Day 1 - Alabama Mission Trip

We are here! We are here! We are here! After an early start and a shorter drive than I thought we were going to have,

considering we had 3 stops, we arrived at our destination - Section UMC on Upper Sand Mountain. We started our

journey early - 7 a.m. and arrived around 6:30 Michigan time. Along the way we had a beautiful drive down with sun-kissed, 

tree-topped mountains making a path for us once we got into Kentucky. 

Upon arrival, we were greeted by our VIM representative, Shaun Smith, who briefed us on the work we will be doing

this week and the area itself. The area we will be working in is known as the Upper Sand Mountain Parish (which

Shaun told us is literally made of sand and rises 800 feet above the Tennesee Valley). The poverty rate in the Sand

Mountain Parish is as high as 70% in some areas.

There are two major ministries in the area in which we will be helping. One is Heart and Hand Homes, his description

of this ministry reminded me a bit of Habitat for Humanity. In this ministry, homes are built for select local families, with priority

given to families with children. Families selected are entered in a rent-to-own, interest-free program where they pay for the cost of the building materials. A couple of interesting things about these homes is that they are kept small to make the homes affordable, they use solar panels for some of the energy needs and that they have concrete slab foundations which help keep the houses cool in the summer and warm in the winter. On some of these homes we will be doing ramp

building, remodelling, re-roofing and painting.

The Parish also has an active cannery where fruits and vegetables are cooked and canned. Some of these items go to 

local food pantries or soup kitchens. Others are sold as Alabama Green Tomato Products with the proceeds going to

fund various ministries in the area. The name of the products reflects the use of green tomatoes in every product as they take on the flavor of any food you put with them allowing you to do a lot with a little. We will be doing some work at the cannery also.

And lastly we will be using our Zeba experience in leading VBS for two days this week.

So we have a very busy week ahead of us but we are ready to put into practice these words from Mother Teresa:

Where is the face of God to whom I can Pray?

The answer is simple.

The poor one.

The lonely one.

The unwanted one is my brother and my sister.

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.

--
Deborah Wood

Senior Art Director