Serving with the Heart of Jesus

Mission work is not for the faint of heart. This past August, seven Bethany Church members traveled to West Virginia to participate in an adult mission trip. After the commissioning on Sunday, everyone gathered to make the three- hour journey to Summerville. 

The group was greeted by Tim Steward, husband to Rev. Joan. A brief tour of the facility and explanation of our tasks was followed by getting settled and preparing for the journey ahead. Over the next week, the group would be building a ramp for a local family in the community who seeked help from Summersville Presbyterian Church. 

“What a wonderful way to spend a week, doing God’s work for beautiful people. I feel so blessed right now, I can hardly contain it,” said Connie Segelon, mission trip participant.  

Monday: Tim came to the church and we followed him to Rhonda and Larry’s house, where we also met Greg, who works with Tim on mission projects. We could see some holes were already pre-drilled and covered, as to not get rain and mud in them. We unloaded all the equipment and supplies that were necessary to do the work for the day and then locked arms and prayed. Tim showed us how to get the pitch of the ramp that we were installing. Additional holes needed to be dug and Sarah, Bob, Eric and Gary got started with that. 4 x 4’s were placed in the holes and quickcrete was added to keep the poles in place. We also had to constantly make sure to keep the posts straight and level as possible. The base rails for the ramp were installed. We quit work on day one feeling very satisfied that we were moving in the right direction. We had a little dog join us from day one. We did not know her name but she sure was interested in what we were doing, and quickly became one of the crew. We ended day one, packed up and headed back to the church to prepare meals, clean up, devotions and then lights out.

Tuesday: Once at the job site we got right back into our normal routine of getting supplies ready and our morning prayer. One team started back on the remainder of the holes, taking our time to ensure the poles remained as straight and level as possible.  While one team worked on this project, another team started cutting boards for the side supports and the cross support beams. Boards were cut to length for the laying the ramp floor. I think we all got very used to the power tools and actually liked using some of them. Especially for those who had never used them before.  I think there’s just something to be said for how much easier it is to work with the right tools. Sarah dove right in and was not afraid to tackle anything that was asked of her. After the day was done, we headed back at the church for dinner and devotions.

Wednesday: On our free day, most of us decided to go golfing. We split into two teams, Bill, Eric and Bob and Sarah Mike and I have to add that, I am sure, our team had the most fun. It was a great day! When we got back to the church we made burgers, hotdogs and all kinds of great side dishes. Reverend Joan and Tim joined us for dinner and fellowship. After a wonderful meal, it was time to say goodbye to Bill and Sarah Paviol. What a great joy it was having them participate on this, their first mission trip. We truly hope to be able to share another with them in the near future.

Thursday: Well, after the glorious day that the Lord provided for us on Wednesday, we woke up to rain, and lots of it. We drove to the site hoping and praying for the rain to stop or at least slow down enough for us to be able to get some work done, safely. Well the rain was relentless, and I called upon our prayer warriors to pray for the rain to subside. At first it just kept coming, but God heard our many prayers and the rain slowed and then stopped. Prayers work! It turned out to be one of the most beautiful days there. We were joined by Dave Colton on this day and we were glad to have him be a part of this project. The ramp was almost completed on this day.

Friday: This is the last day of this mission trip and as usual, it started with prayers. We worked on the finishing touches of sanding the railings and the ending portion of the ramp where it meets the ground and of course, time for photos and prayers for Rhonda and Larry and safe travels for us back to PA, said goodbye to our little dog friend who was with us all week, and headed home.