Life Builders-C.E Work Camps. Week 3, Part 1. 721/13-7/23/13

Sunday

The last week of Work Camp for the year has arrived! The opportunity to get to know each of the campers on a more intimate level arose because there was only one group this week! And they traveled all the way from Minnesota! They traveled for 3 days, making a few stops along the way, visiting tourist areas of the country. We were all excited to have them with us, and they all seemed to be full of energy!

Camp Gathering time was slightly different than it had been due to the size of the group. This allowed the speaker, Ben Murray to be more personal, and make better connections with the group. He led Worship in song along with two of the Female Staff members. He then began to give a brief overview of his testimony, and an introduction to the Camp Theme of 2013, “Be Strong and Courageous.” After Camp Gathering time, the group seemed tired after all the traveling, and headed off to bed.

Monday

Breakfast was off to a later start than usual, due to the camper’s late arrival Sunday evening. The group had a lot of questions; but they were very excited to see what they would be working on and how the rest of the week would go. For such a small group, the campers really had

It was a hot day at the work sites! Thankfully, the clouds were out which kept everyone cool if they were working outside. The already small group split up into about 4 groups. They were very productive, painting, repairing holes, and putting new floors in the homes!

After an exciting first day, the campers headed back to shower, and get ready for dinner. After dinner was served, it was time to Worship with the Lord! After Worship in song, the speaker led a few demonstrations of spiritually, “Punching Fear in the Face.” He had everyone get together and tell the person next to them, a time in their life when they acted courageously. He also had everyone turn to the person next to them and look them in the eye for a period of time, helping us remember how hard it is to face fear; but it is possible. Connecting with everyone in this way seemed very affective because it is such a small group.

After Camp Gathering time, a Work Site Coordinator, Josh Markloff, one of the homeowners from a work site, and the boys of the group joined in a game of football. Everyone really enjoyed the rest of the night; but soon it was time to rest up for the next day!

Tuesday

Another morning begun! The campers left with full stomachs and packed lunches as they went off to their work sites!

Another cloudy day with a breeze! The groups continued to replace floors, paint a bedroom, install trim work and replace the flooring in a hallway. All of the groups stayed on task and were determined to get the job done! Serving God one nail at a time!

As the work day came to a close, the groups headed back to the church for dinner and Camp Gathering time. Soon after dinner, the group gathered for some praise and worship. The Speaker’s main message for the night was to “Never Give Up.” He made the point in saying the best things take risk and perseverance. He gave the example of how he met his wife, speaking of their first date and how he expressed his interest in her afterward and she wasn’t interested. After she spent a summer in Africa, his mind was still on her and he took a risk to ask her out again, and this time she showed interest in him and well, ten years later, the married couple is proof that perseverance in our relationship with God will end in blessings!

After Camp Gathering time, the boys played Man Hunt around the church building. Then it was time to get some rest to rise early for the next morning!

 

 

Watch the videos of the week at:

http://www.youtube.com/theworkcamppeople

Life Builders C.E Work Camps, Week 2, Part 1. Sunday 7/14/13-Tuesday 7/16/13

Sunday

The second week of camp already here! The campers arrived on time with little complications. One of the group’s vans broke down on the way; but the group still managed to pull together, and get settled easily. Praise God!

After the groups were all settled, there was a leader’s meeting, and following this, it was Camp Gathering Time. This week, the Camp had been blessed to have a Band by the name of “3 Shades of Blue” leading the music portion of the Worship time. The speaker this week was Chuck Jewell, a Pastor North of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And as mentioned the theme of this year is “Be Strong and Courageous.” The theme of the night was “Strong Courage.” He used some background of Joshua from the Bible and reminded us that Joshua was the one who inherited the Promised Land and he was courageous, he carried out his calling. The speaker ultimately challenged the group to meditate on the word of God, he gave the idea that we should read a verse aloud, and each time we read it, emphasize a different word in the verse and it will bring a new meaning to the scripture. He then left the group with the idea of worry. He asked us to worry about the word rather than our usual worldly matters. This left many of the campers enlightened and eager to take the challenge!

With a great message and a lot to think about, the campers went off to bed shortly after, resting well for the busy day ahead! Wow, what a day of the Lord.

Monday

The campers rose bright and early, to have breakfast and start their first day of work! Many groups were continuing the work of the previous week, as others began to work on different homes. There was another home where the owner was a hoarder, and a group began de-hoarding a house. Others were priming paint, replacing a screened in porch, fixing skirting on mobile homes and fixing holes in bathroom floors. The groups were working hard all day, and came back exhausted but feeling accomplished. Glory to God!

As the campers arrived back at the Church, they showered and took some time to themselves before dinner. After all were fed it was Camp Gathering time.

After some worship in song, it was time to hear the word of the Lord. The theme of the night was “Strong Faithfulness” The Speaker focused his message on Joshua 3:5-8 when Joshua was about to lead the people across the river after the Ark of the Covenant was lifted up. The speaker then showed a video about a man who, at fourteen years of age, woke up one morning blind. He put his faith in Christ and discovered talents and abilities he never knew he had before he was blind. He began to sing, play guitar and work at a blind institute. There was also a testimony given by one of the campers who struggled with both of his parents living with addiction and how he stayed faithful to God through his life. It was a great way to encourage the campers to take a leap of faith even when they aren’t sure of what the outcome will be.

Finally, the night was coming to an end and the campers broke off into small groups, enjoyed some time playing games and other activities, and uniting in devotional time. Soon enough though, it was time for lights out and sleep so these hard workers could be ready for the next day.

Tuesday

A new morning had begun. The groups rose early for breakfast, completed their cleaning assignments for the day, and it was off to the work sites!

The groups seemed to be even more on task than Monday if that is even possible! These groups have been great at whistling while they work! Enjoying their time and putting the effort in, as well as letting Christ shine through them and into the hearts of their homeowners. As we traveled through the work sites we saw people painting porches, putting up drywall, getting rid of trash, sorting through household items that were to be thrown away, and finishing up painting inside a home.

The campers arrived back at the church, most of them early, giving them time to wind down and get ready for dinner. Dinner came, and then it was time to join in worship with the Lord.

As the band had finished leading worship in song, the speaker preached about the theme of the day which was to have a “Strong Narrative.” The speaker used Joshua 4:1-9 to describe a Strong narrative of the 12 tribe leaders Joshua had make a pile of rocks called an “Ebeneezer.” The speaker then left the crowd with the story of Staci, a girl that came to know Christ at a young age; but because of her peace and joy, which was so prevalent in her, many were influenced and came to know Christ, especially when she died at a young age and they had realized how God used her to serve others. The group was left with the idea of how to infiltrate their own “Strong Narrative” in their lives, so they would be equipped with answers, when others had questions about their faith.

After Camp Gathering Time, it was once again, time for all to rest up for the next day’s work! What a great week so far, it will be exciting to see what the Lord has in store for the rest of it!

Watch the videos of the week at:
www.youtube.com/theworkcamppeople

View pictures from the week at:
http://bit.ly/LB2013wk2

Life Builders- C.E Work Camps, Week 1, part 2, Wednesday, 7/10/13-Friday, 7/12/13

Wednesday

Wednesday morning was unlike the other days of the week because Camp Gathering time was in the morning, right after breakfast as opposed to the usual evening time the campers would meet. Many of us were especially intrigued in the gathering time due to the illustration given by the speaker. The theme of the day was “Courageous Obedience.” The Speaker showed a video clip from Toy Story two when one of the main Characters, Woody was taken with some other toys he met, the person who found the toys was going to sell them to a museum; but Woody’s friends came looking for him. When they found him they reminded him to look under his shoe, when Woody did he saw the name written “Andy,” the name of his owner on the bottom. It reminded him who he belonged to. The speaker was trying to remind us not to forget who we belonged to. He gave the example of Jesus declaring that there would be a church built on a rock, and Peter would take part in that. Even though Peter denied Jesus three times and forgot who he belonged to, Jesus didn’t forget that peter was His. What a message to leave people thinking!

Excited to head to the Beach, out to dinner or wherever the groups wanted to go, they went about the half day of work with great enthusiasm and Charisma. By this time of the week, it was clear; many of the groups had grown quite close to their homeowners. One group had even used their own church fundraising money to add some finishing touches to the house they were working in. These touches included floating candles for a bathtub, new curtains, a new vacuum cleaner, and some fresh paint to name a few. What a conspiracy of Grace! Another group was so motivated; they decided not to take a half day. Instead, they worked into mid-afternoon to finish the job and finish it right! They fixed the skirting on a mobile home, and fixed siding that was falling off as well as rebuild front steps. Wow, what hard workers! Sounds like a great work day to me!

The groups were set off to eat dinner on their own, including places like Golden Corral, Chick fil A, and even some family owned Ice Cream shops. The groups came back feeling relaxed and filled with laughter and memories of a great day!

Soon enough though, it was time to go to get some rest to begin their last day of work!

Thursday

The campers woke early for their last day, breakfast was served, lunches were packed, and they headed out to finish what they started!

As we traveled around to each work site, it was amazing to see the progress from the beginning to the end of the week! A man went from not being able to see the color of his furniture, infested with a plethora of bug families, to a clean, bright, painted, and soon to be exterminated home. What an accomplishment! A woman started with a porch that needed painting, to a home that shined bright white on the outside due to a power washing and new paint, with a painted porch and a cleaned up yard. One group had a camera crew from the Local News filming the end result and broadcasting the work of Christian Endeavor in Supply, North Carolina. This woman’s home now had a strong porch, a remodeled master bedroom, and a functional kitchen. The accomplishments of all the groups were astounding. Working hard till the very end!

After a hard day’s work, it was dinner time. Several groups had invited the home owners to Thursday evening Camp gathering time. Each person was required to bring their own rock, big enough to fill the palm of a hand. The speaker wanted everyone to use the rocks as a symbol of the weight of our sin from our past, holding us down. As we held on to the rocks, the speaker gave the illustration of our arms becoming weaker as we held onto the rock tighter, holding onto the sin longer, eventually leading to an ultimatum, that we must let go of the rock, letting go of our sin. A large, wooden cross was put up on the altar; below it was a small board of plywood, in which everyone was instructed to drop their rocks on, dropping their sins and leaving them behind at the cross. The speaker left the audience with one last challenge, that we ask ourselves who we were going to serve, and if it was the one true God, in order to be saved by the blood of Christ, we are to leave our past sins at the cross, thus our actions of dropping the rock, created our own “Ebeneezer,” a significant moment in our “Strong Narrative;” which tied in with the last day’s theme “Courageous preservation;” hoping we would have enough faith and courage to follow Christ and preserve our faith by letting go of what used to weigh us down.

Following Camp Gathering time, the home owners were invited to an Ice Cream Social, which led the campers to an evening of energy. Also, being the last night to make care cards, free time consisted of speed care card writing, mixed with fun, laughter, and who knows, maybe there was even time for devotions!

After a great ending, to a great day, it was time to say their prayers and head off to bed!

Friday

The last morning has arrived! Breakfast at 6am; but all the groups were ready to get going, one group even leaving at 5, getting ready for the long drive back home! The rest of the groups left shortly after breakfast, grabbing their care card envelopes, and joining in prayer with one of the site coordinators, they were ready for the journey. What a great end to a fantastic week. A wonderful week of seeing Jesus in Disguise in every one of these 99 campers!

Watch the videos of the week at:

http://www.youtube.com/theworkcamppeople

View pictures from the week at:

http://bit.ly/LB2013wk1

Life Builders-C.E Work Camps week 1, Sunday 7/7/13-Tuesday 7/9/13

Sunday

What a trip! All from Pennsylvania, these campers had quite a long trip down here to Supply, North Carolina! Some groups left as early as four in the morning to get an early start to a great week God has planned for them! Altogether, there were 99 campers, not including staff and volunteers.

That evening, Fred Whaples, the speaker reeled in the crowd at Camp Gathering time with his illustration about this year’s camp theme, “Be Strong and Courageous” from Joshua 1:9. In his Sermon, Fred used a live fish, throwing it out of the bowl to demonstrate the need of the “restrictions” Christ gives us when we accept Him into our lives. The fish only being able to swim in a small bowl became a metaphor for our own lives showing there could be no life for the fish outside of the bowl. The camper’s reactions varied to the fish being thrown out of the bowl; but it certainly was effective. Fred challenged them to step up and “be strong and courageous” in their own lives by reaching out to our neighbors in need of the life Christ has to offer.

After camp gathering time, these excited campers used their free time playing cards, laughing and simply having an enjoyable evening with one another, many groups, concluding the evening with devotions.

Monday

What a lively group! The campers enthusiastically grabbed breakfast, packed their lunches and cleaned the facility, then they were off to their first day! Not all the groups received the materials right away, which gave many of them the chance to engage in great conversation with their homeowners. A group from Christ Lutheran shared their devotional time with their homeowner. What a great way to share the good news! That same group brought along quilts and prayer shawls to be given to each homeowner as a thoughtful and encouraging gift. The groups that had materials available, began to fix the skirting of a Trailer, Power Wash a home, tear down overgrown bushes and weeds, and alleviate the situation of a hoarder. Every site visited, we could see these campers let Christ work through them! They were praying with their homeowners, encouraging them, and working together with great effort and a positive attitude!

People began to return mid-afternoon, showered and given some time to wind down, dinner was served!

After dinner, it was Camp Gathering time! Leading the Worship this week was a worship team from Christ Lutheran, Niantic. There was a great unity in the worship Monday night. Next, the speaker began to preach about “Strong Faithfulness” as the theme of the day. He began with a 9 question, true or false response, “Test of Faith,” ultimately challenging the campers to take a leap of faith and rid themselves of their humanity in order to let God’s divinity shine through.

After Camp gathering, most of the campers took a quick trip to the local Dairy Queen and ended the night with devotions.

Tuesday

The second day of Work already here! The campers enjoyed their breakfast and packed their lunches off to serve the Lord! As we visited the sites, the campers seemed to be even more motivated than Monday! God was working in them as many of them worked together patiently and intently to build new steps for a porch, fix plumbing for a shower, paint the siding and the porch on a house, level a driveway, and continue to de-clutter and clean a messy home. One group was at a trailer that had to be mostly demolished because of the damages, and in the process they discovered a harmful source of mold which resulted in a hospital visit for this group! The spores were making it hard for one of the men to breathe, causing his asthma to act up, fortunately, praise God, he was given some medicine and began to feel much better.

Sure enough, the groups began to return from their long day, showering and getting ready for the remainder of the evening.

Camp Gathering time came, the theme of the night revolved around “Strong Narratives.” The speaker used the example from the week’s passage in which Joshua knew his strengths of leadership and delegation, and was therefore given the task to pick 12 people from different tribes to travel across water that God separated for them, as they would place their stones at the other side to make a pile, referred to as an “Ebenezer.” The speaker challenged the campers to create their own “Ebenezer,” a place where they could recollect a moment that gave glory to God, adding a piece to their own” Strong Narrative” of their relationship with God throughout their lives. At the end, everyone was given Band-Aids to write their names on to give to the person next to them to represent a spiritual, emotional, or physical scar that has been part of their own “Strong Narrative.”

After Camp Gathering time, many joined in devotional time, eventually it was lights out, and another day was to come in which God’s servants would again rise with excitement and willingness to work for His glory.

Watch the videos of the week at:
www.youtube.com/theworkcamppeople

View pictures from the week at:
http://bit.ly/LB2013wk1

Statement on Helping Those Affected by Sandy (11/5/12)

Life Builders Work Camp Ministry, as well as many others, are wondering if next summer a work camp can be held to help people affected by the storm, Sandy. Natural disasters are an area which Life Builders Work Camps often will seek to help those affected. It has been one of the reasons many will attend our work camp ministry.
While there are many people who are in need, it is way too early to begin discussing about having work camp at any area that was affected. Sam spoke with a ministry today, and the person mentioned that today is the first day they could meet as a staff. Previously it had been too dangerous to travel. On top of all of this, there is also the shortage of gasoline.
As some may know from the news, FEMA and Red Cross hasn’t even gotten into some areas and really offered any assistance for basic survival a week later after the storm; and many still don’t have power. Once some of those details are taken care of, FEMA and other agencies (like VOAD’s which are made up of volunteers) are able to begin taking assessments of the affected areas. The areas affected, from the Delmarva Peninsula up to Connecticut, is a large area, with some really densely populated areas, like NYC. It will take a long time to do this work.
Once the assessments are done, there is then the waiting for checks from insurance agencies and federal government. All not happening quickly for various reasons. It could take some people nearly a year to be at a place where they are prepared for assistance.
Now, none of this is to say Life Builders has not made contacts and begun to look into the possibility of assisting the affected area. But it is going to take time for a lot of things to fall into place before serious discussions can be held about what help we can meet and where.
Since the affected area is so vast, there probably will be work still to be done in the summer of 2014 and 2015 (just as it had taken years to help those affected by Katrina).
We will post updates as any major progress is made. But in the mean time, the current planning is to help needy people in the Southeast corner of North Carolina. This is not definite either, and am waiting to find out if they were affected by Sandy in that region.
In the mean time, if you can, please help through other ways.  Here are some places to start: Samaritan’s Purse www.samaritanspurse.org; Red Cross www.redcross.org; Recovers.org www.recovers.org/communities, or other agencies you know are seeking to provide assistance. {Please note, Christian Endeavor Mid-Atlantic, The Pennsylvania Christian Endeavor Union, Inc. or Live Builders – CE Work Camp Ministry supports the above organizations, they are provided as a resource.}

What happened at the 2012 Life Builders Young Adult Fall Service Trip?

Thursday, October 11, 2012, was the first day of the 2012 Fall Young Adult Service Trip at River Valley Ranch in Manchester, MD. It was a nice afternoon to begin serving the camp and doing so in sort of secret. The group was given the job of taking care of some garden work around Frontier Town. This included weeding, clearing out dead brush, raking leaves, and trimming back plants for the winter.

After supper, a time was held for a spiritual challenge. The facilitator, Tim Hart, lead the group in a discussion about David’s life. Each session he lead, focused upon something that happened in David’s life that begins with an S. On this first evening, it was about David being selected. When the session was over, a few went out and took advantage of look up at the stars on a clear evening, and with little light pollution.

Friday morning, after breakfast, before the group was split into smaller groups to do work, the director of the camp stood in front of the group and gave a welcome, and a little bit of the details about the camp. He then went on to tell a story about the building of the Sistine Chapel. The point of the story is that people may do different things for the glory of God, it doesn’t matter if you are a mason, carpenter, or person sweeping the floor. Hence, the work that we were doing was for the glory of God, although it may not be greatly noticed.

The group tackled four different jobs through out the day. These jobs included: racking leaves and preparing Camp Roller for Maizefest the next day; doing some clean up around Arrowhead woods; taking apart a deck and building a temporary entrance to the X-barn; cleaning the snack shop, game room, and lobby; and taking down, cleaning and drying the screen panels for the dining tent.

Again, after supper, we got together for a spiritual challenge. This evening the focus was upon David being Strong.

The group was then able to experience the Corn Maze in the dark, and then enjoyed a camp fire and made s’mores.

Saturday we a much different day. The first half of the day half the group went and helped with Maizefest, and the rest doing gardening work around Frontier Town. The second half of the day, the two groups swapped jobs.

At that evenings spiritual time, Tim lead us in a discussion of David and his Sin, mainly the sin with Bathsheba.

The group was fairly tired this evening, and so there was not much done by the group.

Sunday morning, after breakfast, we ended with a time of singing songs of worship, and then again a discussion about David’s life. The S word for this time was Steadfast.

Overall, it was a great weekend. New friendships were made, ministry work at the camp was tackled, the camp’s staff are able to now focus on other tasks, and had a great opportunity to help the camp minister at their Maizefest.

Pictures and a video of the weekend have been posted on-line for you to view.

If you are between the age of graduated from High School and 29, please consider attending one of our Young Adult Service Trips (www.theworkcamppeople.org/servicetrip). The next one will be in the Spring of 2013, in Montgomery, WV, with a variety of weeks available to attend.

2012 Summer Work Camp Location – 11/10/11 update

The first two weeks of the 2012 Life Builders Summer Youth Work Camp will be in Concord, North Carolina. This location has been set for a few months now. The main focus will be poverty relief in the area.

Now, the other three weeks, work is being done to secure a location which is focused on natural disaster relief. Contacts have been made with people in North Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania. Nothing can be announced with any of these states. The issues that are arising involve waiting on FEMA to make some decisions, local people are not fully set for people to come and help, or they are checking to see what might be their situation by next summer.
So, work is being done. Hope to announce a location by the end of 2011, if not earlier. As promised, the location will be within a days drive from Harrisburg, PA.

One final note.  The last week, July 15, may fill up soon.  If that is the week you would like to attend, be sure to reserve your week soon.  And now you can do so on-line.  Go to http://bit.ly/tlHvgX to register your group for your week of choice.

Life Builders Fall 2011 Young Adult and College Service Trip

October 20-23, 2011 was the Fall 2011 Young Adult & College Service Trip at River Valley Ranch, in Manchester, MD.  It was a great weekend weather-wise to get a number of things done for the camp ministry.

A group arrived mid-afternoon on Thursday.  After unpacking and getting settled into the cabins, they went to work.  The work included: moving parts of bunk beds and furniture into rooms that were newly painted and re-carpeted, then putting the bunk beds together; fixing and stacking picnic tables for the winter; and cleaning flood debris from a fence.

By Friday morning, most who were coming had arrived.  The day was spent doing the following jobs: cutting, moving and stacking firewood; cleaning flood debris caught in a fence and under the rodeo stands then taking it to be burned; mulching around plants; and installing a pre-hung door.

Saturday was big day at River Valley Ranch.  It is their largest day for their Maizefest.  So for most of the day a good number of people were helping with the Maizefest at various stands and activities.  Others worked at weed whacking; cleaning the X-barn; cleaning leaves off a roof; cleaning windows at the dining hall and kitchen; and helping with the rebuilding of the Wranglers Roost.

In the evenings after dinner, we had gathering times.  Our speaker, Dustin Thompson, lead the group at discussing various Christian characteristics that relate to being a Christian leader.  A few members from Finland Mennonite Church lead the rest of the participants in songs of worship and praise.

Then the rest of the evening was free time.  During those times the group played signs, dodge ball, floor hockey, and other games.  They also had a chance to enjoy the six acre corn maze as well as use the climbing wall.  Also some time was spent around a campfire.

Sunday, after the last Gathering Time, the group cleaned up, packed and left.

Overall, it was a great weekend of helping out another ministry.

View pictures from the weekend at http://bit.ly/uLFHwb.

View a video of the pictures at http://bit.ly/rZrCP5.

Learn how to join a Young Adult/College Service Trip at www.theworkcamppeople.org/servicetrips.

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.