We go where we are called….(an intermission from the DR trip)

St. Anne’s short-term missions build on its commitment to serving God in the community and the world. Our church family is providing spiritual and financial support for more than 70 people to participate in missions in 2009. With some trips, we see the results of our handiwork right away (a finished renovation or repaired wall) but usually the work continues after we’re gone. Sometimes it’s not clear what we’re accomplishing. So, we remember that each of us has been called, specifically, by God to participate in the mission. We may not know why but He does – and that’s enough!

I thought it would be useful to provide some background and a summary of St. Anne’s 2009 mission trips so that you can see where God called us to be this year.

Dominican Republic
When Father Jim became rector at St. Anne’s in September, 1999, he came with the dream of taking a team of St. Anne’s parishioners to the Dominican Republic. That dream was realized in the summer of 2000 and has continued as an annual trip. Including the Mission Team of 2009, more than 65 people (youth and adults) have participated in this trip, many of them have gone more than once.

The teams have built fences, hauled and laid concrete block, painted many walls, mixed concrete by hand, pulled nails from forming wood, sewn mattress covers for camp, shoveled piles of sand and gravel, taught Vacation Bible School lessons to 150 children at a time, learned Spanish songs, taped up hundreds of coloring pages, and strung thousands of beads. They have helped build a church, rebuilt a house, constructed a bathroom and built a roof.

Most importantly, the teams have also given and received “la paz de Cristo,” the peace of Christ, in four Dominican Episcopal Churches. The opportunity to serve our sisters and brothers in Christ is certainly a grace-filled experience. Far more grace-filled is the feeling of receiving more than was given. The relationship forged between St. Anne’s and the people of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic is a gift from God.

From June 28 to July 7, 11 adults and teens are working with the church in Santiago to refurbish the church and conduct VBS.

New Orleans
In 2006, St. Anne’s sent a men’s ministry team to work on the cleanup process in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. They spent a week “mucking out” mud, pulling down ceilings and doing other demolition work. We decided to follow this up in 2008 and 2009 with a construction team made up of skilled craftsmen and less skilled workers. We worked on homes to complete “finish work” including trimming out doors and windows, painting, and removing and installing floors. We developed a great relationship with the local homeowners and the teams permanently working for the Diocese of Louisiana and have even provided a permanent member of the diocesan recovery team! More than anything else we do, the people we help treasure the knowledge that someone else cares and that they are remembered.

In February 2009 (right AFTER Mardi Gras!), 10 adults worked on finishing two homes.

Philadelphia
The Philadelphia mission trip takes St. Anne's teens and adults to work and play with inner-city kids as part of a summer program. This is a continuation of our Atlanta trip, started in 2004. Our teens learn to think about what they have to offer others in terms of their time and talents while the children in the summer program benefit from energetic and enthusiastic teenagers who provide them with new activities and new perspectives for the week. We have been told that the children we play with will remember us for the rest of our lives - that someone cared enough to spend time making crafts and playing sports just with them.

In June 2009, 10 adults and teens work with preschool and elementary age children to get their summer started. We taught them some new games and crafts and helped them make Independence Day cards for veterans at the local VA Hospital (because everyone can help someone else).

Dungannon
For more than 15 years, St. Anne’s teens have gone with teens of other Region V churches to Dungannon, VA, in the southwest corner of the state. There, we build or repair homes for elderly, handicapped, or other needy people in surrounding Scott County. The poverty in the Appalachian region remains great, with continuing loss of jobs. In addition to making and keeping friends in Dungannon, we learn to live under one roof with a large group (typically more than 50). With both new and returning teens, as well as college-age adults, and chaperones, we have multiple levels of jobs for team members. Older teens show younger teens “the ropes”, assistant chaperones (college-age) take charge of different tasks on a site – teaching and guiding the teens working with them, and adults fill in where needed. The people we help with are rich with their own stories, music, and families and they share them freely with us. We know that many of the repairs we make are temporary, but they keep our new friends in their homes through another winter. We trust that God will provide what they need when they need it and we are glad to be His instruments.

In August 2009, we expect to send 20 adults and teens along with 30 others from St. Timothy, Herndon, St. Thomas, McLean, and St. Francis, Great Falls.

Mission Possible
In 2008, St. Anne’s started Mission Possible to provide day mission opportunities for middle school-aged youth. Mission Possible is a week-long experience in July in the local area. Starting with some team-building activities, the adults and youth then serve in a variety of ways – helping with food pantries, making and distributing food, working with elderly, and helping other local ministries that need engaged hearts and hands.

In July 2009, more than 20 youth are expected to participate in the second Mission Possible camp.

Thank you to St. Anne's for supporting all of these missions - it is you that send us out and make it possible to be God's hands and feet.

- Susan F.