It is exciting to announce that the first two weeks of 2012 Life Builders Work Camp Ministry will be in Concord, NC. During the weeks of June 17 and June 24 the jobs will focus on poverty relief. Reserve a space for your group soon to help those in need. Go to www.theworkcamppeople.org/summer2012 for more information.
Life Builders Work Camp – Wednesday – Thursday (7/20-22, 2011)
Wednesday
Wednesday was both a productive day and an enjoyable one. As usual, Wednesday was a half-day for the whole camp. Both groups made the most of the morning at work. The group from Salem got the satisfaction of nailing on the last strip of siding on one side of a three-story house. After lunch, the groups headed out to Randolph Park where the county has been exceedingly generous with us, allowing our whole group to use the pool for free! Everyone had a great time! But the fun didn’t end there. Again, we were shown generosity in the form of free tickets to a Pulaski Mariners baseball game at home! It was beautiful (if a bit toasty) evening, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Thursday
Thursday was a scorcher, but another productive day. The groups kept up their efforts despite the heat. They were rewarded with a special break around noon. One of the leaders from Indian Valley was celebrating a birthday. The other leaders from the group arranged for a birthday cake to be brought to their site as a surprise, and they invited everyone from the other work sites to join them. It was a delicious and well-deserved break!
Sometime after lunch, Salem sent a group of men over to a construction project LifeBuilders began when it first arrived in Pulaski. There the men adjusted and placed trusses for a new roof.
Thursday night was a meaningful night for many, especially those from Indian Valley. Devotions were emotional and moving. It proved to be a memorable bonding experience for those involved.
Friday
Friday was, once again, excessively hot, yet good spirits and strong work ethic prevailed, and the groups were still productive. To prevent heat exhaustion and to make Saturday a little easier, the groups came back to the school early to help the staff pack and clean up for the summer. Then they were treated to another afternoon at Randolph Park before the Friday evening closing gathering and ice cream social.
Watch videos of the week at www.youtube.com/theworkcamppeople
View pictures of the week at https://picasaweb.google.com/Christian.Endeavor.MidAtlantic/LifeBuilders2011InVirginiaWeek5
Life Builders Work Camp – Monday & Tuesday (7/17-18, 2011)
This week, the final week of work camp, started off with a different flavor from the others. The group this week is smaller and is new to Life Builders. The two church groups from Pennsylvania (Indian Valley from Harleysville and Salem United Brethren from Chambersburg) that made up the week’s workforce hit it off right from the start. It was really neat to see the way the groups intermingled and enjoyed each other’s company already on Sunday evening (it also made difficult for those of us on staff to remember who went to which church, at the beginning)!
On Monday, everyone headed out to their work sites. Initially, the group was split between three sites. Indian Valley had groups working at two brush removal sites and Salem was assigned to a home repair/construction project. All summer, we’ve had people working at these brush removal sites, but the people working there this week face a new challenge. In previous weeks, brush was cleared from the more level or low to medium grade sloped sections of the lots. Now that that has been cleared, this week’s group can get into the steeply sloped parts. The workers have risen to the challenge, securing ropes around stumps or sturdy roots high on the hill, pulling themselves up and combating the dangers of loose soil.
We added a fourth site on Tuesday. Some more of Indian Valley’s group split off to a demolition site started in a previous week. There people removed debris, filling up a dumpster. Then came the back-breaking work of pulling up the old floor.
Watch videos of the week at www.youtube.com/theworkcamppeople
View pictures of the week at https://picasaweb.google.com/Christian.Endeavor.MidAtlantic/LifeBuilders2011InVirginiaWeek5
Life Builders Work Camp – Wednesday & Thursday (7/13-14, 2011)
Wednesday was started with a brief Camp Gathering Time on the lawn of the school. The speaker for the week took the group through an exercise for people to think about how they treat others in their life. It forced the group to consider how they are living out the Kingdom of Heaven in their lives.
Following that, the groups were off to their work sites. One of the jobs assigned was to continue to put the siding on a two story home. This was a job that was started a few weeks ago, and then was able to be continued this week. The group also had some minor work to do around the sides of the home, so they could continue their assigned job.
On another site, a group continued to build a new home in Pulaski. The home is being built from the ground up. By Wednesday, they were tarring the side of the house, and placing stone for the floor of the home.
In a home right next to it, they worked on stabilizing some walls and laying out the frame of the inside walls for drywall work.
In addition to dry wall work in that home, drywall was also being done at another home. This was in a small room on the back of the home that was affected by the tornado.
In the afternoon, the groups went to Randolph Park, to enjoy some time in the pool. After that the groups did various things for supper and for the evening.
On Thursday, it was back to a regular work day. Some of the work being done was to finish up some dry wall work in a home. It mainly included doing the taping and spackling of the walls.
At another site, some guys were helping a person to do the masonry work on a new home. It was their first time for some young guys to do so, and so they learned how to do some masonry work.
There was a site that had two small, but necessary jobs to be done at them. The two jobs were to replace two small sections of a ceiling in two rooms. And then on the porch, replace the posts that were holding it up.
Three groups got the exciting job of demolishing two buildings. They got out their hammers, crow bars, and mallets and started attacking the homes. As you can imagine, this type of assignment was enjoyable. Yet, at the same time, it is sad to think of the hopes, dreams, and lives that used to reside in those homes. And in a matter of 30 seconds, their homes were destroyed. One of the homes was lifted and moved 2.5 feet off of its foundation.
One of the groups did two jobs at the housing facility. One was to paint a hallway. The other was to organize two rooms of donated clothing and other basic necessities that were donated to give to people affected by the tornado.
Although it is three months since the tornado happened, people are still in great need. In fact a person came to the Tornado Relief center the other day seeking help for the first time. It is obviously going to take a while for the community to recover.
Life Builders Work Camp – Monday & Tuesday (7/11-12, 2011)
What a hot and humid start to this week of ministry in Pulaski, VA. For the first two days of work, the temperatures were up in the high 90’s, with a real feel of over 100. However, the groups tackled their assigned jobs and had a great start to the week.
One of the jobs tackled was to remove a porch from a home. The porch was damaged during the tornado that hit Draper, VA, a community right next to Pulaski. It is a home which belongs to a person’s deceased mother.
Another job tackled was to clear brush from an area. Monday morning they jumped right in and started to clear out a small valley that was hit hard by the tornado. A good number of homes were damaged and condemned because of how the tornado hit. Clearing this brush will help to ease the people living in this area feel a little more at ease that if a fire started, there would not be as much concern that it would spread quickly.
At another job location, the group was to take out all of the dry wall so that wiring for new electric could be put into the walls. The whole group was at this site for all of Monday. Then Tuesday only a few stayed, and the rest went to other work sites. One of them was to continue putting shingles on a roof started a few weeks ago. And the second was to put up drywall in a small back room to a home.
Although the heat was unbearable at times, the groups were great troupers and tackled their assigned work.
Life Builders Work Camp – Wednesday & Thursday (6/29-30, 2011)
As is usual for Wednesday’s, the Gathering Time was held in the morning, and then it was off to the work sites. Many of the previous day’s work sites were continued. There was one more added, and that was placing roof shingles on a roof that was removed last week.
The afternoon was a free time for the groups. All of them took advantage of using the Randolph Park pool, which they were able to enjoy at no cost. They then had supper and enjoyed the nice evening weather.
On Thursday the groups were back to their work sites. Part of a group went to clean out brush in an area. Great progress has been made at the sites that were tackled since the beginning of the week
The church groups who are here this week are Abundant Life Community Church from Port Murray, NJ, Grace Lutheran Church from Macungie, PA and Grace Evangelical Congregational Church in Akron, PA.
View pictures of the week at http://bit.ly/kgA9PU
View videos from the week at http://www.youtube.com/theworkcamppeople.org
Life Builders Work Camp – Monday & Tuesday (6/27-28, 2011)
I apologize for not having an update posted earlier this week. I (Sam Yeager, Christian Endeavor Mid-Atlantic’s Ministries Director) have been sick for the past number of days. Eventually went to get check out, and I was diagnosed with bronchitis. So, I have not been able to be as up to date with this as I had wished.
Monday, after taking the large group picture, it was off to the work sites. One of the jobs was laying brick for the foundation of a home. The footers were laid toward the end of last week. With having the weekend for the cement to harden, they could easily lay the bricks.
A group worked on the home next to it as well. At that place they were preparing to build a back room that was removed last week. In addition, they were putting a coat of primer paint on the cement blocks at the front porch.
At another site, they were preparing the home to be demolished. This included removing various items that were lying around the home so a bull dozer could come and push over the house. There was also the removal of the sides of the home, so all that was left was the frame.
On Tuesday, a bull dozer then did push over the home. And now it is removing the pile of debris that is left, and putting it into a dumpster.
At another site, on Monday and Tuesday, a group worked on putting siding on a person’s home as the main job. There were also some little jobs, such as installing a railing on the porch and painting the porch.
It was a good start to another week of Life Builders Work Camp Ministry in Pulaski, VA.
Check out pictures at: http://bit.ly/kgA9PU.
See videos from last week at http://www.youtube.com/theworkcamppeople.
Life Builders Work Camp – Friday June 24 to Saturday June 25
Friday, one of the groups began to work on creating the foundation of a new home. They spent most of the day digging and removing the dirt. At the end of the day there were able to have the footers set. It made it possible to continue building the house the following week.
Another group was split between two sites. One site was to wrap up some repair items on a home and prepare it for siding to be placed on it next week. The other site was removing the roof and getting tar paper on it so that shingles can be put on it next week.
Saturday morning included cleaning the housing facility and packing the vehicles for the trip home after breakfast. All the groups were able to leave by 8:45 AM, meaning they were able to get home by the middle to late afternoon.
The speaker for the week was Garrett Lowe. He talked about how people can build the Kingdom of Heaven. The topics included the Foundation (having Jesus Christ as your foundation – 1 Corinthians 3:11, Materials (what messages are shaping our thinking and decision making), Tools (spiritual exercises that help to live according to God’s will), Hidden Rooms (secret sins or hurts that keep people from living the Kingdom of Heaven life), and Continuous Building (there are more foundations to be laid in other people and to continue to build the Kingdom of Heaven).
The week was very productive. There are people who now will soon have a roof for their home, brush has been cleared resulting in a greater peace of mind about fires spreading quickly, and the building of a new house has begun.
Thank you for your prayers for the week. Now, to move onto the second week of Life Builders Work Camp Ministry in Pulaski, VA.
View pictures from the week at http://bit.ly/ky8KPJ .
Life Builders Work Camp – Wednesday June 22 to Thursday June 23
Wednesday is a little different from the rest of the work days. First of all, the Gathering Time is held in the morning just after breakfast. Second, groups work till about noon or 1:00 PM and then enjoy some free time.
The county of Pulaski is so thankful for the work being done that one of the county parks allowed everyone to enter the pool at no charge. Most took advantage of this offer, and they enjoyed the relief from the heat.
Thursday, was back to the usual daily routine. One of the jobs a group was assigned to was to replace the roof. After removing the previous roof, a few other items of repair needed to be taken care of before putting on the new shingles.
After taking care of those items, the group was able to start putting on tar paper and later, shingles.
One of the groups was assigned to a new job site. At this new assignment they were to chop up two trees and help to clean up around the home. The wood they chopped was piled to be used as firewood during the cold months.
In Pulaski, there is a Rookie Level Baseball Team, named the Pulaski Mariners. Again, as an appreciation for the work to help the community recover, the group was given a special opportunity. They were given free tickets to Thursday evening’s game. Most of the groups attended and had a great time.
There were six groups this week: Crossroads Community Fellowship, Lititz; Florin Church of the Brethren, Mt. Joy; Hinkletown Mennonite, Ephrata; Christ Lutheran, Barto; Morning Star Fellowship, Bechtelsville; Honey Brook Presbyterian, Honey Brook.
View pictures from the week at http://bit.ly/ky8KPJ .
2011 Life Builders Work Camp ~ Monday June 20 to Tuesday June 21
Monday started off as a typical Monday does, a bit confusing and slow until everyone knows for certain their role at their job sites. But for the most part, it went rather smoothly.
One of the big tasks involved in the recovery from the tornado is clearing out any dead wood that is lying around. The county officials have been taught by other areas affected by tornadoes that this is something that needs to be done to prevent further damage to property and morale that could be caused by a fire. If one should start, there would be plenty of dry wood for a fire to rage through the area. And, of course, that is something that should be prevented as much as possible. Hence, groups are cleaning brush out of areas, mainly around homes.
However, one area is a community park that still needed to be cleaned up more than it was. One of the groups is working on that this week. Monday was spent cleaning up as much as possible and extending the park another couple of yards. One of the people of the group working in the park noticed there was a picnic table. He got the idea of scraping and repainting the table. Word got to the city council, and they called a quick meeting to make a decision about this offer. The council approved it. So Monday night they went to get paint, and Tuesday painted the picnic table.
It was also neat at this place that a woman with two grandchildren came to the door to see what was happening in the park. The two girls thanked the people cleaning up the area where they and their friends play often.
Tuesday, many went back to the same assigned job sites. One group’s job is cleaning out a valley where a number of trees fell. They cleared out a large area on Monday, and continued to spread their clearing powers the next day. This group has been impressive in their team work. A few times all, of the group joined together to push huge trees, which had fallen to the ground, up a small hill so it could be cut by a chain saw. If there was a reward for teamwork, this group would receive one.
At another work site, people were removing shingles and tar paper as well as removing a back room from the home. They were able to remove that whole room in one day.
Overall, this has been a great start to helping the people of Pulaski, VA recover from the April 8, 2011 tornado.
View Pictures at http://bit.ly/ky8KPJ .
