Mission 75 Orientation and Day 2 news:
All 15 members of Mission Trip 75 arrived at the Christion Appalachian Project Foley Mission House parking lot and gathered for the first time around 4:45. After briefly introducing themselves and sharing travel stories, our host, Kelli, welcomed us into the building that will be our home for next five days.
We then spent about half an hour unloading vehicles, preparing our rooms, and gathering for an orientation session. We were divided into three work teams:
- Purple Team with CAP Leaders Robert and Jay and members James, David, Rob, Mary, and Michaela
- Blue Team with CAP Leader James and members Doug, Karin, Larry, Isaac, and Judy
- Brown Team with CAP Leader Josh and members Joe, Theresa, Chris, Lucas, and Elizabeth
Kelli discussed chores and house rules and provided an overview of the upcoming week. Following the orientation, we again met as a group to visit and learn a little more about each other. In their free time, some enjoy a spirited game called Monopoly. In contrast, others watched the Olympics before retiring to their rooms for a few hours of sleep to prepare for their work the next day.
On Monday morning, by 6:45, most had packed their lunches and gathered for our daily briefing from Kelli. After assigning morning chores, Kelli led a devotional session and shared inspirational words with us. Rob then said the pre-meal blessing, and we enjoyed a breakfast of biscuits and gravy, sausage, and scrambled eggs. Once breakfast and post-breakfast chores were completed, we gathered for a safety briefing in the large meeting room. After that, we were introduced to our crew leaders, broke off into teams, and were briefed on our job sites and tasks for the day.
Each team then left for their job site:
- The Blue team worked on a house with significant water damage due to excessive water runoff.
- The Brown team worked on adding a single-wide trailer to accommodate a mother and her three children.
- The Purple team worked on a home with a significant kitchen fire, no running water, and intermittent electricity.
All teams reported that they have been very busy, warm, and tired while also extremely
humbled, happy, and fulfilled.
We continued the Mission of Hope tradition of a sharing circle to share our experiences from the day. Some highlights included:
- Theresa spoke about facing her fears and leaving her comfort zone to serve others.
- Doug expressed admiration for the Blue team's willingness to try new things to serve others.
- Mary was inspired by Michaela's hard work.
Many team members expressed frustration with the amount of work and limited time. They also understood that they were part of a larger project and needed to have faith that the next team would continue the work. David emphasized that each group brings unique skills that allow the projects to move forward in a way that no other group could, and each team is an answer to a prayer.
In our free time, there was more discussion between Missioners, Monopoly, and the Olympics. Then again, one by one, very tired missioners made their way to bed much earlier than last night!
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