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Moments of ASP

Day 2 (Monday) July 27th

Hello Blog Readers!

Welcome to Day 2 of SUMC’s ASP journey. After a successful drive down to Omar Elementary School we all set up blow up mattresses in tight formation so as to squeeze into the classroom. Of course girl team members and boy team members were directed to classrooms on opposite ends of the building so as to prevent the dreaded “purple” (ASP term for girls and boys mixing. Girls are pink and boys are blue.)

Because we have a larger group from SUMC going down to West Virginia this year, the team was split up into four smaller teams at separate locations. The teams are self named Team Sumac (Rebecca F, Jessica, William, Jamie, Kaylyn and Heidi and Randy Sr. as group leaders), (Julia, Meaghan, Sydney, Kyle, Randy Jr. and Judi and Barbara as group leaders), (Alex, Christian (CJ), Lauren, Erin, Rebecca D, and Carola and Steve James as group leaders, (Michela, Charlie, Howard, Nick, and Cathie and “Gramps” as group leaders). Phew! It turns out that the Cathie/Gramps and the Heidi/Randy Sr. groups are working in neighbour houses so both will be able to lend a hand if needed. Our family’s range from Single 23 year old mother with two kids, to grandparents taking care of a two year old granddaughter, to a house full of various family member s to a 27 year old married mother with a 2 year old. Each have a similar difficult situation that has brought ASP to their home.

One family Eisha (the single mother) and her kids Jayden (2) and Nia (4) – pronounced Nigh-a in typical southern drawl fashion. The team spent the day tearing down (excuse me, “repairing”) the bathroom ceiling. Only euphemisms are used at ASP so as to minimize possible offensive situations to the family. One team member, Jessica got closely acquainted with the more domestic wild life of West Virginia when a dead mouse fell on her head while working on the bathroom ceiling.

Though not all of our team members have the skills necessary to make professional quality results, we have the hearts, spirit and willingness to learn and try our best. Let’s hope this is a successful week!

Day 3 (Tuesday) July 28th


Though many of the youth are finding the lack of technological outlets and cell phone service hotspots frustrating, many find the situation a relaxing alternative to the norm. Don’t worry though, everyone is making due. The girls scoured the halls for cell phone service and found a patch right above Julia’s blow up mattress. Charlie Scofield somehow managed to hook the boy’s room up with a projector/screen found in the classroom and DVD system so they can watch movies. Now that’s roughing it!

We all had very tiring and t rying days with various challenges. One of the greatest challenges that we’re all finding is that we have the manpower (or womanpower) necessary to complete a task but lacked the tools or the space inside the trailers and houses. As a treat for all our hard work so far, the leaders drove the youth to Walmart to each pick out a personal Ben and Jerry’s tub of ice cream.

An aspect that comes with being emerged into a culture entirely different from our own is how interesting it is to talk to normal people about their everyday lives or experiences. One such character was a 50-something “Coon” hound owner/ coal miner/pastor living near the trailer park. The man’s eldest Coon hound was an eight year old grouchy father who held the record in the area for most coons caught. 400 in one year when he was younger! The coon puppies around the house who were being reared to follow in their father’s footsteps were very adorable. The coon (or racoon as they are known in the north) skins are sold for $25 each. The man said that he had been working in the coal mine for 32 years and that he worked the night shift from dusk until dawn. In his spare time he drives to Ohio and upstate New York to find more flat hunting areas. His knees have become bad for hunting on the mountains of West Virginia from years of coal mining.


Day 4 (Wednesday) July 29th


There are some aspects of t he living situation that are slightly less than spa quality. The communal showers in the boys and girls bathrooms come to mind for example. Luckily makeshift curtains were strong up across the communal area to make three separate showering areas. Lets just say however that a strong gust of wind (or water pressure!) exposes all.

Day 5 (Thursday) July 30th

On Thursday our ASP teams went to the traditional ASP picnic where all of the volunteers and the families they serve for the week gather together for hamburgers and hotdogs. Many of our families were able to make it to the picnics, as well as our family from Mingo County last year. On our way out of the state park there was a huge downpour and two trees crashed down across the only exit of the park, where two of the teams became trapped for over an hour. Luckily there was a fire department nearby however, and the firefighters came equipped with many chainsaws to clear the road, and we were able to return home to our air mattresses after this harrowing experience, and sleep in preparation for the last day on site.
Thursday at the work site was filed with lots of hard work, but our group had a difficult time getting there! In my group was Judi, Barbra, Randy Jr., Julia, Sydni, Kyle, and me (Meaghan). We attempted to leave the center, only to find that our battery in our van had died. So after we got another van to jump us, we tried to pull out. Then, our van made a horrible screeching sound, and Randy Jr. the super mechanic found that the suspension system in our van had broke. So he took off the tire, and began to repair our car. Before too long, we had temporarily repaired it, so we all piled in and started off. We hadn't goone a mile, when pieces of foam that were tied to our roof started flying off into the road! So we had to pull over and collect that foam. At this point, Randy Jr. found that the car wasn't able to make it, so we had to go to the center to get him to repair it again. As he took off the tire, our group came to realize that Randy was extremely resourceful mechanic, as well as a talented Construction worker. Without him, we would all probably still be stuck at the center. After this second repair, it started to rain. So we were back on the road, and our foam fell off the roof...again! so we retrieved it (again) and set off for a doctor's office, because Judi had found out that she had pink eye. After getting lost getting to the doctor, and filling the perscription for eye drops, by the time we made it to the work site it was nearly one o'clock in the afternoon! Despite our late start, we finished laying a new kitchen floor, and finished one side of installation that we had to install underneath the trailer. What a day! So here we finally are on day four of our work week! We are all working hard to complete our projects on our homes as we are the last week of the summer and MUST complete our projects for our families.... there is no PLAN B, so POWER UP!!!!! Team Hibernating Tear Drops aka AWP has been pushing hard on our flooring project for Krystal and her family. Today we have promised the center directors that we will not leave the site until we get the sub floor and luan down with the primer on!......even if it means we are late to the picnic that the directors put on for everyone at the center as well as their families. Charlie and Michela did an excellent job and sawed out the flooring in the hall with the circular saw, while Nick and Howard started in on sanding in the kitchen. With the sawing complete Howard and Nick helped haul out the old hall flooring removing boards with many nails still attached.... no problem for these incredibly strong two! WOW! Earlier in the week Howard met with quite a surprise as he single handedly removed an old floor board in the kitchen (like it was lifting something as light as a piece of paper!) to find a rooster trotting around trapped under the trailer! We named him Harold and launched the "FREEE HAROLD CAMPAIGN" which was successful in freeing Harold! With heavy rain we are lucky that the ASP group the week before us installed a lovely porch on Krystal's home WITH A little ROOF! All just big enough to hold our sawhorses and set up our sawing station to cut the new pieces of sub floor and luan that we will put down. Our multi talented crew is unbelievable and all are just fabulous workers each rising to every occasion with new and previously unidentified talents .... whatever is required for our job!
We are really enjoying our time with Krystal and Jermaine, who are in their 20's and their adorable son Kieran. Kieran has been at bible camp all week so we are really liking having him around now and getting to know him!
Ok so now our kitchen is ready to prime and our hallway is ready for sub floor of OSB board and then luan. As we begin preparing to cut our floor boards on the porch in the rain our saw horses completely collapse. After some time spend trying to make them workable we decide that the safest option is to borrow from across the holler at the site of Heidi, Randy, Rebecca, Jessica, Kalyn, William and Jamie. Luckily they are done with their sawhorses and we are able to take these to our site and continue working! After much measuring, re measuring, re measuring and praying!!! and touch ups by our resident expert GRAMPS (the floor, walls, trailer in general is not square or even in any way shape or form!!!) all of our pieces of flooring fit and are nailed in! With much excitement we are ready to prime and with all hands on deck the priming is completed! HOORAY for us! This was true teamwork with everyone giving it their all to make this happen!
We are off to the center and arrive back just in time with 8 minutes left in the youth shower schedule (youth can shower from the hour to the half and then adults from the half to the next hour as part of the safe sanctuaries policy of the center). Michela is able to race into the center (along with the boys!) to make it into her shower shift successfully! After this we are off to the picnic and make it just in time for the start! The center directors auction off 2 large steaks (as a center fundraiser!) After some heavy bidding the steaks are won to members of the Illinois group much to the dismay of Steve James!
Our family from last year the Jacksons met us at the picnic as well as many of the families from this year and a wonderful time was had by all relaxing and visiting with the families as well as enjoying hamburgers, hot dogs and all the fixings of a lovely picnic! The picnic closed with a heavy rainstorm. Two of the vans (ours included) made it out of the park in torrential rainfall, but two of our vans plus many of the families were blocked by a falling tree right across the road leading to the exit (the only exit). Randy Dibiase jr (aka dubbed Chuck Norris due to his many and unlimited abilities) attempted to remove the tree and was eventually assisted by the Logan Fire Department after 911 summoned them. The exit was finally cleared and everyone returned safely to the center with another adventure to tell about!

Day 6 (Friday) July 31

Friday We are back at it again on our flooring project for Hibernating Teardrops! Today we will lay the linoleum and put up molding that our group has purchased to give it a finished look. The Heidi and Randy team has finished up at their site and has headed down the road today to join up with Carola, Steve, Alex, Rebecca D., Lauren and Erin as their home has many projects to finish up in this eighth week. As we begin applying the tile adhesive, Foxy, Krystal's 12 week old pit bull (she has 4 all together) leaps onto the sub floor and adeptly places his snout into the adhesive bucket and comes out with some new facial features. These are corrected by Krystal and the job begins again. As our team has agreed to go to Walmart at the end of the day to buy breakfast supplies for the whole SUMC contingent (so we won't have to stop for breakfast on the road on Sat) and GRAMPS has offered to treat our team to a SUBWAY lunch if we are able to finish by lunch time, the team is working hard to complete our project! At 2PM our project is complete, molding and all and it looks fabulous! Krystal is absolutely thrilled with her new floor, plumbing job, etc. and the team is delighted too!
It is back to the center where after showers, dinner, and a dodge ball tournament we set in for our "Harry Potter" Friday night party!!! (this is really a cleaning party to prepare the center for close up for the summer. Two of our teams are assigned to the kitchen, which involves moving EVERYTHING and providing this cafeteria kitchen with a cleaning that it has maybe never seen because we are AWESOME! If the youth were spectacular on the construction site they prove they are not only spectacular in the cleaning department, but FUN!!! too!! After the cleaning the adults head to bed (to get sleep for the drive home in the am) with our senior (18 yo ) youths taking over leadership for the midnight ice cream party put on by the center directors! This truly is a celebration for many many things we have experienced this week, including the completion of EVERY PROJECT at every work site for EVERY family. God has truly blessed us one and all.

Friday night ICE CREAM party!: After the infamous Friday night cleaning party, we were treated to an ice cream party by the staff! We were all directed to go to the parking lot at around midnight, once the cleaning party had concluded. When we got out there, there were three or four tables filled with toppings for our ice cream sundaes! And next to the last table was a large wheelbarrel, that had been covered in a plastic bag. Inside, there were about twenty different ice cream flavors all in one large area, squished together! It was so great. After we got our sundaes, we all sat in the parking lot, and socialized with our Illinois friends. Then, things got interesting. There was lots of ice cream left over. So, the center directors, Alex, Sam, John and Kaitllyn started to pick up kids at their request, and holding them up by their ankles to dunk their faces into the ice cream pile. Many kids from our group participated in this endeavor with much success!!! The party concluded at around one in the morning, at which point we all quietly went into our rooms (so we wouldn't wake the adults) and collapsed onto our air mattresses. We only had a few hours to get some sleep, due to the fact that we were getting up extremely early that coming morning, to depart from the center and begin the long trek home. It was the perfect end to a perfect week.

Our First Morning is West Virginia

We are at Biscuit world now. Very tasty!! I talked to Beullah (family from last year) last night and she and her family will visit us at the picnic on Thurs (as it happens we will be working on her sister's home in Omar!!). We met the other teams from Illinois and they are very nice. The kids are planning their intro skit as I write. All are well and they are getting along great (Meaghan expects to arrive on Mon night). Everyone is pleased w their teams. It is Howard's bday today and we sang to him at dinner last night and here at breakfast.

Last night, we had to call the security co because the shower was on in the gym and the door was locked and we thought it would flood. The guy came and shut it off (at 1 am!!) and all was well. The skit is done now and it will involve the red rover game. Off to church and then to Omar.

More later!

On the Way to West Virginia

We arrived at the SUMC at 6 a.m.. Once we had jammed (and I do mean jammed) all the tools and suitcases into the vans, we were off around 7:30. It is about 11 now and we are moving through Pennsylvania at a good clip. Everyone is happy so far because we have only been driving for 3.5 hours - ha, ha). Some of the boys turned their seats to face backwards to offer more leg room to the other kids in the car (I hope you can ride backwards if you tend to get car sick!).

Everyone is REALLY enjoying the snack bags from the members of the church. Thanks VERY much! We are eating our way state to state. Meantime, poor Meaghan had to stay behind (at least for now) because she took ill late last night (we all miss you, Meaghan!).

We are so grateful and blessed to have so many people supporting the Stratford United Methodist Church ASP youth mission. It is a wonderful experience for the youth (and the adult leaders), and the need in Appalachia is endless. Thanks to all of you! More later.

As always, you can check back here for more posts, and other posts that may not have been in the email. If you would like to visit our website, please click here.
SUMC
ASP 2009

ASP 2009 has begun!

After months of planning and fund raising, ASP 2009 is finally upon us. We are all looking forward to getting to the center (in Omar, WV); our home for the next week. On the way down we will be stopping in Charleston, WV to stay for the night. There, we will be staying with the two teams from Illinois who will be at our center with us. The drive all the way to Charleston will take about 9½ hours, and then another 2 after that to our center. We will be blogging all the way down, so be sure to check back here for the latest updates! If you would like to see more information about our trip, or would like to donate to SUMC ASP, you can visit our website here.

ASP 2009 is only a couple of weeks away!! =) Soon we sill update this blog with (at least) daily posts, along with pictures and more. Stay tuned!

Hi all, we now have a new email system, and if you would like to recieve these blog posts as emails, please let us know and we will put you on the list! =)