MISSION TO MISSISSIPPI 2009
The 2009 Pasadena Mission trip to Mississippi worked alongside the heroes from the
storm, and witnessed the return of many businesses to the community. We were
challenged to keep in mind that our task of building houses, was in the context of
rebuilding hearts and homes in Mississippi. Our team of 20 people met up with the
Riverside district at the Ontario Airport and partnered together in working on seven
homes.
The Team
The Pasadena Mississippi Mission Team was made up
of 20 people from seven different churches: David
Shellman from Covina UMC, Becky Haase, Sheldon
Haase, Howard, Fallman, Mark McConnell, Larry
Andreason, Michelle Park, David Palmer, Rich Garner
from Glendale First UMC, Carl Weekly from Live
Again, Nancy Oriet from Sonrise; David Crismer from
Sierra Madre UMC, Scott Kinkennon and Wesley
Swords from Lancaster UMC, Sun Young Park, April
Jackson, Annica Carey, Doreen Nakamura from SageGranada Park UMC, Miles Harlan from Tujunga UMC,
Donna Albrecht from Palmdale UMC.
Pasadena Mission Team 2009
The Task
There was a great amount of work that was done by
the team this year. The Pasadena Riverside team
was divided into 7 smaller work teams when we
arrived at camp Gulfside. Our teams painted a
house, installed plumbing, put in flooring, framed a
house, dry walled, installed lighting and doors,
cleared debris, cleaned bathrooms, and many other
needed tasks. Our crew was lead by our crew chief –
Sheldon Haase who made sure that the many hands
were not idle. Other crew leaders were David
Thomas Kidd’s Rebuilt House
Shellman, Mark McConnel, Carl Weekly, and Miles
Harlan. Without capable leaders it would be
impossible to get the tasks accomplished.
The Mission
This year many of the homeowners worked alongside
our team. Here is one example of how God utilized our
team in demonstrating a tangible sign of love. On
Monday afternoon, a young man came to the mission
site to ask for a tarp to cover his roof before the heavy
rains that night. The tiles for his roof had not arrived yet,
Put there two days after the storm
and the paper covering his roof wasn’t
sufficient to weather the coming storm.
As he shared his plight with the director,
our crew chief sprang into action by
collecting the needed materials, and
calling various people from different
crews to come to this man’s house and
install the felt for the roof. Within the
hour a team assembled at his house and
secured his roof. The young man was
overwhelmed by the team’s generosity
Big Smiles on a Big Project
noting that all the hard work he had put
into the house would have been lost if
the rain had come in and saturated the dry wall and insulation. He shared thanks with
the team saying that he felt that God had brought us to him. While listening to his story,
I was reminded that God’s abundant love is seen though the outpouring of our love in
direct action.
Funds
The Pasadena District Union provided a
generous contribution to our team this year.
Participating churches and individuals helped to
raise money by put together special events or
through fundraising letters. The giving of this
district and its congregations exceeded
expectations. Thank you to all who gave
towards this mission trip! Your gifts have made
a difference in the lives of the people that we
served.
Annica teaches Miles how to use a saw
Next Year
The team has again signed up to return to
Mississippi to build hearts and homes in
Mississippi. The energy that comes from being
part of mission in a tangible and practical way is
inspirational and can only come from God. Our
team will be going April 17th - 24th.
Respectfully submitted by
Rev. David Palmer,
Team Coordinator
Wesley leads a morning devotional.