Church mission: Reconstruction

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Church mission: Reconstruction

Church members travel to Alabama to help repair damaged homes

SUSSEX ? Eight local churches sponsored a team of 24 people to Henagar, Ala., in January. The team’s mission: to help reconstruct homes that were destroyed during the F5 tornadoes which hit the area in April 2011. Thirty-four people were killed in the Jackson and Dekalb counties during the destructive tornadoes. The local nuclear power plant was shut down causing many to be without electricity and therefore notification of the deadly tornado’s path.

The mission trip was coordinated by the Goshen and Sussex Christian Reformed Churches. Members of the Beemerville Presbyterian, Byzantine Catholic of Little Falls, First Reformed Church of Little Falls, Goshen Christian Reformed, Methodist of Little Falls, Pompton Plains United Reformed, Sparta Baptist and Sussex Christian Reformed Churches caravanned to Alabama. The trip was organized under the auspices of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, which takes on the job of coming in after state and federal issues are done, to finish the work, making the houses livable.

“It was amazing. We had eight churches and seven different denominations represented. This was truly God at work,” said Bill Garris, a mission member from the Sussex Christian Reformed Church.

“Plans changed two days before we left, but we all accomplished what we set out to do.”

The Henagar Baptist Church served as a temporary dormitory for the traveling tradesmen. The church has a gymnasium and a full kitchen. Cots were supplied to those who did not bring air mattresses. Sleeping bags decorated the makeshift dormitory. Andy Wilks was the mission construction manager and a member of the Henagar Baptist Church. Upon arrival, Wilks had divided the group into skill teams; carpentry, electrical, plumbing and finish work. Each team was given a list of projects needed to be accomplished. The experienced tradesmen worked side by side with less experienced volunteers. The group’s diverse skill sets assisted those in need and taught the less experienced team members. Long hard days were followed by dinner, devotionals and board games.

Pastor David, minister of the Henagar church, took volunteers to his home to watch the Giants game while other volunteers toured the area. Evening meals were prepared by Chef Mark Hrehovcik, who was assisted by Paul Billig and Bill Garris after their hard days work on the reconstruction team.

Women were also involved in the mission trip. Alice VanDeWeert was the "mother hen," helping out with laundry, food preparation for the chefs and organization. Younger women helped by preparing bagged lunches for the reconstruction teams, often including notes of encouragement inside. The young women also helped with the finishing work on site.

“It was nice to see the fathers, with their sons or daughters on this mission trip,” said VanDeWeert, from the Goshen Christian Reformed Church. “They were building family memories.”

Through rain, fog and snow, the volunteers labored on. At the end of the week spent in Henagar, the 24 mission volunteers had completed their tasks on six different homes.

“Our guys did not want to leave until they knew the houses were done, and people could move in,” said VanDeWeert. “When we left, they just needed to move the refrigerators stored at the Baptist Church.”

“It was an example of tremendous teamwork from the mission volunteers and the local community as a whole, so people could get back into their homes,” said Buzz Sargent, head of the electrical team, from Beemerville Presbyterian Church.

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Church mission: Reconstruction