Mission Trips June 2006

Youth Group Trip - Oliver Springs, TN

Mark Snyder, our Youth Pastor, and his wife Nicki, along with 6 of our youth are in Oliver Springs, TN at a REACH Work Camp . They are there from June 24 through July 1.

Saturday, June 24
- Left the Church around 9:30am and headed to the Turnpike, then South.
- Arrived in Chritiansburg, VA around 5:30pm

Sunday, June 25
- Drove from Christiansburg to Oliver Springs, TN. Arrive at camp at 2pm.

Monday, June 26
- everyone is fine and having a great time...basically 350 kids sweating in a gym
- passing the time with volleyball and frisbee
- food is good...making alot of new friends
- "The Kingdom of God" is the theme of the week
- Updates by person
- - Laura is working with a guy who was paralyzed in a tree cutting accident
- - building a wheelchair ramp
- Emily
- - Spent time ripping up a bathroom floor
- Steve
- - Nickamed "Super Steve"
- - Been crawling into a very dirty area to clean out a basement
- Mark, John, and Tina are all working together on a wheelchair ramp
- - Tina has been a "tool fetcher", digging post holes, and helping keep things level
- - John has been doing work with concrete and removing old steps
- Peter spent time scraping old paint
- Nicki also spent time scraping and painting...was a little affected by it but is just fine

Tuesday, June 27
- Mark said "Everyone is fine, and had a groovy day".
- Mark, John, Steven and Nicki were involved in some sort of strange frisbee game on a swingset
- Updates by person
- Steve
- - Did alot of painting work high on a ladder
- - Needed to use a pick-axe to level ground under the ladder since it was also on a hill
- - Came back to camp covered in paint
- Peter
- - spent the day scraping paint
- - got back early today
- - has lost his cell phone
- John
- - kept things level
- - dug rocks out of the post holes being dug
- Tina
- - gathered tools
- - made lunches
- - dug holes
- Emily
- - thinks she has killed a few brain cells with the floor adhesive remover in use at her site
- - watched others in her crew cut holes in the floor
- - some ladder work
- Laura
- - has celebrity status - is on the front page of the local newspaper for Oak Ridge County
- Nicki
- - leader of group Bible studies
- - painting in extreme circumstances - house full of animals
- Mark
- - Working with Tina and John on a wheelchair ramp
- - plumbing
- - digging holes
- - will be doing decking work tomorrow

Wednesday, June 28
Today was a half day at work for all at the camp.
- worked for the morning
- went shopping
- heading to a lake

Nicki
- cleaned house - inside and out
- 1/2 day tomorrow

Laura
- concrete today for the ramp
- wearing a huge pair $1.50 pants bought today

Emily
- learned how to use a power saw
- making a railing - started nailing it together

Peter
- scraping and painting a deck
- rained once
- continuing search for cell phone

Steve
- more tall ladder painting
- window installations
- will be making stairs out of bricks
- house infested with all kinds of bees

Tina
- building a ramp
- all posts in and working on decking
- 2 ramps - one in front and one in back

John
- Ramp work with Mark and Tina
- will be installing a door
- drilling work today

Mark
- boxed out wheelchair ram

Thursday, June 29
Snippet from "The Oak Ridger" newspaper...local paper for Oliver Springs...

Laura Simons, 16, of Landsale, Pa., is experiencing her first REACH work camp, and said she is looking forward to "hanging out" with new friends and "helping people."

You can see the full article here, but you need to sign up for a free account.

There is a picture in the article with Laura in it, but it may no show for you...

you can see the picture here if it doesn't show above.

Laura is just about centered in the picture in a Turquoise shirt.

Daily Updates by person
Rest of yesterday
- FBCL played Volleyball - got smoked by Reach staff
- There was a talent show
- Wound up going to a pool at the lake yesterday since there was no swimming area

- Peter
- - painting
- - saving the world

- Steven
- - fell off a seesaw (while I was on the phone getting these updates...Mark ran to see if ok and he was)
- - yard work
- - built a huge bon fire

- John
- - drilling and bolted wheelchair ramp

- Emily
- - continued in bathroom
- - level floor

- Laura
- - began doing the decking on the wheelchair ramp

- Tina
- - kept everyone hydrated
- - tool fetching

- Nicki
- - finished painting
- - bible study with a neighbor of homeowner of house they were working on

- Mark
- - second crew came to site so some coordination needed
- - dug around electrical wires
- - built top decks of wheelchair ramp

Friday
- Friday was spent closing up the work at all the sites
- Time was also spent with the teams affirming the work done, people touched, and God's hand in all that was accomplished

Saturday
- Packed vehicles and had a parting service
- Left camp around 9:00
- Drove to about 150 miles inside Virginia where a group of folks were waiting to provide extra drivers.
- Rob (me) took the wheel after lunch and a brief meeting with the other folks who drove down, and also the other mission team from Mississippi
- We drove to just south of Winchester, VA where we have stoppped for the night. We arrived here about 5.
- We will head out for Dinner around 7, and will head home tomorrow morning.

Sunday
- Left Hotel about 9:15 and arrived back at the church around 1:15.

There are tons of pictures at the Reach website found here

Gulf Mission Team

Two Mini-vans full of folks ready to assist people in the Gulf area devastated by hurricane Katrina will be gone from June 24 to July 1. The work they are performing there is being done in coordination with the American Baptist Men.

- Left the Church around 6:30am
- Drove to just outside Knoxville, TN

Gulf Mission Team News

The FBCL Gulf Mission Team arrived in Long Beach, Mississippi on Sunday
evening after two days of travel. The Team, consisting of Eric Cox, Jill
Clemens, Joanne Shupe, Kevin Godshall, Mary Kratz, Steve Wetherill, and John
Lancaster (Team Leader) began working at residential sites on Monday
morning.

Tuesday, they are scheduled to asist a team from Colorado in the removal of
weakened trees that threaten a home.

Jill Clemens reports that it is quite warm but thankfully, the Church where
they are staying is air conditioned. She also mentioned that their
activities are being chronicled by photographs.

The Team will depart on Friday afternoon and return on Saturday evening.

Update - Wednesday June 28

Although it is extremely hot there, all are safe and healthy.

Saturday July 1 - Group was met about 150 miles into Virginia by a group of relief drivers, and they arrived back at the church around 8:30 PM.