Volunteer In Mission, Travel to Mississippi
The Church Is There
One of the residents in Mississippi said, “The only ones still doing work in the Biloxi-Gulfport area is the church.” As we dwell upon that powerful statement, who is “the church?” We are all the called ones; the body of believers gathered to worship Jesus (not the building in which we meet). So how were we called upon? First, information was printed in Trinity Topics about the mission trip. The youth and college aged young people got excited and said “we are going!” Two adults were excited about this special way to serve as well.
For two months we had time to prepare our minds for what all this trip would involve and what we might have to give up to go. We prepared by praying about this mission, paying our fees, and buying the necessary clothes, boots, and tools. The day after Christmas quickly arrived and we were ready to depart.
Our trip began by catching a charter bus in Beckley, picking up others and meeting a second bus in Charleston. We then traveled to Huntington, WV and gathered more volunteers. What a group of volunteers from the United Methodist Churches in WV we traveled and served with! Finally we settled in for the long drive to Chattanooga, Tennessee and spent the night there in a church. The next morning we were off on the next half of our journey with an 8 hour trip to Gulfport Mississippi. We settled into the Gateway United Methodist Church and spent the nights sleeping on air mattresses in supply rooms, Sunday school rooms and hallways. We were divided into work teams upon arrival and the next day we worked on roofs. A memorable part of the trip was when we took a tour of the area on a rainy day and saw the devastation still apparent from Hurricane Katrina. What a sight for us to see and still unbelievable after 16 months! We then worked on roofs the following two days and not only bonded with our group from Trinity but with others from United Methodist Churches in West Virginia and the residents of Mississippi. We spent New Year’s Eve in Mississippi and had communion with all the volunteers after a day of work. Communion was a very moving experience. The next day we departed and made our way back to WV traveling for two days – Whew! We found out this is the church.
We would like to close with the inspirational words from the song our youth wrote after our time in Mississippi. We hope it leaves you with memories from our service and open hearts….
“Mississippi where our hearts were filled.
It didn’t matter that we weren’t very skilled.
We went to serve for the Lord above.
Who blessed us with His grace and endless love.”
Thank you for your prayers and the monetary support from the following groups of our church: Trinity United Methodist Women, Christian Action Class, and UMW Circle #2. Thanks also to those who encouraged us along the way. We encourage others from Trinity and beyond our church to go on a conference work team to Mississippi. You will certainly be blessed beyond measure as we all were. The dates for 2007 Mississippi work teams are May 11 – 19, 2007; September 8 – 15, 2007; and December 29, 2007 through January 5, 2008.
“You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.” James 2:18 – The Message
The Mississippi Work Team from Trinity UMC: Emily Browning, Michael Browning, Cindy Crowe, Stephanie Crowe, Tyler Crowe, Daniel Haye, Pat Haye, Sara Haye, Amber Lusk, and Matt Smith
