Friday Recap

It was a nice day on Friday to relax after a long week of work. In the morning we took a driving tour of the barrier island to learn more about the local ecology and the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy. It was relaxing. 

Then we went straight to Six Flags. When we got there, everyone was excited to go on the King Da Kong roller coaster, but when they found out it was closed for the week, they were bummed. 

After a long day at Six Flags, the whole group headed to dinner at a crab shack. 

After dinner there was a little confusion when one group thought they were suppose to go back to the church instead of going to the beach for devotions. 

So everybody ended up coming back to the church in the end. We had a long group devotion and then a little free time to finish those care cards. Then it was off to bed with the last sounding of Hakuna Matata.

Reflecting on our week in New Jersey

This past week was incredibly eye-opening, to say the least. Between working on a house for a single mom and her two kids who had been affected by the storm and helping organize the backyard of a disabled war veteran (he was quite a collector!), I was exposed to experiences which truly made me reevaluate what my blessings are in life. I was quick to call the war veteran a "hoarder," and I regret that - I learned that, like many other people, I am so quick to judge people based on a brief exposure of their existence. I learned that our job as Christians is to love one another (just as Jesus did), not judge - that was never God's intention for us as brothers and sisters of Christ. What really made the experience special to me was being surrounded by the people in my church family - it's amazing how much you can bond with people when you put your phone down and talk to people for a week!

Overall, this year's mission trip was different from last year's because we were working with natural disaster victims rather than strictly impoverished people, but I know I don't just speak for myself when I say that I grew so much closer to my friends, and more importantly, God, this week, and had a complete blast while doing so. The challenge will be to keep my currently very strong relationship with God and my church family constant after this amazing week.

The main theme we learned this week is the recurrence of water both literally and symbolically in the Bible. I was reminded this week of how much I physically and spiritually need God (like I need water), and that He is powerful and omnipresent (just as water is). I have loved our trip to Bayville this year and wish I could do it over again!

-Amanda Kuhn

Fun Day-We had so much fun we ran out of time to blog!

Friday was our fun day. In fact, we had so much fun, that we ran out of time to write a blog post for the day! Rest assured, we are doing well and now packing up for the drive home. We'll get a post about everything that we did on our last full day in New Jersey in the next few days! We'll also post some end of the week reflections. So stay tuned...

Finally, as a reminder, everyone is invited to worship on Sunday, June 29 at 10:00am. Our mission team will be leading worship and sharing some reflections about our trip. Everyone is also invited to a lunch following worship that day where we'll share more stories and pictures of our week of service and fun.

Group 1 Final Work Day

Today we finished working on our house. We dusted and cleaned the cabinets and counter tops to make final preparations for the dedication ceremony on Friday, June 20. The ceremony will be in the morning, so unfortunately we will be missing it.

After finishing the house we said our good byes to Diane, the future home owner, and to Don, our supervisor. We then went over to a new house to help do clean-up work for a Vietnam War veteran, Jim. He was a collector, but was very helpful in letting us know what to keep and what to throw away. We got to rake leaves and organize pieces of wood, stone, metal and other miscellaneous objects. Although we only go to work at Jim's house for half of a day, we got a lot done since all of the work groups came to help us. We didn't get to completely organize and clean his yard, but we made a big difference and Jim was very appreciative of the work we had done.

FINAL WORK DAY

Today we were able to speak with a nice lady named Britta, who explained reasons why were are doing the work we do.  We spread mulch around an indigenous garden and, thanks to a nice man working with a front loader, we were able to finish in under 2 hours.

Next, we traveled to a house where the other group was working, and helped them finish organizing and fixing a Vietnam War veteran named Billy's house. While most of the group were working on Billy's house, Mark and Jack traveled next door to a nice Puerto Rican man's house and helped him with his yard work.  Jack mowed his yard while Mark clipped the edges of the fence.

Wednesday with Group 1

Today group one, consisting of Ed, Gayle, Amanda, Nick, Meredith (White), and John started the day off by watering the straw on top of the grass seeds with a type of glue meant to hold the straw in place.  We did the entire yard of the Habitat for Humanity House we've been working on all week.  In a foreshadowing of today's devotional we then spent some time washing the glue and straw off the bottom of each other shoes.  The soon to be resident of the house saw us out the window and when we came in commented on the symbolism of us washing each other's "feet".  Even the site supervisor allowed us to wash his shoes.
Once we had that accomplished, we entered the house and began the clean up for Friday: sweeping, sweeping, vacuuming again and again, until we could clear enough dust to pull up the cardboard over all the floor. To our surprise, our lunchtime devotional was then about Jesus washing his disciples feet.   How apt.  After lunch, we put clean booties over our feet and entered the house to seal the tile grout, clean the baseboards, etc. - - all trying to get the house ready for dedication on Friday.  The soon to be homeowner was there and just thrilled to see the newly installed carpet and the beautiful flooring hiding under the cardboard.  Another very important thing we did today was bring a simple ministry of presence as we sat and listened to her story of how this came to be. What a blessing it was to hear of God's work in the world through so many people.

Meredith White gets her feet (shoes) washed by Ed Tenant with Amanda Kuhn's help.

Ed Tenant gets his feet (shoes) washed  with John's help.

John's shoes washed by Ed.  The man in the back is Don, the site supervisor

Ed washes Nick's shoes

Wednesday June 18

Today Group 2, consisting of Meredith Srour, Charlotte Galbreath, Eric Van Brunt, Nelia Scioli, Jack White, and Lia Sohl, helped to clear debris from four different homes. The debris was mainly plastic bags, beer cans and bottles, cigarette boxes, and pieces of asphalt. While cleaning the trash from the yard of a house, we met an elderly lady who lived next door. She told us that she had lived in the New Jersey area for 50 years and was one of the only homeowners on her street whose house was not severely damaged during Hurricane Sandy. She later asked us where we from to which we replied Potomac, Maryland. Much to our surprise, she told us that her son primarily lives in Potomac off of Falls Road. It really is a small world! We had a lot of fun working together and bonding with one another and we are excited for our last day of work tomorrow.

Today part of Group 3 (Tommy Spies, Stefanie Baarman, Teddy Andrew, Charlie Nahabedian), went to three different houses and cleaned up debris and also weeded. It was a hot, humid day and most groups cleaned debris. While Group 3 was finishing up, a woman named Cathy came to our work site and took us to Johnny Fries for lunch. While in Johnny Fries, we met the owner, Johnny. It was a very delicious lunch. After lunch, Group 3 returned to the Moose Lodge where they hung out, waiting for the other groups to finish. At the end of the day, everyone except for Group 1 went to the boardwalk/beach. The girls went in the water while the boys stood and watched.

Group 4 and the rest of Group 3 also cleaned up small debris at various locations in Ortley Beach just north of Seaside Heights.

When groups 2-4 were done, our host Mike took us to the boardwalk and explained what had been repaired, what was completely washed away by Sandy, and work that still needs to be done.

More pictures from the second workday

Unloading donated tiles at the American Legion in Seaside Heights

The heavy lifting crew who moved drywall, organs, pianos, etc. at the American Legion so they could better use the third of their building that they have been able to renovate.

The American Legion movers

Moving sand displaced by Sandy to better grade this corner property

Water break "selfie"