My take on the Kentucky Mission Trip

To begin with, it was a 180 degree turn around from last year's trip.

Last year was a 3 day drive with one bus and 28 people to Colorado. 

This year was a one day drive with 2 busses, a Penske rental, a truck pulling a trailer and 3 other private vehicles to Kentucky with 80-plus people.

We actually drove past where we would be working and on to Cincinnati the 1st day to see the Reds play. We got there for the start of the game but not in time for the promo giveaway that day - free camouflage Ken Griffey, Jr. jerseys to the first 20,000 people. Missed it by about 45 minutes is what we were told. It was one of those things where, you might not have liked the way it looked and it might not have fit and you would never have bought one, but doggone it, it was free and you still wanted one. Oh well.

Got up the next day and headed to Slade, Kentucky. We were supposed to get there at 3 and worship with the congregation of the church at 4 but we ran late and got there right at 4. The worship service ended up being us, 12 volunteers doing work that week also, and 4 youth from the church. 

We left there and headed to where we would be staying for the week. It was called CabinView something...it was private cabin rentals and a big honking inn near the lake. We rented 3 cabins and the bottom floor of the inn. It was nice. I was in the Jr. and Sr. guys house.

We had about 8 different projects and work sites. We did two Camp Jonah-themed Sports camps, a roofing project, a lot of indoor renovation and addition type stuff. One job was putting a bathroom into a house that had never had one. Never.  That's unreal.

Because I have a bus license and no discernible skills on a construction site, I drove and helped lead the Sports Camp in Booneville everyday. Me and 11 others would leave at 8 every morning and drive 40 miles to Owsley Elementary and work from 9 to 2 there. Then we would load up, drive back and finish the afternoon on one of the work sites helping out.

The school was cool. It was decorated and painted with a Jungle theme and a bunch of stuff from the animated movie Cars. It was pretty sweet. The kids we had were fun and the guys that worked the camp did a great job.

 

All of the work sites went well and got done what they came to do. That's always a nice feeling. The adults that came and led the crews deserve a lot of praise and thanks for their time, effort, patience and flexibility. There are some who are great construction people but not so great when it comes to supervising kids doing construction, but the adults this year were great. 

Gotta shout out to the people in the kitchen, too, because they did a phenomenal job. Jeannette, Donna Carr, Margaret, Sharon, Whitney and Donna Armstrong ...thank you.

At night we would have worship and praise time where groups would tell about their days and we would sing and break up into Sr. led groups and then come back for some more worship. After that they would have free time until about 10:30 and we would send all the non-Sr's to their houses or rooms and then have an hour or so of fun time with just the Sr.'s  It was one of the highlights of the trip for me. They were so fun and are going to be great Sr. leaders in the Youth group this year.

On the way back we went to Louisville to go to the Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. Gonna be honest with you. I've been to a couple of Six Flags. This was more like 3 and a 1/2 Flags. Six Flags Express, maybe.

But ..... the Louisville Slugger Bat Factory Tour and museum was sweeeeet! You actually walk through the plant and watch them make those bad boys right in front of you. Way cool. They even had a 120 ft. bat leaning up against the building outside. The batting cages were fun, too. 10 balls for a $1.  I asked for a Babe Ruth Model to hit with but the handle was like a darn fence post, so I switched when it was my turn and got an A-Rod model. Not as heavy and a skinnier handle. 1 foul ball and 9 line drives. Sign me up.

All in all, a great trip. Large group mission trips come with certain things that aren't usually concerns on smaller trips but the benefits to the group as a whole are well worth it. I don't think Don plans them to be one or the other, he just lets God work and they turn out large or small. It works. 

And regardless of how much we kid or mess with him about it, nobody works harder on a mission trip than Don. Every question and decision comes to and through him. Every day brings new and different things that have to be weighed and figured out. Personalities and toes have to be considered all day long.  Every aspect ultimately comes back to him.

It ain't easy. But he does it better than anyone else I know. 

                                   g

TOMORROW: Pigeon Forge, Tenn. : The Myrtle Beach of the Mountains