Suncrest United Methodist Church

This was my second mission trip I have been on and I really like them ,great people,great fellowship,great work from all,it truelly is something everyone should experience,thank you to all that made it possible.God Bless.

YAY! Mississippi Trip 2010 was a wonderful adventure! I am so happy I got to go again this year with my church family! I love you all and we did so much good for others. Thanks to God for a wonderful time. I love you all and I miss ya all already! See ya soon.

We are all home safely from the trip--exhausted but exhilirated! There is still so much work to be done there. The economy was devastated by Katrina, and many families just can't get back on their feet. Sarah's neighbor came over to her house that we were working on, looked around, and plaintively asked if we could work on his house. Regrettably, his house is scheduled for demolition. It's heartbreaking to see the hopelessness in the faces of the young men hanging around, not working. Houses still boarded up, blue tarps on roofs--four years after Katrina and the effects of that storm are still impacting the area. Hope we can make the trip next year--there is much to do and we need many hands and lots of prayers!

Robin.. that video can be uploaded on to the website.. you have that option as well...

Can you believe it snowed here? Didn't stick but got everyone excited. Schools were called off, Mardi Gras activities canceled, meetings called off. I guess snow down here is a big deal. I'm sure you all would just love to send them some of ours! Today we continued work in one of the bathrooms, putting up drywall, taping and mudding drywall, and finishing the wall. We also got the livingroom painted and the two bedrooms primedl. The house looks way better than when we started! Wish we could finish it but we are all exhausted. Last night Larry, Sven (AKA "Seven"), and Tim entertained us with their rendition of "Throw It Out the Window" and "A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea." I think it might show up on YouTube! We also got to meet two of the families whose houses we were working on when they joined us for dinner. All in all a wonderful week with good fellowship, good work done, and great food (Thank you Chef Joe and his sous chefs Robin and Reita!).

I cannot believe it is Thursday alreadyt! It was a dreary, rainy, sometimes sleeting day, but nowhere near as bad as it is back home. We did more drywall, sanded drywall, laid flooring, stomped the living room ceiling,began building a wall in one of the bathrooms, and got the primer on in the living room. The house is looking great. Sarah and her family, as well as some of the other folks we are helping, are joining us for dinner tonight. It is so terrific to see their houses become homes again for them! The "guys" took off to see Vera's house from last year--the house that had to be jacked up six inches to be leveled. Tomorrow we hope to get the living room painted in our house and get the other rooms ready for trim and to be painted. Wish we could stay another week to get it all done!

We hope you are having a good time on your trip. We are praying for you and hope that you will get all the wrok done that's needed. We love you Aunt Betty (Betty Alexander).

Another hard day of work. So exciting to see these houses begin to look livable again. We put up more drywall, put down flooring, and mudded drywall. Sarah, our homeowner, brought us shrimp po'boys for lunch--delicious! Team two worked on painting and getting the floor ready for linoleum. Sven installed the water heater and built a closet to enclose it. Did a fantastic job with both!! Team three painted and started putting in woodwork. Pastor Tim put in another window and did a perfect job. We're all tired, sore, and paint-splattered, but very happy. It's cooler than we'd like, but we had some sun, and of course, no snow. Stay safe back there in West Virginia!

I have been praying and thinking about all of you. I wish I could of been there with you but as you know I am needed here at home right now. Love and Peace to all of you. Have a safe trip home.

Day two of our trip. It was much colder today, with a fierce wind. Our team put up drywall, mudded drywall, and put down flooring. One of the other teams put in windows, painted, and installed a dishwasher. Our third team painted, visited Home Depot 4 times, and built a cabinet around the water heater. We came back cold, sore, and tired, but Chef Joe's hot soup revived us before our delicious dinner of chicken enchiladas. Tomorrow is supposed to be colder, but should be a great day!

Snowmaggedon didn\'t stop our mission team!! The van contingent left Friday. Snow, sleet, wind, and rain couldn\'t stop them. They arrived in D\'Iberville on Saturday. Judy Moore and I were going to leave on Saturday, but no way! We left at 7:00 a.m. on Sunday and reached D\'Iberville at 11:30 (WV time). Long day. Val and Mark Markel arrived today. One team (Ron Lytle, Larry and CJ, Don Smallwood, Justin White, Larry Goodwin and me) worked on one house, mudding and taping drywall, laying floor underlayment and putting up drywall, Team two (Liz, Vance, Tim, and Shirley worked on Carol\'s house, painting, trimming, replacing windows, and putting in a new dishwasher. Team three worked on another house, putting in a hot water heater and painting, among other work. It was a beautiful day with blue skies and about 65 degrees. Got lots of work done at all sites, and are looking forward to tomorrow! And of course, last night was Chef Joe\'s Superbowl party with his famous queso dip, wings, and chili. Go Saints!

Scottie and I appreciate the outreach service that this second group from SUMC will provide to D'lberville, MS during the days of this second mission trip.