I've always wanted to be part of a mission trip - to be the hands and feet of Jesus somewhere in this world, but I was always thinking about some far off place like Guatemala, South Africa, or Cambodia, and then a mission trip opportunity came up at my church, Christ United Methodist, to go to WV, So I thought, well, why not. It's a place to start. And yes, I know, that we have plenty of people in our own country who need our help, and so I anticipated going to WV and building ramps and doing home repairs. And then the floods came, and the place that our mission was to take us became an emergency disaster area with its own death and destruction and devastation:
And so I found out pretty quickly that I didn't need to go to Cambodia or South Africa to see loss and devastation and need. It was right here, just four hours from my own back door, and so last week we had an opportunity to show the people of WV that we here at Christ United Methodist Church in Salisbury, North Carolina, cared about what was happening to them and would not let them face it alone. And you, Church, sent this wonderful team of seven adults and ten youths to this battlefield in WV to represent you and to represent Christ. And I will tell you, I have never seen anything like it. We slept in the gym at an elementary school on the floor, on sleeping bags, cots, and on air mattresses, all together, in the dark. The entire week there were no lights in the gym. We crept around in the dark with our little flashlights, and every day of the week at lunchtime, we ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It is my recommendation that if you are ever in WV, find yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I don't know what it is, but those West Virginians know something about peanut butter and jelly that we don't know here. I have never had a better peanut butter and jelly sandwich in my life. I looked forward to lunch every day.
And that team - that team! You, Church, have every reason to be proud of your mission team. I was there, and I'm very proud. Those adults and those kids (no offense kids, anyone under thirty is a kid to me) - they all worked their hearts out. They worked under terrible conditions, it was hot and dusty and dirty. They pulled up floors and tore down walls and sometimes the stench would make you gag, but they all did it without complaint and with encouragement for one another. I never heard a crossword, there was no pouting, there was no competing with one another, no one trying to outdo the other. It was all simply amazing. They all worked hard, were respectful of one another, and every evening they provided beautiful and very thoughtful devotions.
I can't say enough about this team. At the end of the day, every day, this team had left its mark. The difference between morning when we arrive on-site, to evening when we left, was absolutely astonishing. I will never forget it. For me, this was not a stepping stone to the big mission trip I had always dreamt of, this was THE mission trip. And so, if I never go on another, which I certainly hope is not the case, but, if I never go on another, I can certainly say that this mission trip, without a doubt, met the criteria that I was thinking about when I added "mission trip" to my bucket list,
And I'll say one last thing, If anyone here had any doubts or concerns about this mission trip, that it was not the right time, that it was not necessary, or it was too far away, please know that you can lay those concerns to rest. You, Church, met a vital need last week. You represented Christ very well in Clendenin, WV.
