2007 Little Valley UMC Missions Trip
Chillicothe, Ohio
Jackson Area Ministries
August 11-17, 2007

The vans and truck are being packed...food is being collected...songbooks and clothes are being prepared and we're getting ready for our trip.  Thank for your prayers!

WE MADE IT!!!  All 13 of us made the trip just fine in our three vehicles.   We made some stops along the way to eat and enjoy the countryside.  We even enjoyed some cookies from home!  What a treat!

We were met by our friends from the Trinty UMC (Thanks!) and were given a tour of this beautiful church.  We have plenty of room to roam and explore.  We are looking forward to worshipping with our friends tomorrow and spending time with the McKell's at their house in the afternoon.

Bill and Steve H. went shopping for food for the week and the kids (and Jackie and Derek [Trinity UMC]) are playing nine-square in this great youth room.

Our work begins on Monday morning, but tomorrow we get to go and look at the worksites and plan our days.  We'll be ready to work on painting, building, and cleaning as we are led.  We brought a host of tools with us and are looking forward to using them (BTW - we know where the hospital is, just in case).

Send us an e-mail to let us know you're thinking of us.  We'll share it with the group...

Today was our first day of work at our work sites.  Early in the morning, we had breakfast as a group and then Jackie led us in devotions.  Psalm 37 - ...may the words of our mouths and the meditations of our heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord...  We were prepared for a great day of work.  The temperature, though, reached 95 today, so we had to be careful with the time outside and be sure to drink lots of water.

Project #1 was to build a wheelchair ramp for Charlie and Marlena.  Charlie is in his early 40s and is undergoing his 6th back surgery.  This next one (within the next week or so) will be the most dangerous.  Charlie has a 50/50 chance of being paralyzed after surgery.  The risk is worth it due to the massive painkillers he is on.  We were glad to be able to help them.  Our day was complete when we had the opportunity to talk with Marlena and pray with her on the new ramp we built.  She was very thankful and thanked the Lord for us coming.  Workers on this job were Steve ans Steve, Ben, and Derek and Derek (from the Trinity Church).

Ben, Derek, Steve, and Steve made their way to a site 30 miles to the west to start work on a new project - and quite the project it is.  Work on this mobile home has been an on-going job throughout the summer.  Bill, the owner of the land, had a car accident a number of years ago and has been unable to work, after jobs as a stone mason.  Then, in October 2006, a flood devastated everything he owned, including his house, property, and, basically, his life.  He bought a used mobile home and had it moved to the site, but it is in great disrepair.  Bill has a great spirit and loves to talk with us.

Our job included removing and replacing parts of the floor that were rotten, installing paneling on an interior wall, and installing a temporary window to keep put the rain.  We also had some furniture to move, that was donated to Bill from another ministry.  Our time here was difficult due to the state that the property was in after the flood.  Bill had 4-5 dogs that kept us busy and we enjoyed a great lunch by the river that runs next to the site.

Project 2
Jackie, Janine, Stacy, Carissa, Bill, Bonnie, Abby, Makali and Jessica  went back to painting rooms. We worked a little extra but was able to finish 5 rooms. We all worked well together but we did start to get a little silly by the end of the day.  The family shared with us, some of their life story (which was filled with hard ache and trials) and we were able to talk about the strength that the lord provides.

In the evening, we all went back to Bill and Peggy McKell's house to enjoy another evening at the lake, with a baseball teamm from Hungary.  We swam, ate, played in the yard, and had s'mores around the campfire.  We got to bed early because tomorrow is another hard day of work. :)

Steve and Steve finished up work at Bill's mobile home north of Bainbridge, OH and were able to get the furniture inside before tonight's rain.  We bid farewell to Bill, who was off to have another MRI on his spine.  He poured out his thanks for us helping him and we encouraged him as best we could.

After lunch on the road, Steve and Steve headed to the home of Gladys, a 93-year-old in Chillicothe who needed some repairs to the tile in her bathroom.  After a quick check of the project, we headed to Lowe's to get some supplies and then headed back to Gladys' house.  We did what we could to fix the tile, but eventually it will need to be replaced wholesale.  Gladys had a Macaw named Tigger who could talk.  When we bid Gladys farewell, Tigger also responded with a hearty "Bye-Bye"!

The rest of the crew headed to an elderly lady's home where we pulled weeds and trimmed her bushes. There was much poision ivy, but so far no one is itching. Thank you lord!! She was very sweet as she made us cake and lemonade. Her husband died about a year ago and many of her friends passed away. We were able to pray with her to help her with her losses. After lunch, we went to another elderly lady who needed her lawn mowed and her porch stained. Ben did a great job of mowing while Makali and Jessica painted old milk cans with Bonnie's supervision. Carissa and Abby stained the porch. Bill helped Jackie edge the lawn and Derek/Janine swept the driveway. Poor Stacy was stuck trying to clean brushes. We learned never to put turpintine in a plastic cup. It was 90 plus degrees and we were all hot and sweaty by the end of the day.

This is our final day of work, and oh boy(!) did we work!  We were all set for rain, but the forecast changed in the morning to sunny and HOT.  At the work sites, the temperature came very very close to 100 degrees.  Our first stop for the day was at the home of a couple who is elderly (80s) and the wife is battling cancer.  Our job: the paint their house.  We had a fairly large crew for this job, including Steve and Stacy, Janine, Bonnie, Ben, Derek, Abby, Makali, and Jesse.  The house was in good shape and we didn't have to do any scrapping.  After some minor cleaning, we started into our first gallon of paint.  Six hours later and five more gallons of paint, we had a complete paint job, lots of sweat, and some sore muscles.  The husband was wonderful and helped when he could.  We had to avoid some (MORE) poison ivy, but had a great time. 

When we were finished, we were able to pray with the husband and for his wife.  He thanked us and blessed us for all that we did.  We felt good about helping another family in Chillicothe.  Here's a picture of the house when we were done.


Steve, Jackie, Bill, Ben, and Makali started the day weeding and cutting down trees for an elderly lady and her daughter. Once again there was poision ivy-yuck! Anyways, we were able to talk to them about going to church and the importance of a church family. Thanks to our church family we were able to brag about how the church family effected all of our lives. After meeting up with the other group for lunch, Steve, Jackie and Bill began yard work for another elderly lady. The temperature was 100+ and after a long week, we all will be glad to come home to Little Valley, NY.

13 people...7 days...870 miles...4 geocahces...lots of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners...many cans of Ski...lots of water...100 degree temperatures...9 projects COMPLETED...prayers offered to every family helped...relationships with the Trinity UMC strengthened...people grown closer...lots of 4-square, 6-square, and 9-square...427,658 poison ivy plants...paint, nails, wood, weeds, and fun.  It's all in a days work for the Missions Team who went to Chillicothe, Ohio and brought back tons of memories and a love for each other and the people we served.  And it was all in the name of JESUS!

We made it home at 5pm today, and we are thankful for all the blessings that were poured out onto us this week.  We would like to encourage everyone who is able to join in the fun on a future mission trip.  Thanks to everyone who donated their time and money for this trip.  We were transformed and the people we served were transformed.  God is good!