Day 5 at Dungannon 2014

Click for Day 5 Audio Podcast
Interviewer:  Clifton H. Poole
Featuring: Arthur Payne
Recorded:  July 30, 2014
Topics:  Pizza Hut, Warpath Bowling, jobsites, feelings, Walmart, power shopping.

It's day 5 of the mission trip and the 3rd day on the worksites.

Clifton's blog:

Two of the six projects were completed Wednesday afternoon.   Those crews will be reassigned to a new job starting Thursday morning.

(David, Stanley, Tanner, Amanda, Ms McDavid, Chris, Arthur, Kristina at the McDavid worksite)

The missioners had a shortened work day.  Why?  It’s hump day, the middle of the work week (only two work days remaining-yikes!) and the day we take a trip to Kingsport, TN.  At 4 pm, we all loaded into cars and drove the 30 miles to the Kingsport and visited the Wal-mart to ‘power shop’.  Power shopping is characterized by a 15-20 minutes mad dash to get selected personal items or goodies for the buddy bags.

(David, Arthur and Stanley with bowling shoes) 

After Wal-mart, we headed over to Warpath Bowling.  We invaded the local lanes for two fast games of bowling.  The Warpath has a wild color scheme and after the first couple of frames, the blue lights were turned on and we began to ’cosmic bowl’.

(Jack and a shy Haley at the Pizza Hut)

Pizza Hut was the next stop for our 54 hunger hungry missioners .  As we walked in the door, the staff was setting up our pizza bar.   Our party occupied 2/3 of the setting area and the din of hungry young voices soon began to drown out all other sounds in the restaurant.  We consumed 27 pizzas in the restaurant and for the first time, we did not bring any pizza home.  There will be a few disappointed tummies in the morning when there is no pizza available for breakfast.

Tomorrow morning is our annual pancake breakfast.  The adults wake up early to prepare apple sauce pancakes.

On a personal note, my tire did have a nail that caused the flat.  I purchased a kit and will repair it on the work site Thursday morning.

Day 4 at Dungannon 2014

Click for Day 4 Audio Podcast
Interviewer:  Clifton H. Poole
Featuring:  Michelle Searcy
Topics:  The Eucharist, worksite, freetime, feelings, wakeup, sleepytime,

Clifton's Blog:

Today was a very productive day at the Travis Kern worksite.  Our team (led by Michelle, Laura and me) is working a project with two decks and we making great progress (listen to the audio blog featuring Michelle Searcy to hear more about the worksite).  We are ready to install the flooring material on one deck and secure the floor joist on the other deck.

(Brianna, Michelle, Katrina and Laura)

We took a much needed break and spent part of the afternoon relaxing in the park.  We ate lunch and enjoyed friendly conversation before heading off to the store.  At the local lumber yard we purchased 12 - 8'x2"x4" boards and several varieties of decking screws.

We had a very late workday and did not arrive back to the Phoenix Center until 5 PM.  The team took a trip to Gates City to run a few errands.  Laura needed bread for the Eucharist and we had to visit several locations before we could purchase freshly baked bread.

After dinner, Laura led Eucharist in a local park near the center of town.  It is a great location because the worshipers can see the mountains and enjoy the beautiful scenery while in worship.  Also, we can be seen by our Dungannon neighbors as we worship.  During the lesson, many missioners shared examples of blessings they have seen witnessed while in Dungannon.  We were called to continue to look for blessing that reflects the teachings we've received and purpose God has for us.

I am experiencing many blessings on this trip.  Most of them occur when I am doing something that is a 'distraction' from the next planned task. The trip to Gate City today gave me a chance to talk with the other missioners without being concerned about the next step in our project or the amount of productive project time remaining.  We were in the moment and just enjoyed being in community with one another.

After the Eucharist, instead of returning to the center (free time, organize pictures or write this very blog), a few of us visited a local cemetery to say farwell to Mrs Gillenwater.  We worked on her home during the 2013 trip and recently learned she had passed away.  Our group shared a tender moment saying goodbye and remembering her as a warm and loving friend to the community.  Collectively, the missioners and she were blessed meeting her during that week in 2013.

Lastly, I always experienced some some type of car trouble and this trip is no different.  I had a flat tire to change before heading out to the jobsite in the morning.  Oh! the fun of mission work.

Day 3 at Dungannon 2014

Click to Play Day 3 Audio Podcast
Interviewer:  Clifton
Featuring:  Hannah Watts
Topics:  lesson, reflection, compline, early morning, late nights, recruiting, free time

This blog includes an excerpt from the reflection lesson on blessings; one of the four parts of the holy sacrament of The Great Thanksgiving.   Laura led an uplifting and inspirational session.  She asked the group to name one talent, gift of personality, or ability that they see in each one of their group members.  This attribute is the person’s blessing to the rest of the world.

Each missioner stood and the audience recommended the best word that described the person’s blessings.  The following are of the blessings our 54 missioners bestow upon the rest of the world:

teacher, guiding, nurturer, leader, approachable, intelligent, energetic, experienced, huggable, sweet, creative, accepting, knowledgable, kind, insightful, kind, happiness, personable, exuberant, talkative, calming, humorous, dedicated, dependable, open-minded, carefree, artistic, relaxed, peaceful, outgoing, outspoken, stoic, encouraging, warm, empathetic, committed, wise, healing, worldly, respectful, compassionate, understanding, patient, crafty, strong, humble, caring, mentoring, friendly, eager willing, welcoming, flexible, charismatic and inspirational.

(Ismeal, Evan, Maude, Haley, Nathan, Meg, Emily, Paul, Beau, Katrina, Elliot and Jack)

Today, we also recognized the 12 new missioners attending Dungannon for the first time.  Fun fact:  the total Dugannon experience represented by all the missioners on this trip is 134 years.  Our new participates will add their experience to that rich pool of talent.

We worked on six homes today.  The work ranged from painting and small repairs, building porches, replacing a bathroom floor, demolishing a small building, building a roof on an existing porch and replacing the entire lower decking and framing on a 30’ porch.  Oh, and that was just the first day.  We anticipate one of those crews will complete their first job on Tuesday and will be assigned to a new job site Wednesday morning.

In the evening, we celebrated Nathan’s birthday 15th with an icing covered pan of brownies.  He was surprised and only took 8 attempts to blow out the candles.

During a short ceremony we recognized 3 St Annes missioners on their 5th trip to Dungannon.  They were each given a tool bucket for their participation.

Day 2 at Dungannon 2014

Click to Play Day 2 Audio Podcast

Interviewer:  Clifton Poole

Featuring: Joe Flynn

Topics:  early morning, church services, hike and swim, reflection and reaction

Clifton Poole writes:

It's day 2 of the trip and the 54 missioners were awakened at 8:00am!

We ventured into the local community to attend services at the St. Patrick Catholic Church, the Dungannon United Methodist Church, the Freewill Baptist Church of Dungannon  and the First Baptist Church of Dungannon.  I attended the Catholic service and was invited by Father Jonathan to say a few words about our mission.  There were 15 in attendance from group and we were invited to share light refreshments with the congregation.

The missioners hiked the Little Stoney trail in the afternoon. Near the trail head, we enjoyed a swim in the frigid waters coming over the 3-story, Little Stoney Creek Falls.  More than 35 swimmer suited up and took the plunge.  The water was very cold this year and overcast skies did nothing to warm those sitting along the banks of the creek.
 

Laura started our reflection activities, teaching the importance of sacraments in the liturgy.  This week, we are focusing on the Great Thanksgiving, the act of taking, breaking, blessing and giving.  There was a lively hands-on activity that included “Play Doh” and the results was both interesting and revealing.

Everyone was assigned a secret buddy.  Small gifts, written notes or remembrances are placed in decorated buddy bags during the week.  Most of the youth took advantage of their first period of free time, to run to the Dollar General and purchase items for the buddy bags.  Job sites and work assignments were divided among the adult chaperones.

Adults from St. Anne's are leading 3 of the 5 jobs starting on Monday.  Three St. Anne's youth were assigned as assistant chaperones and will play an active role in the work performed during the week.

Day 1 at Dungannon 2014

Click to Play Day 1 Audio Podcast
Interviewer:  Clifton Poole
Featuring: Katrina Libera
Topics:  Commissioning, travel to Dungannon, Phoenix Center living, Carter Family Fold, mission trip trifecta, impressions and feelings.

Commissioned for Mission - Dungannon 2014

 

These happy faces belong to some of our Dungannon Mission Team. This mission trip involves youth and adults from several Episcopal churches. The team travels 400 miles from home to southwestern Virginia. During this week they will build, rebuild, and repair homes in and around the town of Dungannon. The work is coordinated by the Dungannon Development Commission. Fellowship and fun blend with good works.

Along with coordinating one of the site teams for the mission, Clifton Poole will send occasional messages. His interview with Katrina Libera will be posted later. Check back for Katrina's observations on the beginning of this trip!

 

Mission Trip to the DR 2014 - Day 9

We arrived safety at Puerto Plata.  All is well.

No podcast or video tonight.

Mission Trip to the DR - Day 8 Video (no Podcast)

Click here for Day 8 Video

Mission Trip to the DR 2014 - Day 7 Video and Podcast

Click here for Day 7 Video

Click here for Day 7 Podcast with Tim Barwick and Monica Webster

Mission Possible 2014 - Thursday Update

The Wednesday missions at Mission Possible were outdoors and physical! Our morning mission took us to the trail near Hunters Woods Pool to pull invasive English Ivy with the Reston Association's environmental team. The crew worked incredibly hard and may have set a new RA record for the longest piece of ivy pulled! 

We shifted gears in the afternoon for a mission at the Westglade Community Center, a center staffed by Cornerstones to provide a mix of educational, social, and recreational activities to the area residents. Our crew played basketball, football, soccer, wiffle ball, and a whole host of other games with several youth who live in that community.  

On Thursday morning we went to the Spirit Therapeutic Riding Center at Frying Pan Park. We divided and conquered to help with various projects to keep the center clean and safe. Some of our crew cut back vines and branches away from paddock fencing, others pulled weeds in the paddocks, and others mucked the paddocks. 

In the afternoon, we returned to St. Anne's to run the monthly distribution of food from our food pantry. This was a great chance to see the final step in our food pantry ministry; having seen where some of the food comes from at the Capital Area Food Bank, and also sorting and bagging our own items at for the St. Anne's food pantry on Tuesday, and today being able to hand these items out to our neighbors in need.