2022 Madisonville Kentucky


Mission Trip 2020, Taylorsville, Illinois

Mission  Trip 2022, Madisonville, Kentucky

      Different place, same mission:  mending broken







houses and broken lives.  Or in many cases no house at all, just a concrete slab where a house used to be.  Shortly before our trip I happened to see a news story on NBC Nightly News about the tornado that came through Mayfield, KY and the aftermath, even 6 months later.  That same storm brought a tornado through towns just south of Madisonville.  And the story is much the same -- that many victims are still in need of desparate help to get back on their feet.  After their lives were changed in an instant.  

  The trip down.    

    Let us pray for all those who couldn't make it on this trip after expressing initial interest.  Life does happen, and we hope to see you on a future mission trip.  Most of us who were able started the trip by loading into the rental vans at Old Union at about 11:30 am. We ran into many bumps in the road, figuratively and literally. The rental vans as usual did not provede us much protection from the seemingly endless array of bumps and holes in the highway.  Our first stop was for lunch about two hours into the trip, which took an EXTRA long time because of slow service. We also ran into rain a few times, it was pouring so hard at one point that we could barely see the car infront of us. When we could see there were many wonderful sights, everything from vast fields to tight cities. Our drivers drove skillfully even well after nightfall.  We arrived at the church about 10:30 pm (central time), even after we turned our clocks back an hour from going into a different time zone. When we arrived at the First Presbyterian Church of Madisonville, they even had a welcome message on the digital sign outside welcoming us.

                                        

    Day 1, Monday, June 27th, 2022

    We all woke up to a beautiful sunny morning with a cool refreshing breeze. After breakfast we spent a few minutes packing the vehicles to go to the Fuller Center to meet with the personnel at the First Christian Church in Madisonville. There we walked into a free breakfast, after everyone had already eaten. They had a veriety of fruits and breakfast burritos and other tempting treats, which most of us had to decline. Peter was anxious to start some real work but Rick encouraged him to take it easy. There was another mission group from North Carolina that was there to help. Somehow we got organized into four different groups. One group led by Carmen, another by Bob and a third was led by Elvis. The last group of Clark and Mary Rae stayed at the church to complete some jobs.

   So, what did Clark and Mary Rae do all day?   Let me mention that this group was composed of three ladies from the North Carolina group. And we had so much fun. And back of the First Christian Church of Madisonville was a toolshed built by other volunteers that needed a second coat of paint on the exterior walls. Luckily, we were able to stay in the shade for most of the day. The inside of the shed was also a heaping mess of tools, which we hoped to organize by going to the store and buying wall shelving and hooks to organize everything in there. And our team of five did so well that our supervisor, Katie from the Fuller Center, said that we could join another work team on one of the houses tomorrow.

     Carmen's group, including Peter, Tori, Kyle and Jeremy had the job of laying down bricks for a house foundation in Clarence Woodis Street.  Everyone had a nice sunburn by the day's end.  There was a blooming rose bush along one section of the wall that was at times a real hindrance, but it was also really beautiful.  Our motto is Out of Chaos: Hope.  This little rose bush was a testament to that. 

                                    

      Bob's group was made of Sue, Jeff, Geoff, Mike, Connie, and Lorene. They were working at a house in Dawson Springs on Sycamore Street. Their job was to do framing for the house. The family that was anxiously awaiting their new house to be built had two daughters, an older daughter that was mute, and a younger daughter that had lots to say. Sue had a very nice conversation with them.



    Elvis's team was made up of Heather, Davis, Carrie, Mel, and Kerrin. They were framing a house on Frederik Street, also in Dawson Springs. They had the disappointing task of having to redo a previous groups work because they were acting like they knew what they were doing, even though they didn't really do an adequate job, said the supervisor.  

                                            

    And after we came back to the host church, we were anxious to have our showers and clean up, then we were treated to a delicious dinner of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans and corn by our kitchen queen, Mel. As our first day is already coming to a close, let us remember what was said in devotions, that our work should be worthwhile, and we want our work to reflect who we are as Christians.

   Signing off this is your journalist, Clark t, with my speedy typer Kyle by my side.  God Bless and be back soon.  p.s. please continue to pray for our group's safety and effectiveness.


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