Connecticut-North Carolina-Ohio-Pennsylvania

  This week we had a full house and no feeding team.  We had our grandson Matt with us so Ann really had not been planning on spending all her time in the kitchen.  Thanks to Tim and Vicki, some Union Church of Lavallette members and some rebuild volunteers she had the help she needed.  Everyone enjoyed the sing along each night with Pastor TR with the PA team, especially the action song “I Just Want to Be a Sheep”.  It has finally gotten warm enough for the volunteers to enjoy the beach after a long day of work.  We have picked the first fruits from our parking lot garden.  Some of our McElhattan UMC volunteers stayed for a second week and were joined by more members.  They split up into three work groups. A big thank you to Mary who came to serve. She is 87 and still serves GOD most every day.  Mary’s group worked to complete two small bungalows for a daughter and her mother.  They finished sheet rock, painted, hung tile board and cleaned up. The second group built a new front porch and steps for Rick to replace the ones washed away by Sandy.  They also took out an old bay window and replaced it with one donated by Home Depot. Group three helped at Pete’s to remove old flooring and replace with new plywood and tile.  They also redid his shower door which was installed wrong.   First Baptist Church, Drexel, NC came in on Saturday with a youth team.  They took a trip to NYC on Sunday.  This week they were able to meet Rob, the homeowner and help him tear out the floors in his home and treat it for mold.  This is a job that takes lots of energy.  During the week they became best friends forever.  On Friday they also help unload sheet rock for three homes.  Friendship Baptist from Connecticut also brought a youth team.  They started off their week by cleaning up two yards at homes which we are waiting on additional funding from other groups so we can start work on rebuilding them. Then they went to work on tearing out their houses.  They all followed some great leadership doing good work and wearing safety mask and goggles.  One of the youth became an adult on her mission tri and we celebrated her birthday. Our Grandson Matt, from Ohio, worked with this group during the day and played with them in the evenings.  I think he had a great first mission trip experience and made friends he will never forget.

We left on Saturday morning for a week’s vacation back home.  Please keep Tim and Vicki in your prayers as they are in charge of the NJ operation while we are away.