Day 7 at Dungannon 2014

Click for Day 7 Podcast
Interviewer:  Clifton H. Poole
Featuring: Laura Cochran
Recorded:  August 1, 2014
Topics:  Wakeup, Front Porch Breakfast, Worksite, Management of job site, Devil Fork Trail  and Tool Pack-up

The end of day 7 is bittersweet.  The sweetest part of the day came at the completion of the work on the Kern home.  My team built two 8’’x6’ decks, hung and trimmed an exterior door and patched a hole in a sheetrock ceiling.

(Wesley, Elliot, Brad, Paul, Katrina, Joe, Michelle, Laura and Clifton)

The teens and adults on the site R - O - C - K!!  Without a doubt, we pulled off a monumental project this week.  Many of the team members had never built a deck before and our primary sheetrock person was learning OTJ (On The Job.)  I want to thank them all for their hardwork and hope to see them all out next year during the 2015 mission trip.

We also took a hike along the Devil Fork Trail to the Devil’s Bathtub, one of Scott County’s many, outdoor attractions.  A small group of us, about 17, took a 1 hour walk to the swim in the natural rock formation called the Devil’s Bathtub. We had a great time at the swimming hole and all of the teens braved the cold, cold water.

(Katrina and Michelle on the trail)

The bitter part of the day comes with the realization that we are leaving tomorrow.  I enjoy completing the work, but I would like to spend more time with the teenagers from my crew and just hangout.

The teens are out at the bonfire, singing, talking and just having a good time.  In about 20 minutes the lights will go out and end the 2014 mission.  All that remains is the ride home to NOVA.

Please listen to the audioblog and hear Laura's recounting of our last working day in Dungannon, VA.

Day 6 at Dungannon 2014

Click for Day 6 Audio Podcast
Featuring: Clifton H. Poole
Recorded:  July 31, 2014
Topics:  Reflection

Clifton's Blog:

Day 6 of the mission trip and we continued to make solid progress on all the projects.   Three projects were completed today and the teams working out in the community will likely complete their week performing maintenance on the development center.  There is a crew arriving on next week to tear down the main storage shed on at the Phoenix center and in its place a 40 'x 50' storage shed will be constructed.

(Michelle, Laura and Carol)

After the long day, the missioners relaxed by creating tie-dye t-shirts (sock, bandanas, or other things that started white. There was even one article that was black with small white dots but I am thinking that person does not understand the effect of dying lightly colored fabrics :-).  It is a frantic time where some very creative types design and execute intrigue patterns with 8 colors of dye.  The rest of us just pour dye on our shirts and hope for the best.

Warning:  your missioner is coming home with a wet article in a plastic ziplock bag.  The shirts were not rinsed and dried at the DDC as in previous years.  Please separate and rinse in cold water before washing with other articles of clothing.

Laura completed the lessons on the Great Thanksgiving and called us to live the holy sacrament by taking, blessing, breaking, and giving.  During the lesson when breaking was the topic the team members shared how they have been “tested” over the last 5 days.   More than 30 stories were shared of the challenges and struggles experienced after being ‘broken open”.

During the last part of the lesson, we were asked to recite a word or phase that exemplified the joy we received after “giving” our gifts to the community.  Some of the responses were: knowing when a blessing is inbound, talking with the homeowner, hugs from one another, getting to know the homeowner, supporting other missioner, seeing your job completed, meeting new people and being supported by one another.