Cal-Pac Mission Team Serves in Mississippi
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 Sage-Granada Park UMC, Miles Harlan from Tujunga UMC, Donna Albrecht from Palmdale UMC.
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 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, 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 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.
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
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