Hubby's Mission Trips~
Oh, Amy H, let me explain a bit about St Richard's mission trips! We had a pastor at our church (since reassigned down to Danville to a larger church) who knew what mission trips could mean to people if he could persuade them to participate. Pastor Larry went on world-wide mission trips; he's a registered pharmacist and provides much-needed medical skills. Sometimes his teens went with him, and once his wife, a nurse, went along.
When a huge storm struck the Virginia coast, flooding out some very needy families, Larry coaxed my hubby and several others to drive there with him, and see what they could do in one week's time. Dick was directed to a disabled couple; when the flood hit, she had climbed onto her husband's bed as it floated up towards the ceiling. They survived, but the house and their wheelchair ramp did not. FEMA moved them into a nonaccessible trailer and gave them lumber to rebuild. I believe they were both in their late 70's or early 80's. The team plumbed & wired & then rebuilt the ramp so they could move back into their house.
Two years ago, after Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi, the group who had gone on the first mission trip decided it was time to head south. There's an agency called
UMCOR that sets up all around the world to recruit volunteers and provide them with necessary tools and materials. It's United Methodist Committee on Relief. That trip, the men helped rebuild a destroyed Methodist parsonage and actually slept in the church itself.
Now, this year, these older-and-wiser men decided to fly rather than drive to Biloxi. They were assigned to a house that was nearly just studs; you could have thrown a cat through any of the walls. By now, the group included several men who work as builders, so they were able to rebuild the house in that one week's time. (Details and pictures will be in the next Prime Living issue.)
Finally, let me say Dick no longer needs to be persuaded or coaxed. All of the men insist they gained more from each of these trips than anyone could possibly imagine. And they've bonded into a tight, cohesive group as well. (They purchased glowing green tee-shirts from the Mississippi conference group, and when the 9 of them stood up in church last week to show the slides and talk about the trip, we felt like we should have worn sunglasses!)
Yes, he is a good guy. And United Methodists are not the only churches sending teams down there; I think every denomination is doing this. If you know anyone who lives down there, they will tell you the churches send teams, and the colleges and universities do, too.
When a huge storm struck the Virginia coast, flooding out some very needy families, Larry coaxed my hubby and several others to drive there with him, and see what they could do in one week's time. Dick was directed to a disabled couple; when the flood hit, she had climbed onto her husband's bed as it floated up towards the ceiling. They survived, but the house and their wheelchair ramp did not. FEMA moved them into a nonaccessible trailer and gave them lumber to rebuild. I believe they were both in their late 70's or early 80's. The team plumbed & wired & then rebuilt the ramp so they could move back into their house.
Two years ago, after Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi, the group who had gone on the first mission trip decided it was time to head south. There's an agency called
UMCOR that sets up all around the world to recruit volunteers and provide them with necessary tools and materials. It's United Methodist Committee on Relief. That trip, the men helped rebuild a destroyed Methodist parsonage and actually slept in the church itself.
Now, this year, these older-and-wiser men decided to fly rather than drive to Biloxi. They were assigned to a house that was nearly just studs; you could have thrown a cat through any of the walls. By now, the group included several men who work as builders, so they were able to rebuild the house in that one week's time. (Details and pictures will be in the next Prime Living issue.)
Finally, let me say Dick no longer needs to be persuaded or coaxed. All of the men insist they gained more from each of these trips than anyone could possibly imagine. And they've bonded into a tight, cohesive group as well. (They purchased glowing green tee-shirts from the Mississippi conference group, and when the 9 of them stood up in church last week to show the slides and talk about the trip, we felt like we should have worn sunglasses!)
Yes, he is a good guy. And United Methodists are not the only churches sending teams down there; I think every denomination is doing this. If you know anyone who lives down there, they will tell you the churches send teams, and the colleges and universities do, too.
posted by Marion | 8:43 PM
2 Comments:
That's the best part of churches, the help they offer others.
I was disappointed that I had to bow out of the Edible Vibe reading. I was almost looking forward to it (that's a reference to the fact that I get nervous before readings).
I see your husband has also taken "baby steps". Maybe there is hope for my husband yet. I will not give up!
Nice picture of Dick in the Franklin County News-Post, by the way. You must be so proud!
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