Final Thoughts on the Mission Trip

One more mission trip in the books - and what a trip it was! I came home from Nashville physically tired from the work, but equally as tired from all the laughter and joy our group shared. (I swear, I should have a six-pack from laughing so much) That's the beautiful thing about these trips. The work is always paralleled and strengthened by an undeniable sense of fellowship with your fellow workers. You get to know people beyond the facade you see on Sunday mornings. It never fails that I am spiritually renewed after a mission trip. It is an amazing thing to see Christ working through others in their actions, words, and attitudes. The hands and feet of God are not limited to just our mission team, though. This work shows the true character of people I have never met and may never see again, but still they strengthen me. They give me faith - faith in tomorrow, because there is nothing a group of people working through, and for Christ, cannot accomplish. I look forward to many more trips and experiences in the future, and all the things I will surely learn in the process.

Amy

I'm so glad I went on the mission trip. A few days before we left, I was reluctant to going because all of my friends were going to the beach together and I'd be missing out. But, I stuck with my choice to go and I definitely don't regret it! It was so rewarding seeing the progress we made building houses and knowing that these people can have their homes back because of our work. I will MOST DEFINITELY be attending the next mission trip with FCC. I'm so glad I had this great experience as my first mission trip because it makes me want to do more. Thanks to everyone who contributed to allow me and the rest of the mission trippers to go to Nashville!

Darby

As long as I have had a car and driver license I have had a deep affinity for the road trip. Driving long distances often by myself has always given me the chance to meditate on my being and drown out the noise of the outside world. The road trip starts a few days in advance with the creation of the soundtrack of the trip. In years past this was a daunting feat of dubbing tapes, burning CDs and hoping that what I will want to listen to or what will speak to me is included into the numerous volumes. In this age of technological advances this process has become much easier but no less important.

After a beautiful Saturday relaxing and lazily floating the Illinois River with great friends, it was time to get on the road for the next adventure. As I left the comforts of friendship and got on the road for Nashville I pressed shuffle on the Ipod and decided to let the first few hours of music choose its self and simply let go in thought. The mix jumped from genre to genre, a little bluegrass followed by some rap followed by some classical pieces followed by some heavy metal and so on…. As the music played my mind drifted to the past mission trips, mentally preparing for the physical and emotional exhaustion that only a mission trip in a disaster area can provide, at this time the music was second to the mind.

Arriving to the church that hosted our group a brief moment of anxiety swept over me, knowing only my sister and brother-in-law I wondered what the other eight individuals in the group would be like, if their personalities would mesh with mine, if their work ethics would mesh with the task ahead, if the group would mesh with each other. Within minutes of meeting the group and settling into my new temporary home I knew for me and for the group that it was going to be a great week of service.

As we entered into each person’s house we were met with unique challenges and obstacles that needed to be faced to complete the task at hand. Although the differences were apparent in each house, the common thread in each house was that they were someone’s home. As the group I was working with started the first day, the owner of the house told us that she had been raised on that property and that the house we were working on had been moved to the land over 50 years before. A lyric from the drive the day before soon resonated through my mind’s speaker “Tear down the house, that I grew up in, I’ll never be the same again, Take everything that I’ve collected, and throw it in a pile.” This song by the Avett Brothers has spoken to me in the past for many different reasons, but on this day this songs first lyrics hit a new chord within me. We had been told that this owner had been a hoarder, knowing that about her then finding out that she had lived on this property her entire life I could not imagine the feelings of pain and loss that she had been experiencing for the last year.

Being the first mission trip with my sister in more than a decade, I was reminded of our childhood when our Mom would travel to Central America for mission trips, at my age I never really understood where she was going or why she was going. She would always return home with stories of weeks without running water, eating food we would never imagine eating and having their bus boarded by armed militia members. These stories instilled in me the belief that mission trips were not meant to be easy or comfortable, they were to push us out of our comfort zone and walk with those less fortunate. One night in Mississippi shortly after Katrina the mother of the house I was staying at was trying to thank those of us that came to volunteer, she kept saying, we don’t have a choice in being here, this is our home, thank you for giving up your comforts to join us in this situation. These words speak to me each and every trip since that experience, meaning to me that service is not only about the job of rebuilding someone’s home but also easing the emptiness and loneliness that someone feels as they see all they’ve worked for and collected thrown into the trash pile.

As the week progressed and the exhaustion of the day’s work started to mount in each of us, the reasons for each person’s participation became very honest and apparent. Those that approached the trip with the meaning of using their skills to help those that have lost everything continued through the week with little hardship. Those that approached the trip with the hopes of being surrounded by like-minded individuals and looking for affirmation of self and faith hit the proverbial wall early and hard. Disaster areas are unforgiving and brutal; if you approach them with hopes of feeling better about yourself you will not survive emotionally amongst the brutal honesty that devastation brings. But at looking at the tasks at hand and plodding through them, that happiness will come later when you can look back and process what you have learned about yourself and about those you served and served with. As the days went by I found it to be more of an honor to be serving with the group from First Christian as everyone congealed into a cohesive unit to serve the people of Nashville and let personal expectations and wants aside for those truly in need.

Leaving Nashville Friday afternoon, I found myself stuck in traffic the first twelve or so miles out of Nashville, for over an hour I sat at a near standstill. As much as I was ready to get home and as much as I wanted to set the cruise on 85 and fly off into the oncoming states I was slowed to a crawl. As the initial grumpiness and not so nice words left my mouth in exhaustion, a song came on the shuffle and my mood changed from irritation to reflection, “ I welcome the sun, the clouds and rain, the wind that sweeps the sky clean and lets the sun shine again. This is the most magnificent life has ever been. Here is heaven and earth and the brilliant sky in between. Blessed is this life and I'm gonna celebrate being alive.” I started to think how lucky I was to be able to drive home to my house that may be messy, but the mold only grows in the half gallon of milk in the fridge and not in the walls. I started to read the notes that each of us in the group wrote to each other. Having only known most of these people for six days a bond and friendship had been made between each of us through our willingness to work hard and serve complete strangers, each note brought a smile to my face and recent memories of each person and what we had worked on together flooded my mind. Thoughts of the conversation with the City’s Volunteer Coordinator and his statement that if Tulsa ever was devastated by a tornado or flood to expect a phone call from him and that he and his wife would arrive shortly after to volunteer in the rebuilding. This almost brought a tear to my left eye. Almost.

After a few days of being home the exhaustion and soreness has passed, but the memories and friendships will last well into the future. I look forward to seeing each and every member of our team again and find comfort with the feeling that each of them would lend me a hand in my time of need as I would happily lend a hand to them in theirs.

Craig

This mission trip was a real eye-opener for me. In the beginning I thought we would be working in very low income areas that had been affected by the floods. Once we got to some of the job sites, I realized that was not necessarily the case. It occurred to me that these were middle class people like myself that had been affected. So often I have taken for granted how blessed I have been and thought it would never happen to me. I have witnessed that disaster can strike anyone, anywhere. This trip has definitely made me more appreciative for what I have been given and opened my eyes to how blessed I am.

Amanda

Thursday Funday

Thursday of the mission trip held many adventures in store for our group. We began the day working on our respective projects. Michael and Nancy returned to paint at Ms. Lauree’s, Amy Z., Craig, Darby, Evan, Jack, Elise, and Laura returned to Ms. Vel’s house to finish hanging drywall, and Amy L. and Amanda went to Mr. Enrique’s house for clean-up and potentially demolition. Around 11:30 we all returned for showers and to get ready for our Trolley Hop in downtown Nashville. The group loaded the trolley and began our tour of such sites as the Ryman Theater, the Parthenon, the Fisk Museum of Art, and the Country Hall of Fame and Museum. One group learned that hopping is really not to be desired on a trolley tour. Note for the future: stay on trolley at all costs. Do not get off the trolley, or this becomes a walking tour. :D After shopping and snacks, we met up for dinner at the Big River Brewery for a delicious dinner. We then returned to the church for a closing worship led by the DHM interns where we washed each other’s hands as a symbol of service to one another. A great end to another great day!

Amy Z.

Live from the Ryman Theater: The Mission-Trippin' Trio with their hit song: Shade Sittin' and Water Sippin."
The Amazin' YADS: We'll miss you

Yummy dinner at The Big River Brewery with the lovely Steve from mission trips past.

The whole group in downtown Nashville after dinner.

The Nashville Trolley Tour... not to be confused with a walking tour.
An exact replica of the church where we are staying... not really, it's an exact replica of the Parthenon... in Nashville, TN

MORE RAIN!

We have been working on Ms. Lauree's house for three days now. Ms. Lauree is a native of Nashville. In fact, she has lived her entire life on the property she lives on now. She was getting her roof repaired when the rains came that led to the Cumberland River flood of 2010 and is now getting help from the Southeast Nashville Flood Recovery. SENFR is the agency that selects homes to repair and connects both building materials and volunteers that allows the rebuilding process to take place. Disciples Home Missions is working very closely with SENFR this summer.

We have contributed quite a bit to Ms. Lauree's re-build. Today, Rev. Laura and Amy Lester finished a big landscaping project using some pretty big rocks. Amanda Price, Nancy Chapaneri and Rev. Michael did sanding, trimming and painting in the living room and main bed room. A strong mid-afternoon thunderstorm cooled things down and ended our work day a bit earlier than normal. But no one was complaining as the work was quite hard.

Everyone who has worked at Ms. Lauree's this week has been taken in by her dynamic, vivid personality. She is 72 but moves around like she's half that age. An avid bowler, she won 4th place at a recent tournament. And she's an active member at Payne's Chapel AME, scarcely going more than a few minutes without praising God and giving an "Hallelujah! God is good today!"

Michael

Today the "Dream Team" returned to Vel's house (Monday's house with the pungent odor). We cleaned up, dry-walled, and did lots of dancing to say the least... We learned a lot today about hanging dry wall because not only does it require every bit of strength you have to hold it up, it also requires team work. Whether you are holding nails, holding up dry wall, or screwing the boards into place, you are an important part to rebuilding Vel's home. Vel was also very gracious in giving us Klondike bars while it hailed outside! We were excited to see lots of progress and that our hard work and team work really does count.

Darby

Pictures of our day... Ms. Nancy painting Ms. Lauree's bedroom...

While it was pouring down rain, Amy and Laura helped inside.

Amanda and Michael painting the ceilings in each room - how'd you work around that fan?

Our work space was tight at times. All three of us painting in one corner!
The finished landscaping job outside Ms. Lauree's house. Amy and Laura found and dug up almost all of those rocks from around Ms. Lauree's yard - we might open a landscaping business.
Ms. Nancy and Ms. Lauree before the rains started!

The Dream Team posed outside of Vel's house.

Charlie's Angels? They just might be with those drills!

Jack working on dry wall with Dwight, a Long-Term Volunteer for Disciples Home Mission.

Amy and Jack - good teamwork!

Evan holding up drywall until the rest of the team can screw it in.

Elise making some precise measurements for the drywall.

Rain Can't Keep Us Down!

The old adage "a little rain never hurt anyone," took on new meaning for us today. It rained on us all as we tried to continue our work, but we recognized that a lot of rain did hurt all those who we are helping this week. While we welcomed the rain because it was refreshing and cooled us off as we worked our various jobs, we recognized that it also caused all this destruction and the need for us to be here in the first place. Much like our own choices, this rain can be incredibly destructive OR it can be very refreshing and rejuvenating. We trust that by being here and working as the Body of Christ, the Holy Spirit will guide us in our choices that we are "refreshing and rejuvenating" to others, and especially to others in this Body of Christ. We already feel like we've learned so much, from new skills, to learning new things about our friends, to learning more about our own relationship with Christ that we are definitely being rejuvenated by our experience here this week. And we still have three more days to go!

Craig directing Michael in all the ways of fascia and its proper installation. Helpful... as always.
Laura carrying one of MANY rocks that she and Amy dug up from the yard so as to line the flower beds.
Amy, providing some "man-power" to install more fascia.
Michael and our team leader Jesse, cutting fascia on our new favorite tool called a "break."
Amy and Laura showing off their hard work on one side of the flower beds.
The "Dream Team" posing in front of some lawn ornaments at their house.
Removing drywall - the house had not received any work/labor since the floods arrived in May 2010.
Elise takes out some frustration on a piece of ceiling drywall.
Amanda and Amy Z - "clean up, clean up, every body do your share...." and smiling underneath it all.
Watch Out! Darby's got a sledge hammer and she's not afraid to use it!
Amy and Nancy assess the situation and the best way to get all this debris outside.

Keep checking back for more!

Rev. Laura and Amy Lester

All in a day's work - Day One

Hello, from Nashville. Today, we completed our first day of work, and what a day it was. It started off with a delicious breakfast and an early departure. After a quick meeting between mission leaders, our BR, LA group was divided between two job sites. The first group was comprised of Amanda, Elise, Darby, Nancy, Evan and Amy Z. Their main focus was to "de-popcorn" the ceiling in their homeowner's house. From all accounts, the work was a great start because the work wasn't too difficult, but prepared everyone for what's to come the rest of the week. The second group, was sent across town to Ms. Lauree's house. Jack, Michael, Laura, Amy L. and Craig worked on a hodgepodge of different tasks - mudding drywall, quick-creting porch posts and landscaping. Luckily, it stayed in the 80's so we weren't too hot working outside! We met back up at the church for showers, dinner, devotion and a mean game of Farkle! Note: We'll be posting the winner and loser of our epic Farkle battles daily. Winner: Amy L. Loser: Craig.

Tomorrow, the groups get mixed up and sent to new job sites! Keep reading!

Amy L.



Day 1: Lauree's house (hodgepodge)

Craig and Jack handled the drywall. Jack didn't just supervise, we swear.


Amy L., Laura, and Michael trimmed, removed, and transplanted a TON of monkey grass.


When lacking motivation, ice cream helps!

The group wait for job site assignments

FARKLE!!!!!!!

Dream Team-Day 1...De-Popcorning the Ceilings

Nancy Chapaneri's first mission trip...walking the Christian walk, not just talking the talk!

We affectionately started calling the debris "popcorn poop!"

Darby...the self-appointed "Popcorn Scraping Queen."

The group with our lovely home owner, Vel, who provided a special treat, Klondike Bars, for the group! Our fearless site leader, Dwight, and DHM intern, Will, are also pictured with us!
Way to go Dream Team!

Here's......

...the mission team!

We've made it safe and sound to Nashville.

After an early start on our way to Nashville, several rest stops, lunch at a fireworks stand and some all around fun in the cars on the way here, we arrived just in time for dinner and orientation. We were welcomed by the long-time volunteers that give up their time for several weeks at a time during the summer so that other volunteers like us can come be a part of this recovery. We are excited about what we will be doing this week and look forward to the ways that the Spirit will lead us, the ways that God will move us and to the ways that we can be the Body of Christ here and now.

Let's meet the mission team!

Jack (Not yet pictured): This is Jack's third mission trip at FCCBRLA. This trip is the first since graduating college, and he is looking forward to what he hopes will be a spiritually fulfilling experience.
This is Darby's first mission trip with FCCBRLA. She is excited and looking forward to new opportunities and experiences!

This is Rev. Laura's 3rd mission trip with FCC. She is looking forward to teaching the "newbies" how we "Get Dirty for Jesus" and all the ways that our group bonds throughout the trip!

Rev. Michael has been on several mission trips with FCC but each one presents a new opportunity. He looks forward to the ways the Spirit will move and an opportunity for some real hands on work!

Elise continues to be a "regular" on the FCC mission trips after going on many during her HS years. We are thankful Elise is able to join us and hope this week will be a great experience before she sets off on her new journey in law school.

This is Evan's 2nd mission trip with FCCBRLA. He also went on the mission trip to NOLA in 2010 and is excited that he has this opportunity to help others.

This is Nancy's first opportunity to join the mission team from FCCBRLA. Nancy is excited about the new opportunities to serve others - whatever those opportunities will look like.

Craig is Amy Z's brother and is joining our group from Tulsa, OK. We are excited to have him join our group and extra excited for his skills and expertise in carpentry! :D

This is Amy's second mission trip with FCC. She is happy that her parents are in town to keep the kids so that both she and Michael can go on the trip. She is looking forward to having a great week with everyone, especially the CYFers!

Amy has been a member of FCCBRLA since she was ten. She has attended many mission trips all over the country and Mexico. She is looking forward to some hard work and fellowship in Nashville.

Amanda has been on many different mission trips with FCC and each one has touched her and opened her eyes in a different way. She is excited and ready to see what God has planned for her this time!

Thank you to all who have supported us and helped us get here. Your donations, your prayers, your support, your EVERYTHING has been instrumental in getting us to this place. We are thankful that we can be the church, we can represent FCCBRLA here in Nashville, doing God's work and showing God's love in all the ways we are able.

We can't wait to post more pictures and share our trip with you!

Rev. Laura