Big Challenge

Sometimes life seems to give us challenges so big, that we think that we can not handle them.

Floods and rains are like that.

If we step back, and look at almost anything individually, bit by bit. we can handle alomost anything.

He has showed us that. He is with us every step of the way, and with others.

Can we show that we have faith in our beliefs? And that we have belief in our faith?

Of course we can.

What are we gonna do when we get there?

My real life job as a village manager in northwest OH gave me a gentle reminder of what rains & storms can do. 3-1/2 inches of rain in under 45 minutes let the the phones ring off the hooks, radio traffice from the service crews & police services were almost non-stop. The sewer construction project for the day floated to a stop, and an impromptu monster-mud-pit developed, as did a new fishing hole at Main & Locust.

Looking back to what our YSP mission trip to Cedar Rapids held in store for us, this is what one of the local residents had to say:

Flood Recovery Story by Erica Zito and Melisa BW The June flood destroyed Robin’s two-bedroom cottage in Czech town when her first floor took on 38 inches of water. “Even my picnic table jumped the fence and floated away,’ she said. But thanks to countless hours of volunteer labor coordinated by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), Robin will move back in her home at the beginning of April.

“There’s no way I would have been able to redo my house with the FEMA money without all the volunteer labor,” Robin said. “They’ve done everything. My house is beautiful.”

Immediately after the flood, Robin stayed with her sister in Swisher for three months. She mucked and gutted the house herself. “I didn’t have any problem gutting it,” she said. “I was so mad!” She moved into a FEMA trailer at the beginning of October. “I adore my sister, as she does me, but God doesn’t mean for us to live together,” she said, chuckling. Robin praised Project Manger Curt Liscum for his time and patience with rebuilding her home. “Curt is a wonderful man,” she said. “He handled everything. I’m not a boss person. I don’t like to ask for anything.” She especially liked the fact that Curt gave her the opportunity to choose her cabinets, countertops, and more. “I got a black sink,” she said, “Which is so cool!” Robin also had volunteers install a shower, instead of a bathtub because she is getting older and will be less able to get in and out of a tub.

“The volunteers were so sweet,” she said of the teams from across the country, including Michigan and Upstate New York. “They even pulled weeds up in front of my house. “I will be forever indebted.”

The verse Philipians 4:13 comes to mind. If you feel the ability to help sponsor a sink, a shower or even a weed-puliing youth for a day, please contact Shawn Harris at sharris@mentorumc.org.

Tools, skills & things

Way back in the day, one of my philosphy prefessors led a discussion something like this. . . He who cannot rest, cannot work; he who cannot let go, cannot hold on; he who cannot find footing, cannot go forward.. . . .

We all have a set of tools that have almost limitless potential. One of the challenges of YSP is reaching deep into our tool kit, sometimes even reaching out to the box, to see what we can do & what we can teach.

YSP is a chance to reach w-a-y o-u-t-s-i-d-e and lend a hand, make a difference not only to the host families that allow us to serve them, but to extend our family with the youths ans other adults that volunteer their time to come on YSP.

There are time when that special "YSP moment" happens and someone on your your crew truly amazes you with newfound skills, tools or capabilities.

Just for today, I will look for time to rest, to replenish, to gain proper footing.

Memorial Day

It started 141 years ago, with a General Order to Honor Those That Have Fallen & Served.

Call it Memorial Day (by Act Of Congress in 1971), or Decoration Day, or Rememberance Day.

Honor Those that have Served, and Given There All.

58,326 of my generation of Brothers in the Theater.

5,240 of my daughter's generation in the Sandbox.

May there by no more, from my grandchild's generation.

ThankYou for Serving. We Honor you.

The need is still there

Some disasters and floods are headline makers. Some fade away as time goes on - but the need goes on. This is one of those types of need.

The following is one of the resident's story's. This is the typical resident that YSP will be assisting during this year's mission trip.

JoEllen, a widow, is raising twins with autism. She lost her home in Pennsylvania to a tornado in 1985. And she was displaced from her tri-level Palo home due to the June 2008 flood.
“People say ‘God won’t give you more than you can handle,’” she said. “I didn’t believe that. Then your volunteers showed up. And I knew I could keep going.”
The flood destroyed the bottom floor of her home, which included the living room, laundry room, and a bedroom.
“I had moved everything up on the first floor, thinking it would be fine,” she said. But the water rose, knocking over chairs and destroying the kitchen appliances and lower cabinets.
“I never dreamed the river would get where it did,” she said.
For seven weeks, the kids stayed with friends in Pennsylvania, and she lived with a friend in Marion. She worked day and night to restore a sense of normalcy to the home for her children.
When they moved back in, JoEllen used a microwave and gas grill to prepare meals, and washed dishes on the picnic table until about October. “When volunteers put in the kitchen, I was able to have a sink!”
Today, JoEllen’s home is close to completion, thanks to the work of volunteers.
“We wouldn’t be where we are without them,” she said. She added that the emotional support of the volunteers has also been helpful.
“My living room was built with love,” she said. “ I want volunteers to know how much we appreciate them

We have truly blessed with a supportive congragation and community. If you see an opportunity to help underwrite a portion of the YSP trip, sponsor a new sink or gallon of paint or sheet of drywall, we would be forever greatful. You may contact the youth minister Shawn Harris at sharris@mentorumc.org

Why do we do it

Why do we do YSP year after year?

Why do the youth go a first time?

Why do the youth come back a second time?

Why do the Youth transition to Young Adult and come back?

Is it because it's hard, sweaty work, or it's boundless energy that comes back after a shower?

Is it because my mom said, or my friends are going, or there's this guys, sort of, who, you know?

Is it because the youths keep you young, or you want to pay it back, or pay it forward?

Is it because you can, or the family you help can't?

Is it because you heard or felt a voice? And just maybe is was an Awesome Voice?

It is because . . . . . . . . . . (fill in the blank)

It is because of a wide extended family of support from you, because we know we can extend that family of support.

Maybe it is because we know Him. Or we want to.

39 days & counting

Last minute preparations are SERIOUSLY underway now. God bless our 3 cooks, they really have taken care of the hungry hordes in the past - how much peanut butter & jelly do you buy? - meals on the road, lunches for the work sites, dinner for 57, including the VEGETARIANS, how many bottles of hot sauce do you get?

How do we get there? 7 vans, 1 cargo van, 1 mini van - is there enough room to jam 57 sleeping bags, plus long term duffle bags with work clothes (Really how much STUFF does a teenage girl reallyneed for a week), short-term overnight bags plus pillows and coolers and SNACKS. Bill Turner is doing a great job arranging not only the van needs but drivers licenses and insurance (minor details Bill, minor details). Have you ever seen 57 people do a potty-stop at once while on the turnpike?

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? ARE WE THERE YET?????? Shawn Harris & Bill Otte are doing a yoeman's job with keeping the troops entertained coming, going & while over-nighting on the road. Singing 100 bottles of beer (oops - root beer - this is a church sponsored event) can get old pretty fast (so does listening to Hanna Montanna CD's as well). If you've ever taken a family trip in the summer, you KNOW what traveling in a van with 7 girls is like (ps. ear plugs can really help :) ).

We have truly blessed with a supportive congragation and community. If you see an opportunity to help underwrite a portion of the YSP trip, sponsor a meal for a crew for a day or a work-site brown bag we would be forever greatful. You may contact the youth minister Shawn Harris at sharris@mentorumc.org

40 days & counting down

What do 57 youth and adults, a community on the lake, a community devastate by the river, 1 time zone, 597 miles of seperation and the support of untold members, friends and strangers in sperate congregations have in common?

A willingness to reach out, get hot, sweaty and dirty in be in Service to HIS Word and extend a helping hand to the residents of the Marion and Cedar Rapids, Iowa area devastated by the June 2008 floods.

Watch & follow as the Youth Service Projest, an outreach ministry of the Mentor United Methodist Church prepare to leave for Cedar Rpaids, Iowa to do flood relief and home repair during the 2009 (June 26 thru July 4) YSP mission.