2011 VIM to North Alabama

 

Trip Report by Mary Ellen

NORTH ALABAMA MISSION TRIP WAS A HIT!

Early Saturday morning on October 29th, 9 sleepy adults met at the Oakland Airport at 5:30 a.m. to travel to Birmingham, Alabama on a Volunteers in Mission team. The remaining members arrived by Monday. We would be working under the direction of the North Alabama Conference Disaster Response in relation to tornado damage this past spring.

Celebrating from the St. Louis Cardinal World Series win, Steve Elliott (Asbury UMC) graced us at the airport by not wearing the Cardinal shirts he wore everyday of the series. As in the past, Steve organized and coached 12 type “A” personalities with love and patience. Ruth C. from Northfield, Minnesota accepted the call to prepare delicious and calorie-free meals as she has on previous VIM trips for Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ike, and Cedar Rapids.

We attended the First United Methodist Church of Sylvan Springs who welcomed us and provided us with lodging for the week. After church and lunch we visited the McWane Science Museum (similar to the Exploratorium in San Francisco) and The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. All of us would have liked to have spent more time at the Civil Rights Institute where the docent allowed us to tour after closing hours. It has not been that long since segregation existed in the United States, and we still have much to do for equality!

Upon our return from work on Halloween night, over 500 community members gathered at the church to enjoy a safe-free Fall Festival that included at least 10 inflatables for the children and a free meal for all. Some of our churches may want to duplicate this activity in the future. Every morning we were greeted with warm muffins filled with homegrown blueberries prepared by Dick and Marie, members of the host church who shared their poignant memories of the 1998 tornado that blew away their daughter’s home, damaged theirs, and killed 3 family members. Their adoption and love expressed to our team reflects their gratitude for the many volunteer teams who helped them and for continued teams who respond to the needs of the community today.

As manager of the All-Star Team, Steve supervised his subcontractors: Jeff C. (Lodestar [Jeff came as a direct result of our VIM trip to Camp Lodestar!]), Bob H. (Asbury), Doug H., Ron R., and Beth O. (LUMC). This team removed damaged sheetrock and debris from the ceiling at Lacey and Brenda’s residence in Jasper, Alabama. In addition to their loss in the tornado, Lacey is battling emphysema. Beth showed her magic with the taping for the team to mud and sand in preparation for painting. As a finishing touch, the All-Star team added crown molding. The team ventured over to Joe’s house to complete final repair after a large tree branch had pushed its way into the living room. According to Doug, pictures shared with the group showed the limb looking like the antlers of a large moose hanging on the wall.

Roger E., manager of the “A” team, served with fellow parishioners, Coleman J., Dick C., Art M., (Asbury UMC) and Mary Ellen H. (LUMC). The “A” team designed and built a wheelchair ramp meeting the ADA requirements at the home of Michelle and Shawn in Empire, Alabama. On this project we experienced some delays in the game: Coleman’s mishap with the chop saw, and 2 hours of heavy rain. However, victory was ours and the project was completed on the final day with the added players from the All-Star team.

Every evening we shared the experiences of the day and devotions. Steve began the week with the question “Is what you are doing in life successful or significant?” Ron, Jeff, and Mary Ellen followed similar themes regarding the teams’ gaining important and essential lessons, not hiding our talents, and emphasis on the “mission” aspect of our volunteering. During the last evening many shared the beauty amidst the rubble on this VIM team or previous ones. All in all, gratitude and grace and the intent to endeavor to make even a small significance in the lives of others and our own resonated throughout the week.

We express our sincere appreciation to our congregations who financially and prayerfully supported us, to the Sylvan First UMC for their warm welcome and the use of their facilities, and the homeowners who greeted us with humble and gracious hearts. The pleasure was ours!!!

 

Lynnewood United Methodist Church 4444 Black Ave. Pleasanton, CA 94566 Phone: (925) 846-0221 Office Hours: 9AM-2:30PM, Mon-Fri Email: office@lynnewood.org