Day Four

It's my turn (Sid) to write today's blog. Just to share with you a few weird things that people eat. This morning we had pancakes and sausage for breakfast which includes  butter, syrup and yes peanut butter (Danielle) and tonight we had roasted potatoes and chicken with yes mayonnaise on the potatoes (Danielle) yum.

But for our day we returned to the two homes which we are working on. We sanded the upstairs bedroom and bathroom and applied a third coat of compound. Tomorrow we hope to sand the final coat and prime everything. Others worked on the electrical by fishing wire through walls and ceilings which is quite a challenge. Others hung drywall in the kitchen and others framed in bulkheads in the dining/living room.Today was another productive day. Tonight after supper we continued with our shuffle board tournament which was very competitive. Later tonight we will go into the sanctuary for our devotion time which is a highlight of the day to here others thoughts of the day. This has been a truly blessed time for all.

Rough day at work

Gerald showing up his son

"What do we do with this?!"

Playing at the playground after a hard days work

Tim reliving his childhood

Andrew and Alex rewiring

Leah and Gerald working on the bulk head

Lunch time in a nice warm afternoon

Our evening devotions

All is calm...

Good morning everyone... thought i'd throw in a note for the morning since dishes are done, breakfast's cleaned up, Peter is in his playpen happily playing the piano and Angela and I have just cleaned up a bit and are airing the dorm room out since the weather is beautiful today!  We have the windows open and it's supposed to be 15 degrees today - not too hard to take at all.
Last night was a wonderful time of devotions - we gathered in the church sanctuary - after finally figuring out how to turn the lights on - and had our devotion time there - we gather for devotions each night.  We read a passage from Isaiah 6 about Isaiah's commission and boldness to speak for God.  We all feel a little challenged, especially those on the job site - how to share our witness, how to speak for Christ, how to show our love and light in the place where we are working.  A big part of our "highs" and "lows" for the day involved talking about the work that was done - and everyone worked so hard and well!  No need to drive everyone back to work after breaks - they were eager to get their hands dirty and learn some new skills - better watch out when the young peoples get home - they'll be remodelling your houses for you!  And get dirty they did too - coming home covered in dust and "spackle" and all other manner of things!  We are thankful for showers - even if they are a 12 minute/2 minute car ride away in the basement of another church - it's all part of the adventure and everyone's taking it in stride - though we do have to laugh when articles of clothing get left behind for others to find!!!
But back to our highs and lows - we each share something that made us laugh or smile, something that lifted our spirits, an action that made us appreciate someone else more.  And we share a low - something that might have shocked us, that made us feel sad or angry or confused.  It doesn't always have to be totally serious - some of our funny highs have been: having a shower, seeing some funny pickup trucks along the way, laughing at jokes, teasing each other.  Some of our funny lows have included no shower for two days, snoring people at night, people who make other noises at night (we will never quite have the same relationships again!) and fun snacks (I think Gerald is quite taken with the extra long licorice we found yesterday at Walmart).  But some of the serious highs have included thanks to God for safety on our job sites, for great working together, for great meals, for good rest, for nice weather, for opportunities to share with others what we are doing and why we are here.  Some serious lows have provoked the most discussions, how do we serve graciously when homeowners appear to have no pride or motivation to help themselves, how come poverty happens, how it is challenging to share our witness and how dirty and rundown some houses and areas are.  We remember the examples our Lord set for us - about having the heart of a servant, about asking for His grace and about shining as stars in a place that seems dark and sad.  We are thankful too for the support from home - the kids were pretty amazed and very much enjoyed the notes that were sent from the anonymous prayer partners in the church!  Thank you very much!  And it is a blessing to know that we are surrounded by the prayers of the congregation and our families!
I think i'll sign off for now - we're going to clean up a bit more and get ready to deliver some coffee and lunch to the hard working crew - hotdogs are on the menu and everyone's pretty happy about that! Til tonight!

Day 3: First day of work

Getting ready to head into the house on our first day of work

The two homes we are working on - one with rusty shutters and the unit beside with the red walls

Inside of house one - there was a lot of water damage from flooding

The whole team looking very dignified

And again...

The whole team looking pretty goofy

Cleaning up the plaster that was ripped off the walls in house two upstairs

Chrystal...working hard...

Alex, plumber extraordinaire!  Look at the professionalism

Andrew was a little frustrated with Gerald...who looks like he is armed too!

Alex....whoa...

Little Peter has many, many walking practices

Sid is concentrating hard - SAG vs Asquared

First Day of Work:

By: Alex V.V and Leah K

       Greetings y'all!!(got the southern drawl on). First day of work went extremely well. Got tonnes done which includes dry walling, mudding, plumbing, electrical work, etc. Many of us learned new things including using a electric drill, mudding walls, hook up wires, and plumbing. Only had one accident in the first half hour even though it was small. Poor Andrew cut his finger. We all learned a lesson from him.... not to cut towards yourself with a knife. Andrew with his assistant Alex B. did the electrical in the kitchen, Cameron and Leah worked together sanding down the first layer of mud.....got really white and dusty, dry walled part of the bathroom, and mudded the walls. Gerald Brouwer and Alex V.V tackled the plumbing in the bathroom, and also mudded the walls. Michael, Chrystal, Tim DeVries, and Sid Bosma worked in the other house tearing down dry wall and putting new dry wall up.It was fun yelling at each other through the walls. Talk about no privacy. After a long day of work, mostly everyone took their first shower. Yuck. Water was cold but very refreshing. After we had dinner of spaghetti, caesar salad and garlic bread.. Yum!!!! Then we played our second round of shuffle board in our tournament. Finals are on Friday...keep you posted. We played a form of dodgeball, which including whipping balls of each other. We played with baby Peter and taught him how to kick a ball.. a great achievement and a great athlete to come!! Also we found out baby Peter can play piano... a great musician to come to. Gerald acting more of a kid then the actual kids. The kids are behaving better then the men. Hopefully the snoring ain't gonna be the bad tonight....good thing we got earplugs. Oh ya!!!! Lets just say that everyone is still alive through gaseous storms and roaring snoring. We have survived quite well. We wish you all well...goodnight!!!

For our loved ones.....a.k.a Mr. VanVeen from Alex V.V

      I found the sapphire gumdrop at the top of the chimpanzee mountain where the ash turns into butterflies which fly over the rainbow giving the boys and girls pictures of sandwiches. The End...P.s I found the pink and yellow polkadotted unicorns......on the planet imissmydad.

Picture update...

Thought everyone might enjoy a few morning pictures from Shamokin.  Angela and I are back at the church after dropping everyone off at the jobsites this morning.  We had a brief tour of the work to be done - there is so much to be done and few volunteers to do it.  As far as i understand things, the Disaster relief program or the homeowners (my details are a bit fuzzy) apply to the government for assistance.  The government provides monies for supplies and the disaster relief group has to provide volunteer labour to complete the jobs.  This labour is free but there's always the need to get people to help out... hence why we're here.  So the crew will be busy tearing out old drywall in one home to prepare a bedroom for drywalling, and in the house next door, they will be sanding, wiring (Andrew's job to figure out the electrical maze), plumbing (Gerald's on the job) and much other general labour.  Angela and I are back at the church to clean up, plan for meals for the week, let Peter have a nap and if necessary head back to Mount Carmel (where the job sites are) to help bring people for bathroom breaks (there are no bathroom facilities at the houses).  Everyone has a lunch packed with them and so our job is to make sure that food is hot and ready when the crew gets home.  It will be so interesting to hear their stories when they come home!!!  So for now, enjoy a look at our Sunday...

Views from our upstairs hallway

Looking out over the town from the stairwell

Gerald has his licorice and Sid his coffee... happy fellows!

Sunday morning services... sun pouring in and waiting for church to start

Peter is in his snowsuit - none too happy bout it - but it wasn't quite warm enough to go without!  Angela thought i was a bit cruel to take a picture of him when he had just finished his little fit but he looked so snug!

Where there's a will, there's a way - we will have coffee - no filters?  Paper towels do just fine!

One of our three kitchens that we use - this one is pretty primitive!

Our church from the back - we are sleeping in the room on the second floor with all the windows

Covered bridge on our Sunday afternoon drive

Balancing on the wall while in a walk in the State Park

Gerald's ready for dinner... 

Who might be hiding under that suit?  Time for hide and seek

French fries and homemade chicken strips - supper of champions!

Day Two Sunday March 9 2014

It's Sunday evening around 9:00 pm and I (Sid) will be writing today's blog. This morning a few of us attended the contemporary church service at 9:00 am in the fellowship hall. At 11:00 we all attended the traditional service in the sanctuary . Both services were attended by about 40 people in each service. After lunch we went for a walk to a cemetery just a few blocks from the church. We also walked through the neigbourhood an got a better look at the living conditions of some of the homes. Many of the homes are in rough shape and some are beyond repair. Gerald and I talked to one home owner who is a contractor He gave Gerald and I a tour of his home and was nicely finished. His home he bought about 20 years ago for about $20.000.00 and pays about $500.00 a year for taxes. Some of the homes on his street and the area can be purchased for $8,000.00. This gives you an idea on the condition of many of these homes in this general area. Tonight we are having a shuffle-board  tournament with everyone and then devotions together and then bed time to be rested up for our first day of work. We are thankful to God for the camaraderie between all of us and pray for God's strength and safety as we begin our work tomorrow.
Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow

Local homes in our church neighbourhood

Condemned home in our neighbourhood

View from the cemetary down to the town of Shamokin

Taking a walk about town on Sunday afternoon - about 9 degrees was pretty easy to take!

Can't come to Pennsylvania without seeing a covered bridge!!  

The journey begins...

It is now 9 pm and we are surrounded by cots strewn left right and center in our communal dorm room in the church in Shamokin which is our new home for March Break.  Andrew Peter is settling down for the night in the room next door, reliving his day of in and out of the car seat and there are games going on in different corners of our room.  The pizza supper is digesting along with our yummy dessert of cinnamon coffee cake and the coffee is poured.  It is almost time to think about doing evening devotions and bedding down for the night since we sadly lose an hour tonight - we don't mind the sacrifice too much if it means that we get more daylight tomorrow.
And how to sum up a day.... everyone will have a different impression, a different set of memories, a different recollection.  I'll do my level best to be a faithful scribe and we may have some guest writers to record their emotions and thoughts.  My name is Danielle deVries and i'm part of our team of young peoples that have travelled to Shamokin, Pennsylvania for our March break to partake in a service trip.  Our intrepid travelling companions are Sid, Michael and Chrystal Bosma, Gerald, Cameron and Alex Brouwer, Leah Koning, Alex VanVeen, Andrew, Angela and Peter VanOlst and Timothy and Danielle deVries.
In the fall of 2013, thoughts of going on a service trip began to arise and various ideas were tossed about.  After much discussion and prayer, we felt led to participate on a trip organized through World Renew, through the CRC.  They have many work sites in North America and accept volunteers as young as 14 - an important criteria for our youth group.  Shortly after Christmas, we were told we would be working in a town called Shamokin.  Immediately, our fingers flew to google and we found that Shamokin was a small town of approx 7,000 people located in the heart of coal country in Pennsylvania.  It is a very economically depressed area with many residents subsisting on welfare and very low incomes, with little industry.  There were some areas hit hard by Hurricane Irene in 2011 and there are still many homes with damage.  We would be working on two homes in the town that experienced damage from flooding and be doing demolition, drywalling, wiring and painting.  With a group of mostly young peoples, we weren't too sure about our skills list.  But we were thankful that we had two dads along who are quite handy!
After a poinsettia fundraiser sale and a successful boerenkool dinner, we were nearly ready to go.  Departure date arrived early this morning, Saturday March 8th and we all met at Rehoboth URC with our "one" bag.  Pastor VanOlst sent us off with a reading from Matthew 5 about being salt and light in the world around us and the importance of shining that light wherever we are.  After a word of prayer and encouragement, we were off.  Last minute hugs from parents and spouses and at 8:20 we were on the road.  First hurdle, BORDER CROSSING!  I say that in big letters since it was a pretty intimidating thing - crossing with 12 people (twelve and a half including little 10 month old Peter) and all our luggage might not make for the smoothest crossing.  We had all our paperwork in order and lined up with all the other Canadians making an exit for our southern neighbour.  Fortunately, since we had all our permission papers, introduction letters and passports in order and with our honest faces and obedient answers, we soon flew through and we breathing sighs of relief!  Praise the Lord!  He answered our prayers for guidance through that process.
Then it would be 4 hours south-east driving through New York and Pennsylvania.  With an average rest-stop/washroom break/gas break every hour, it was surprising that we made it to Shamokin by the early time of 3:30.  Among the more interesting things that happened along the way were our GPS telling us we were "off the road" in the middle of the mountains and "please make a right turn" when we would have ended up on a cliff or in a valley.  Good thing we had maps to read instead of blindly trusting modern technology.  We were all pretty awed by the moutains we saw along the way - Cameron giving wild claims that he would climb one of those mountains in 20 minutes - just watch me!  We'll see if we can put him to the test in Shamokin!  We also saw military practice drills, crazy pick up trucks, beautiful nature and the inside of our eyelids for a few of us!
As we neared Shamokin, we were admiring the beautiful farms and valleys, thinking perhaps we had taken a wrong turn.  These areas looked prosperous and little in need of help.  Then we rounded another corner, and we saw mountains of coal and industrial equipment every which way.  The river had turned yellow/orange from leavings from the coal industry.  And then we hit the town - I think were all taken aback by the homes we saw - very poorly maintained, with shingles and paint peeling, porches that nestled right on the main streets, and everything looking gray and run-down.  It was incredible the contrast in five minutes.  We had been told we would be staying in a church - and i think we were all envisioning a very musty church basement.  Imagine our surprise and amazement when we pulled up to the St Johns United Church of Christ and it was huge!  The pastor's wife Karen came hurrying out to greet us and make us feel very welcomed.  She led us around to the back of the building where we met her husband Bob and two other fellows we would be working with - Andy
and Ron.  They were all very friendly and made us feel at home!  The weather was warm (nearly 10 degrees!) and we were happy to be out of the cars.  We would be getting our exercise since the church has four floors and we went up and down, having a tour of the chapel, the sanctuary (which was amazing in the afternoon sunlight with sun streaming through stained glass windows) and the many classrooms and kitchens (there are 3).  We would be staying in a big largely unused room on the top floor of the church where we have a bird's eye view of the town.  There is a large divider that we pull across the room to separate the girls and guys and we were supplied with army cots to sleep on.  We would see how comfy they were!
We spent some time settling in, chatting with Bob and Karen and learning about Shamokin and the poverty in the area - learning about houses that could cost as low as $8,000 with incomes in the $20,000 range.  Many people living off welfare and disability and having difficult times breaking the poverty cycles.   I think we were all a little overwhelmed by those stats and the realities we were seeing around us.  Especially after the guys had a quick look at our job site and discovered no electricity on the ground floor and no working bathroom - how can someone live like that for over 2 years - here in North America... we were hit with how much we have been blessed, how much we take for granted and how much we have to share with what the Lord has given us.  We pray that God may lead and guide us to be His hands and feet here in Shamokin.
|And so we come full circle, devotions included a text from Ephesians 1:15-23 and a meditation on finding the wisdom of Christ and a time for sharing our highs and lows of the day - a great way to end the day, in the Word and in fellowship. Lights out at 11!!!!

Lunch break near the Pennsylvania border

GPS sending us off the road... trust the Map!

Coal strip mining in Shamokin

The stained glass windows of our home away from home

Settling in our new home

One of the houses we will be working on