Summer Mission Trip
West Virginia
July 23-30, 2011
2010 West Virginia
Missionaries Return with Grateful Hearts!
On Sunday, July 18th,
First Presbyterian Church commissioned 19 volunteers to be Christ’s hands and
feet in the world. In our prayer
together, these missionaries promised to be dedicated disciples by teaching
Jesus’ message, providing others in need with food and a safe place to live,
and specifically by traveling to Montgomery, WV for a week of service. Once again we partnered with the
Presbytery of West Virginia through a program called the West Virginia Ministry
of Advocacy and Workcamps (WVMAW).
Tim and Joan Stewart are the directors. Joan is the Pastor of Montgomery Presbyterian Church and Tim
is the on site coordinator. Aside
from the site in Montgomery, WVMAW supports 5 other sites across southern West
Virginia with access to the parts of the state devastated each Spring by flash
flooding.
This year our volunteers began the
week with an ecumenical worship service with other mission groups from New
Hampshire (one Episcopalian one Catholic) as well as the local Episcopalian and
Presbyterian Churches. We centered
our hearts and minds on worship and prayer to prepare for a hard week of work.
Bright and early on Monday, the
group traveled to Belle, WV to the home of Chuck and Sherry Casto. Throughout the week, our volunteers
helped to remove rotting wood from the eves, put up new fascia board, install
gutters, remove and replace 7 rotted windows, fix some roofing shingles, repair
ceilings with water damage and a LOT of painting! One afternoon, while our work was stalled by a downpour, we
sat on the Casto’s porch and watched as their dog had to vacate his dog house
(cinder blocks with a street sign as a roof) because even his house was
flooding! With Pierre and Roland’s
leadership, even the dog had a new house by the end of the week!
Aside from the hard work, we met
each day for a time of worship that was led by members of our group and
gathered for family style meals provided by our chefs Ralph and Adele. We also participated in a breakfast for
the homeless serving over 150 people!
A trip to the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine and the New River helped us
understand more about the culture of West Virginia.
Jesus tells his disciples in Acts
1:8 that we are to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the
ends of the earth. This means in
our own town (Jerusalem), in our country (Judea), in other countries (Samaria),
and to the whole world! How is First
Presbyterian living into Christ’s words?
One way is by sending missionaries to West Virginia. In the next year, let’s take Christ’s
words more seriously as we seek to be His witnesses locally, nationally, and
globally!
We would like to invite the entire
congregation to join us on the first Wednesday Night of the year to hear more
about our trip and watch our video.
We’ll be sharing some of our experiences and reflections. We hope you can join us!
West Virginia
Mission Trip Presentation
Wednesday,
September 15th
6:00 PM
If
you have a heart for mission we encourage you to get involved! Look for more opportunities to serve in
the upcoming year AND sign up for next year’s West Virginia Mission Trip: July 23-30, 2011.
Participants:
Swinton, Bill, Deidra, Mary Katherine and William Anderson, Daniel and
Amy Fallon, Eleanor Fleming, Nelle Pender, Frank Hamilton, Colin Kinton, Ralph
and Adele Martin, Kevin and Nathan McConnell, Pierre McGowan, Roland McIntosh,
Ashley Sanders, and Ann Widener
2009 West Virginia Mission Trip