Missions Blog

North Carolina Hurricane Relief - Travel and Day 1

Our fun, brightly colored missions team, who is partnering with Samaritan's Purse (SP) left TBC on Sunday morning for "The Cove", Billy Graham's retreat center near Asheville. We had a great trip down, with lots of laughing and sharing in our 15-passenger van. We arrived at The Cove at 5 PM and got checked into our rooms. Only one small hiccup...they did not have Paul B. on their list of participants for Samaritan's Purse, so he didn't have a room. It was a little hectic trying to figure out how it happened and what to do, but he ended up staying at a local Holiday Inn, hopefully only for a day or two.

We saw that we had a VERY tight schedule and had to be at the training center at 7:15 AM for devotions/worship, breakfast at 7:45 and ready to board our trucks/trailers at 8:30. We honestly had no idea what to expect, so when we met with the leaders, contractors, SP staff and about 20 other volunteers from all over the country to pray, they divided our group into 4 teams and we headed out. 

Linda U, Karen S, Tyler U, headed to a house where most of the day, they spent sledgehammering a tile floor and shoveling the remnants to be taken to the dumpsters. It was intense, loud work and maybe a little more than they initially expected, but they are ready to head back on Day 2 to see what project is next.

Boyd B, Paul B, and George went to a house that was just getting started with rebuild and renovation. They worked in the house removing moulding and then went outside to build a wooden retaining wall. The homeowner's driveway is over a small creek, and every time it rains, the driveway floods. They are working to stop that flooding and keep the driveway safe. They are going back on day 2 to add some gravel and make it stronger.

Stevie K and Regina S went to a house that will be dedicated this week, meaning that there will be a small ceremony and time praying for the homeowner as well as gifting them with a Bible and a journal. Their day was spent cleaning floors, baseboards, and appliances.  It will be exciting to see it all come together for the dedication day!

Linda J and Jonna M went to a house that is also nearing dedication, so there were just a few things to wrap up. Men from another team finished building a railing on a deck and on a set of stairs. It looks beautiful! The team lead told Linda and Jonna that the biggest help to him would be to inventory the SP tool trailer and organize it. It had been a bit of a mess, and he couldn't buy the new tools that were needed until everything was accounted for. So while they didn't have the physical work of some others, there was a lot of organizing, learning all about tools, and filling out the inventory sheet. The team lead was so thankful, as this will make it easier for the volunteers and contractors to find what they need in a quicker amount of time. 

Everyone got back to "base camp" around 5 PM for a quick shower and dinner at 5:45. After dinner, there was a time of sharing until 7 PM among all of the 5 teams that were sent out, and it was great to hear what the others accomplished during their first day. Everyone heads back to the same locations tomorrow to begin the next projects. Lights out is between 9 & 10 PM.  And everyone is totally ready to get some rest!

For our last day in Spain, Ken and Carolyn Muckle took our team to the historic city of Segovia, Spain.

There, we were able to visit the ancient Roman aqueduct, the former royal Alcazar castle and the cathedral  - the last Gothic cathedral built in Europe. We learned much about the history of Spain, the political and religious history as well. Ken and Carolyn shared a wealth of their knowledge from living and serving in this country.

We had a lovely lunch together and were able to debrief and discuss our week together. We praise God for our safety in construction demolition work, wall repair and painting, and safety in our teaching and playing flag football (futbol Americana) with the youth.

We are so grateful we could help with their youth camp, snacks, and clean up, and how God used our sharing of our testimonies, how Jesus transformed our own lives in the past. Our own faith continues to grow deeper through this experience.

We are thankful we could come encourage our partners with our presence. We pray they are strengthened for many days to come because of our visit.

As we head to bed late, we hope and pray for a smooth and safe trip home tomorrow.

Day 5 in Spain, after breakfast, we headed out to Cabanillas del Campo church for the Sunday sermon that Ken would be giving. We got there early and greeted all the members of the church including Rose and her kids, as well as the Alvarez’s!

We joined Federico and the church family in worship music, prayer, and encouragement. We took communion together, and then Ken gave his sermon on Psalms 42-43, talking about depression and finding joy in God. We ended the service with a brief hasta luego as we packed up some tables and headed to the nearby park for a picnic.

All the members of the church gathered at the park with food and spent time in community and discussion. The kids played together in the shade while the adults and our team members got to know each other. Before we left, we made sure to get one last photo with Fede and Lucia. We thanked them for their service in their ministry and prayed for them. May God be glorified. The Colussys gave them gifts that they brought for their whole family!

After packing up and heading back to the hotel, we got our tourist outfits on and headed over to the train station, where we would take a train to Madrid, and further to Sol, the central square of the city. We took photos of the wonderful architecture and scenery. We saw the Royal Palace of Madrid and the next door Cathedral, before heading to Plaza Mayor. This is where we got dinner - calamari sandwiches and empanadas!

As the sun began to set, we headed back to the metro to catch the next train to Sol, before sprinting to the shortly departing train back to Guadalajara!

Buenos días, señores y señoritas!

We began our day with our continental-style Spanish Breakfast Bar. Then we gathered on the patio for a team devotional and our planning meeting before heading out.

Cheryl, Dee, and Heather finished day three painting a bedroom wall in Rose and Chris’s home. We have removed wallpaper, spackled where needed, sanded, and painted. The guys joined in for the big reveal. What a transformation!

Then we headed off to a scrumptious lunch at 2 pm. This is the largest meal of the day in Spain, with appetizers, main courses, side dishes, and several desserts.

Siesta follows. Today, I think everyone took a nap. We have been working so hard all week, plus interacting with the teens, children, and adults.

Tonight was English Speaking Class with nine adults from the town of Cabanillas del Campos, Guadalajara, all the way to Madrid…. teachers, authors, architects, retirees, marathon runners, etc. What an enriching experience!!!

Hola! Today, we started off with the same amazing breakfast from our hotel. Clay led a Bible study about overcoming obstacles, and we talked about how sometimes you take a step when there is no ground underneath your foot, and the Lord places the ground beneath you before you fall. We prayed over our day ahead of us.

On our prayer walk, we prayed at the city hall of Cabanillas Del Campo and prayed over the city itself, the mayor, and the city officials to help the permit process of their new church. We walked through the town, stopping to pray for  Fede and Lucia, Chris and Rose, and their mission here. While at the cultural center, a woman named Marina stopped to talk, and we were able to share with her why we are here. She spoke English very well and mentioned she has little opportunity to practice, so we invited her to “Temas y Tapas,” the English conversation class we will host tomorrow evening!

After the prayer walk, the women went back to the home of Chris and Rose to spackle and paint, then we headed to lunch.

After lunch (which was the best chicken in the world!!!), we had some time to walk around Alcalá De Henares. We saw many historic buildings and learned so much history. We saw the building where Christopher Columbus asked the Queen if he could find a new route to India and started his journey to find the Americas. We learned a lot about the history of Catholicism in Spain and how, throughout the years, it has been ingrained into their culture, even though all of the churches here are poorly attended.

This evening, we went to the home of one of the families of the church for the last night of youth camp, and they had a swimming pool! Fede gave the closing message, and the kids played games and swam. We had a dinner of hot dogs and chips with s’mores for dessert. (A couple of these kids had never had a s’more) Heather gave her testimony, and it was even more amazing because she even did it en Español!!! Overall, we had an amazing day and are ready to see what tomorrow brings us.