Oakdale Emory - United Methodist Church

ASP MISSION TRIP 2009

In June 2009, 22 youth and 12 adults traveled to Winfield, Tennessee, to repair the homes of seven families. Below are their stories.

The team of Joan Aebig, Christy Pendleton, Todd Holbert, Jack Kelly, Emily Hoggard and Katie Lomax worked on the home of 72-year-old Mr. B, who lived his entire life in the sturdy house his father built 90 years ago. An addition on the back of the house, however, was sinking, dragging the roof with it. Previous church groups raised the addition and re-built the foundation and walls. Our team installed sub-flooring, a tile floor, door, floor and window molding, painted the back door, completed the back stairs (BIG TASK!) and trimmed and re-installed the screen door, and landscaping—including filling a large ditch and leveling the yard. Also, we cleaned out a very old freezer that will be recycled and put into good use at the ASP center.

Mr. B must have thanked us 50 times for our work, told us we were special people, and asked God to bless us. He watched us work, offered his own tools for us to use, and even helped out when he could. We feel truly blessed by God to have had the opportunity to meet this wonderful man and to do something to help him.

We gave him a gift of some potted flowers that we put by his door and on the last day, we drove away as he swept his new steps and waved goodbye, looking so proud and happy.

The team composed of Mark Aebig, Carolyn Quinn, Nika Lilley, Dasha Bukreyeva, Ron Pendleton and Brendan Littleford repaired the home of Ruby who lives alone because her husband was in assisted living because of Alzheimer’s disease. Dasha and Nika (assisted by Mark) laid new floor in the bedroom/bath area. The girls cut and attached  the lauan boards, applied leveling compound and laid the floor.  Ron, Brendan and Carolyn finished the insulation work (started by the previous group), completed the underpinning and then bolted and cleaned the vinyl siding.

The team of Mark Huff, Katie Brock, Laura Schneider, Taylor Young and Brendan Kelly worked on the home of Dolores. Her brother and sister-in-law lived next door to her and their house had burned to the ground a few weeks before. So Dolores was working through this as well. Her trailer was leaning because the ground had started to settle. The first task was to lay new foundation piers to correct the leaning of the trailer. This involved digging a trench at least 24 inches below the ground level, stacking cinder blocks and pouring concrete into the blocks. The second task was to start the work for the front porch.

The team of Jim Markwood, Mija Lilley, Taylor Edwards, Taylor Douglas, Sam Ojalvo and Lauren Stitzlein worked on two homes. At the first home with Amy and her family, they were given four tasks: 1) complete the tin roof, 2) fix the trailer’s siding, 3) add 2x4’s to support the roof’s overhand and 4) add trim to all of the windows to prevent water from getting in. The first task was a challenge because the previous crew  did not layer the sheets of tin correctly, causing them to redo layers correctly and then start their work. Jim, Taylor E. and Lauren finished the roof work while Mija, Taylor D. and Sam finished the siding. They joined together to complete fortifying the roof’s overhang and then painted and cut trim which they installed on all of the windows. On Friday, they went to the second house which had a severely damaged roof.  With only one day to help this new family, they fought off heat and struggled with tempermental nails to tack down foam insulation on the roof. The work was frustrating at time and it was scary to work on such a precarious roof, but they were able to make a solid start for the next group and they have faith that those who come after them will get the work done!

The team composed of Steve Patterson, Brian Van Winkle, Kyle Ryan, Hunter Hoopes and Nick Chisholm worked on building a deck on the back of a trailer. The homeowner had kept up his home and property very well and had started to build a deck. However, he had a stroke, so asked ASP for assistance. They completed his deck, from cementing in posts to cutting and installing the railing spindles. The family now can move the gentleman and his wheelchair in and out of the house safely.

The team of Dave Young, Diana Schneider, Matt Stitzlein, Jake Buzy, Rachel Quinn and Alex Littleford worked on the home of Pam who lived in a three bedroom rambler with her grandson. This group completed a 110 foot french drain on the side of the house. They dug the trench and placed a drainage pipe in the trench and then covered it with gravel. They also insulated the floor of a bedroom and laid the subfloor. They also placed paneling on the walls of the bedroom.

So you can see we are part of a much larger picture. We are able to make some major repairs that make a big difference in families' lives. But in addition to making homes warmer, safer and drier, we also built relationships, learned about poverty and saw its effects, and thought about what gifts God has given each of us and how important it is to use these gifts to help other people. When we help others, we are serving the Lord.