Tioga, PA

Ariel view Ive's Run Campground & Park

It's been over a month since we have posted anything about what we have been doing.  We have been very busy!  Working 20 hours a week at Ive's Run State Park is just the beginning.  We are still trimming bushes and weeding the butterfly gardens!! They were a mess!  The bushes were about 8 feet tall or more and we are cutting at least 5 feet off.  We have been enjoying it though!

Our Campsite at Ive's Run where we are working for the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Trina mowing

On the gator

Cleaning out under the bushes.

Mel sanding drywall

We have also connected with a United Methodist Church here in the area, Calvary UMC and they are very active in outreach and missions.  We have been working in Athens, PA on flooded homes putting up, mudding and sanding drywall. It is amazing how much damage was done over a year ago and that the people are still living in FEMA trailers or have had to make other arrangements for housing.  Calvary also has a food pantry and clothing pantry for those in need. Although we are just getting to know the pastor and people at Calvary, they welcomed us with open arms and are interested in what we are doing.

We are actively looking into the water project for Puerto Lempira, HN with Water Missions International. There is a Safe Water Project Request that needs to be completed. We are in contact with Alex Waits in Puerto Lempira about this as it asks a lot of information that we do not have.  Water Missions International is a non-profit who helps communities all over the world to create clean water.  They require a lot of information up front because they do a feasibility study at the location to make sure that the community is willing to become vested in the project - like Goodwill says, "Giving people a hand up not a hand out."  

Trinity at 6 months!!

GAiN, Christian Aid Ministries, Tioga, PA

GAiN 

Attached are pictures from Friday, June 22nd and Saturday, June 23rd working at GAiN. Mel and I worked at packaging beans and rice on Friday and at packing new clothing on Saturday.  We met a lot of wonderful people.  While packing the beans and rice, the group broke a record of packing over 17,000 meals in less than 2 hours!!! That could feed a family of four for almost 4 years!! A really touching part, was that when we had finished stacking a pallet, we all gathered around the pallet and prayed for the people who would receive the items.  Very touching to be a part of.

Click here for photos from GAiN

Christian Aid Ministries  

We found another ministry in Lancaster County that is similar to GAiN.  It is called Christian Aid Ministries and we toured their warehouse and are planning on helping them in the future as well.  They also work in disaster relief in the states and send aid to countries around the world.  

 

Tioga, PA Work

July / August

Mel and I arrived at Ives Run Park on July 1 to begin our 2 months of "work kamping".  We are each working 20 hours a week to be able to cover the cost of the campsite,  The first week saw us working on frames to build up filing cabinets in the Visitor Center as well as picking up trash after the 4th of July festivities.  We are looking forward to meeting many people and building relationships while we are here. 

We attended Calvary United Methodist Church today.  They are a very mission oriented church and we made connections to help out in the next 2 months.  After service today, we stepped right in and helped load left over items from their UMW Rummage Sale that is being used to help reduce their mortgage. As soon as we know more, we will post here.

Photos from GAiN

Hello there! 

We thought it was time to let everyone know what we have been up to.  We have been taking it slow getting to Tioga, PA where we will be staying at Ives Run Campground for July and August. We have been visiting family and are now in Lancaster, PA where we are volunteering at GAiN (Global Aid Network).  The warehouse is located here.  They have 2 work weeks a year and we just happened to find out about it while eating dinner at a family restaurant! A family noticed that we were wearing our Crop Walk tee-shirts and asked if we were helping out at GAiN.  We had never heard of it, so we asked many questions.  Come to find out, it is part of Campus Crusade and they send donations from individuals, churches, and business partners all around the world including the US!  We stopped in the next day and learned much more.  There were hundreds of volunteers working at packing the donations for transit around the world! School groups, youth groups, women's and men's groups, people from all over the states are here to help out for this one week.  Mel and I actually packed seeds donated from Burpee and destined for Gambia.  There are clothes, dental equipment, scooters, seeds, food, blankets, shoes, quilts (hand made by volunteers) and so much more.  If you would like to know more, please check out their website. It is http://gainusa.org/getinvolved/gdc/

We stopped in Charleston, SC and toured Water Missions International, a Chrsitian Organization. They supply sustainable clean water systems to third world countriees and disaster assistance here in the US and abroad. Their website is  http://www.watermissions.org/

We toured the facility and were very impressed with the ability of the water systems they build using volunteers.  They are involved during the entire process from initial idea to completion of project.  They help, teach and train the community where the water system will be installed on the necessity of clean water and their health.  A community must be part of the project from the beginning and are asked to assist in
installation and are trained in the upkeep and maintenance.

In September, we are attending the NOMADS annual meeting in Hamburg, NY. After that we are signed up to work at Lakeshore United Methodist Assembly in Eva, TN for 3 weeks beginning on October 8th.  It is a retreat and camp center located on the Tennessee River. We are looking forward to helping in any way we can.

Please continue to pray that we follow where God is leading us.  You are all in our prayers. 

God Bless You!!

Trina and Mel

Countdown has started.  June 1st is right around the corner.  Please pray for direction for our plans. 

Welcome to our Blog!
We will be posting news and information soon about our upcoming missions!