Mission Mississippi Team Trip - Day 4

The work continues . . .

Work always involves great planing . . .


Everyone is working hard from the oldest to
the youngest . . .
Stacy was feeling a little blue at the end of the day . . .


John and Cody at another sight -- hanging doors


Meeting new friends . . . Dewayne from LA


We went out for Cajun Craw fish,
Shrimp, and alligator!! Wow was it good!

Until tomorrow. . .

Day 2 and 3

Day 2 began at load up at 9am and after a big breakfast at Shoneys we headed on down the road.

We arrived in Gulfport MS and had dinner at Applebees. What a great experience and our server, Adam, is going to come and work with us for a day this week.

After dinner we arrived at Camp Gospel, and unloaded and went to our room assignments. We arrived at Camp Gospel about 10:30pm. It's absolutely amazing how tired one can get just riding in the van.

Day Three began with rise and shine at 6:15am - yes you read that right! Breakfast was at 6:30am and we had our first Team Meeting and orientation at 7:30 with Pastor Greg Nitchman. We basically have four houses to work on. Today we focused our energies on one home - the Simpsons home.



We are siding the bottom half of the home, calking and painting it. Painting in the home is being done, as well as electrical, plumbing, and cabnetry work. Several have also worked on insulating the floor and tomorrow will nail plywood sheeting into place.



Tonight we had a delightful dinner here at Camp Gospel - ham, baked potatoe, corn, and cake for dessert! Tonight and Thursday, our group is responsible for kitchen and dinning room cleanup.

Tonight we are relaxing and tomorrow we get back on the job!

Have a great night everyone!

Mission Mississippi

2009 Mission Mississippi Team --- departure photo.















Eagle Ridge Camp and Retreat Center where we spent our first overnight -- just outside Bowling Green, KY.













Personal belongings and tools for 23!
















Arriving in the great state of Mississippi!!! Tomorrow we go to work!!!!

Mission Mississippi Team - Day One

The air was cool as the team gathered at 1:30pm in the Ransomville Free Methodist Church parking lot. 23 Team members are embarking on a mission trip to Pass Christian, MS, to help rebuild homes for those still living in FEMA trailers. We will be working through our local Free Methodist church there, and the Free Methodist National Ministry of Helping Hands. We anticipate working on the completion of three homes.

With the vans and trailer loaded, we had group prayer together and a group photo (will send the pics along later tonight once we have stopped moving). At 2:15 pm we pulled out of the church parking lot. We stopped several places alon the way for food, etc. Basically we have the old folks van, and the kids van. You will have to guess whom is in what van . . .

We arrived in Bowling Green, Kentucky, at Eagle Ridge Camp and Retreat Center at 3:30 am - safe and sound! Traffic in the surrounding Columbus area was heavy and slowed our progress dramatically. The camp accommodations were absolutely a ten!

Day Two began with rolling out of our sleeping bags at 7:30 am -- but more on that tomorrow . . .

Reasons To Be Connected -- Reason 9

Pastor Ray McGinnis and his wife Marge, live in community at Heritage Village in Gerry, New York. It has been my great privilege to have grown up in the shadow of this preacher from West Virginia -- in my humble opinion he is a great man of faith. Being from West Virginia, Pastor Ray has numerous "home spun phrases" that clearly communicate wisdom. One phrase that is constantly popping up in my journey of faith is , "we can do together much more than we can do alone"

Today's reason -- reason number 9 -- why it is so important to be connected, connected to God and to others is connections make us more productive!

Each of us wants to make a difference in this world in which we live. Our life's impact will be largely determined by the quality of our personal connections -- our relationships. The better connected to God and to others, the greater the impact you will make.

Who is a part of your posse, your team? Who will you seek to make a team member? How will you connect with someone else today, so that together you have maximum impact?

Reasons To Be Connected - Reason 8

It was my first day at school, not elementary, but seminary. I had come to the gym at Asbury Theological Seminary to register for my first semester of classes. Enrolling for classes wasn't new to me, but I had never enrolled here. Fear of failure and what lied ahead chocked me. Standing there trying to decide what to do, like run and hide, I sensed others near me. One of the group came up to me and began a conversation and soon we were talking and walking ogether through the maze of confusion.

Today's reason - reason number 8 - why it is so important for us to be connected, connected to God and to others is connections increase our confidence.

Rick Warren constantly says: "We are better together." The more spiritually connected we are, the less likely we will struggle with fear and insecurity. We gain assurance in knowing that others have felt the way we do and have survived what we are currently facing.

Who are the "others" in your life -- no not the people on the island, but the people on your island? Who can you come alongside of today and encourage?

Reasons To Be Connected - Reason 7

She seemed to be suspended at this precarious angle for what seemed like an enormously long time, and then she found her balance and regained her stable footing. My daughter Cierra is a gymnast. Of all the events that she performs the most difficult for her is the balance beam - this 6 inch wide piece of wood suspended in the air. I have trouble just walking a straight line let alone trying to do flips and hand stands - the mental image you have at this moment is not a pretty one -- neither is the one I have.

Today's reason -- reason number 7 -- why it is important for us to be connected -- connected to God and to others, is that connections help us balance our lives.

In each of our lives we need to find balance. Memory is our connection to the past. Vision is our connection to the future. Awareness is our connection to today. Without a connection to the past we become rootless. Without a connection to the future we are hopeless. Without a connection to today we without passion. Without a connection to God we are powerless.

How are you doing? Are you staying on the beam? Are you struggling to stay on? What are you doing today that will help you maintain and grow your bablance?

Reasons To Be Connected - Reason 6

Almost 30 years ago, July 1979, I was ordained in the Free Methodist Church -- it hardly seems possible. As I have taken moments recently to reflect I have been gently reminded that I didn't come to that point or to this point in my life, without people who have significantly impacted me. People like Elmer C. Cook, Walter Janowski, Carson Reber, Richard Snyder, Dr. Stanger, Lyle Schaller, Jeff Patton and a host of others, none the least of which is my friend and spouse Linda.

Today's reason -- reason number 4 -- why it is important for us to be connected -- connected to God, and to others, is that connections keep us growing!

Knowing the right thing to do is rarely enough to keep us doing the right thing over the long haul. We need partners to do it with us and encourage us when we feel like giving up.What an incredible experience to be a part of a team!

Who are the people who are connected to you? Who encourage and motivate you? Who will you invest your life in?

Reasons To Be Connected - Reason 5

Last night i was sitting in front of a warm fire with my laptop up and running, just enjoying catching up on friends through Facebook. I love the way it allows me to keep connected with those who are so important in my life. Then it happened . . .

My computer started flashing this warning. it must have been flashing unnoticed for some time because all of the sudden it shut off! My computer crashed! The horror! I was disconnected and I feared the worst. Virus? Hard drive gone bad?

What I discovered leads me to today's reason - reason number 4 -- why it is important to be connected -- connected to God and to others is that connections empower us!

What I discovered is that while I was sitting there my power cord had become disconnected. When I reconnected my computer, I was able to reconnect to the internet and to my friends.

Power flows through connections! A disconnected computer makes it difficult to connect to the internet. A disconnected toaster can't produce warmth. A disconnected stereo can't play delightful music. A single disconnected wire can prevent your car from taking on that much anticipated luncheon date (get to go as soon as I finish this blog!).

The same is true for us spiritually if we are disconnected from God -- we lose the warmth, beautify, power, and direction that God intends for our life.

What step do you need to take today to be connected to the ultimate power source?

Reasons To Be Connected - Reason 4

Linda, my bride of almost 29 years, loves to put jigsaw puzzles together. When she begins there are pieces everywhere and as you look at all the pieces you have no idea what it all means . . . it doesn't make any sense, just a jumbled mess.

Today's reason -- reason number 4 -- why it is important for us to be connected -- connected to God and to others, is that connections help us understand life!

Connections enlarge our perspective. There is a mystery to life, that can seem like a series of random unrelated events until one is able to see the connections. Like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces must be joined together in order for us to see the big picture. Information is useless unless we see how it connects to some part of our life.

Think of a time when thing you solved the "jigsaw mystery". How will this information, when connected to the reality of your day today, help you put the pieces together?