Last Day

 June and Americore worker covering up a hole from a stump removal!

Cross Roads Crew shoveling gravel for drainage.

Why aren't we working?
 

Joe and Megan finishing the trim work at Steve's house.

It has been an awesome week.  We finished up around 1:30 today with many, many happy homeowners appreciative of a week of grace filled work.  The leader of Jersey Care gushed with praise for all the work we accomplished during the week.  She was amazed.  We also kept her hopping finding us new jobs to accomplish.

A special thank you to our drivers, team leaders, cooks, devotional leaders, Presbytery office staff, and the 33 talented children of God who worked on the Jersey coast this week.  Well done, good and faithful servants!

Final Post

It is late on Friday night.  The bus is arriving early in the morning for our 6 1/2 hour grip back to Western PA.  We are tired but blessed from the many new friends we have made and the genuine love shared by homeowners and people on the street we encountered who thanked us again and again for coming.

Thanks you Kiski Presbytery for helping to make this possible.  Thank you 33 very talented servants of Jesus who chose to share your gifts and talents on the Jersey Coast this week.   Amen.

Kiski Uno Late Nighters!

Kathy from Jersey Cares giving us a safety lecture.  She was totally awesome allweek!

Dave Larimer and Al Fritz rolling a refrigerator on the street to a home about two blocks way.

2014 Kiskiminetas Mission Trip Team Members!

Detective Steve, one of our many home owners, with his 4 week old daughter.   



David Larimer and Al Fritz moving a large refrigerator from a home that is to be demolished.  It traveled about3 blocks.

CRCPC Mission Team completed the flat roof and decking redo project
 



Hump Day Over

   Wednesday of Mission Trip weeks is referred to as Hump Day because on this day workers are usually pretty tired and tend to get a little careless in the middle of the week.  Hump Day has come and gone without any mishaps!

 Our five crews worked so very hard today.  Home owners that we didn't know a few days ago are welcoming us into their homes, feeding us, and marveling at the incredible work ethic of the Kiskiminetas Presbytery Team.

One team told the story of working with a private contractor at one home who was using some very salty and crusty language when they first arrived.  All week long he has been showered with kindness and goodness by our work team and they have noticed major changes today in his life as the Kingdom of God is just lived out in front of him.

     Another awesome meal tonight.  We ate taco's and tons and tons of leftovers from all our meals to date.  Tomorrow we're set for a hot breakfast casserole that chef Natalie whipped up!

Below is a picture of our crew outside the ice cream store that is a favorite for all of us in the evening following devotions and wrap up meetings.  One group picked out the ice cream cones tonight and headed to the beach.  As we walked up the street we came upon a Catholic Church that is very old with a gorgeous front area made up of marble imported from Italy.  The church folk were telling us about how the first shipment sunk on the way over on a ship over 130 years ago.   We then discovered that the church was used in the movie Amityville Horror several years ago in the scene where there were exploding angels!

          After some very hard work clearing out a basement these three wonderful ladies are taking a moment to rest and refresh.

 

Hopefully more pictures tomorrow if the Web Manager can get pictures from our work crews and can stay awake while sending this.  Same time tomorrow.

 

A Flavor of Tuesday

                 Getting ready for Tuesday meant eating well on Monday night!  A great meal fixed by one of our crews.  Baked chicken and potatoes, Tossed Salad, and brownies.  Yummy.  Many from our trip walked seven blocks to the boardwalk and then visited the Ice Cream parlor one block from the church on the way back.  Yummy twice!

We are divided up into 5 work teams for the week.  Our team leaders are Jim Potter, David Larimer, Cindy Boyer, David Koehler, and co-leaders Anna Himes and Don Becker.  Some work teams are traveling about 60 minutes to job sites and others are traveling 15 minutes.  The scope of the work is enormous.  Several of the homes we have very large "to do" list and others are one job and out.

Family names whose homes we are working on that you can be praying for include the following:  Derovertis Pasquelina, Steve Mecka, Kathy & Eric Smith, Eileen Hunt, Robin Lowry, Randi Palmer, Connie Amato-Demeo, Donna Ryan, Vicki Forte, Florence Sontagg, and Joan Johnson.  Our crews have been receiving blessings and thanksgivings from homeowners, neighbors, and strangers on the

street. 

Team Dave Member power washing a deck!

 

Team Dave Leader protecting himself from the rain and from the power washer.  Most teams worked outside in the rain on Tuesday AM.

 

 This crew (JoeVigna & Gary Cockroft) along with several others dug this ditch about two foot deep, installed floor drain piping, and covered with gravel and sand at the home of Steve Mecka.

       Tonight as we worshipped and talked together we marveled at how much God has blessed us even in these few short days.  We are eager for what the morrow will bring.  Thanks for your prayers!

 



 

 





Monday: You people really work hard!

 

             Check out this crew on Team 2 taking out shrub roots around one of our client's homes.  Barnegat Bay had a huge storm surge during the height of Sandy which washed 6' to 8' of sand up all around his home.  Jim Potter, Gary Cockroft, Tammy Dunnivan, and Gary Lyon in this pictures along with Jamie Rimmel, Antoinette Cockroft, Miranda Kumpf, Megan Vigna, Joe Vigna, and Patty Potter worked all day to remove nearly two dozen shrubs growing wild all around this home.  In addition they tarred an exterior wall, dug a sewage ditch and began to make plans for the rest of the week with the homeowner.

 

        
          Three from this team went to visit another home owner who has been waiting nearly two years for her insurance company to respond their needs.  Fortunately for them the insurance company finally has come through with  a partial check and now work in earnest can begin.  When probed with further questions it became very clear that insurance companies and FEMA are not popular with the locals!

The Pt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church has created three living areas for large groups of mission trip workers.  The rooms fit 4 beds on each of the side walls.  Notice the partitions which divide the rooms.  We've discovered this week that noise travels through these walls very easily!

 

 

       Dinner tonight was totally filling.  Baked Chicken and Baked Potato, salad, and roll filled our plates with brownies to follow.   Stay tuned for word about tomorrow.

 



Arrival at Pt. Pleasant!

          We made it!  33 mission trip workers from Kiskiminetas Presbytery have arrived at the Pt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church.  Clyde our bush driver did an awesome job in getting us here safely and quickly.  7 of our participants are first time mission trippers and we are thrilled. 
           The churches provided us an awesome meal with so many desserts that we are going to have to do a ton of work to get all the extra weight off!
            We received the first of two orientations.  Tonight we learned about the devastation that occurred nearly two years ago when Hurricane Sandy roared ashore.  There are many homes that are still not even touched with any inside rebuilds.  We were told that if you drive up and down the streets at nights you can see which homes these are because they are dark.  It has take nearly two years for most home owners who need to have their homes raised up, to get through the red tape to make this possible.
             We are about 6 blocks from Pt. Pleasant Beach you see above.  The church is located right next to high school which will make for very interesting day time parking.
            Tomorrow we'll begin our day by picking up all our vehicles at 7:30 AM, going through a second orientation, and then off to 5 different job sites.  Please keep us in your prayers as we travel the busy highways in Jersey, make new friends, meet homeowners, and serve in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.