...but the recovery is underway. The youth did a great job (no surprise). We look forward and welcome whatever tomorrow brings. God Bless, Scott Day 4: A Team Effort
I know i say it a lot...I'm Proud of our kids!
But today was different. Today, I was beyond proud. I have not seen a group work as hard as our group did the today.... EVERYONE in our group exceeded all expectations!!! Today we were fortunate enough to work side-by-side with another organization, Samaritan's Purse (you may of heard of them). This group was an older generation who is down here for the same recovery mission. They are wonderful, kind and caring people (from South Carolina). They were thankful for our help, and overwhelmed by our work ethic. As you can see in the pictures, we cleared an entire house including a garage. Tomorrow is the last day where trash removal is free in the town, so it was important for us to remove as much as we could. After we finished removing everything, we started tearing up the damaged floor in the house. At one point, I walked in to find every youth member in the same room, working together, pulling up the floor. This project could have easily taken 5-10 hours...we did it in under 2. The members of Samaritans Purse couldn't stop praising our kids. They insisted that they join us in a closing prayer at the end of the day, and again thanked God for sending our kids to help them. After many hugs and hand shakes, we left the sight. I love my job almost every day...but days like today remind me how blessed I am to have this opportunity to work with some extraordinary young adults. God Bless, Scott dAY 5: a TEAM ON AND OFF THE COURT
Today we were sent to Rupert, WV to work at a Flood Relief Donation Center. This place had countless bags of donations (clothes, toys, hygiene products, etc). These donations get sent from community to community. Our job was to sort through the bags and organize the center. I think the kids enjoyed tearing up floors more than folding clothes, but they understood that this type of work was equally important.
During the evening, Our group challenged a high school girls volleyball team to a friendly competition. Apparently, this team are defending state champs in Michigan. It was an enjoyable game to watch (full of laughs). I'm sure certain "highlights" will make the mission trip video. Day 6: Last day of workToday we returned to Rupert, WV to continue helping the Flood Relief Donation Center. We continued to sort through the bags of donations. It's amazing to see the support this (and other) community has received. I'm proud of the group for their efforts. They worked hard all week, and have made a huge difference in the communities we helped.
Following the work day, we had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings for a celebration of completing our work. It was a nice time together, and I found out that Joe and hot wings do not mix well. At night, we had our final devotion. It was a special service with the emphasis on taking what we've learned on this trip back home. I always pray during this final service, hoping that this week will impact our children's lives. |
|
Day 7: Take us to the river!
Today was our day for a some fun. We traveled north to Albright, WV for white water rafting on the Cheat River.
Because the water level was a little low, we were put on single rafts (instead of all of us on one large raft). To sum it all up....It was a blast!!! We enjoyed several rapids, took some time leap off some rocks, and even jousted with our rafts. Everyone seemed to enjoy the day. Following our rafting trip, we started return back to NH. We drove to Gardners, PA for one last night of camping. To start and end the week around a camp fire made this trip even more special. |
|