Texas 2009

Libbie's Place

2009-06-29T09:16:00.001-07:00

Several of our youth went to "Libbie's Place" and shared with the senior day care at Moody.

Tired, Hot, and Home!

2009-06-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

We are home after a long, but great trip. Plans are already underway for next summer's mission!

A night of Radical Hospitality

2009-06-29T08:30:00.001-07:00

We arrived in Lumberton Texas for the night on Friday. We were to stay with the Aliaga family, friends form Covington, who moved here a few years ago. their son Darien joined us on this trip!

When we arrived, the power box blew! We had no electricity and 17 hungry people, looking for a cool place to spend the night.

the neighbors opened their homes, we stayed there, and cooked dinner outside!

Would you be able to let seven or eight guest into your home at the drop of a hat?

Driving Home

2009-06-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

We drove for 24 hours to get home! If you are not the lead dog, the scenery never changes!

Trip Home

2009-06-29T08:11:00.001-07:00

We left Galveston on Friday about midday, and took the ferry across the water! You can even see a couple of dolphins wishing us good by!

2009-06-25T18:41:00.000-07:00

We stopped at the statue of Galveston, depicting a father protecting his family from the storm. A huge symbol of Galveston. We were treated to a brilliant sunset as our time in Galveston comes to a close. We will leave in Friday, and journey to Lumberton Texas to stay with the Aliaga family,

Work Day 4

2009-06-25T18:34:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we worked at the home of Becky Johnson, and we cleaned the yard, removed molded wall board, and began removing the air handlers and duct work. We also worked on carry out things she had gone through and finally was ready to either keep or get rid of. You can see the water mark of the dresser that shower about three feet of water on that floor!

It was so hot, 110 with heat index, that the group we are working with , Help4Galveston, stopped all teams at 2:00pm. We had already fell exhausted! But with some recuperation we were able to rebound enough to enjoy and afternoon of relaxation in air conditioning and then some shopping at the Strand, a tourist shopping section of Galveston.

Water Park Fun

2009-06-25T18:25:00.001-07:00

The team went to the Schlitterbahn water park for an evening of cooling off on Wednesday night. It was a great place with the coolest lazy river ever. You can see the steeple on Moody from the water slide tower, in the distance!

2009-06-24T13:03:00.000-07:00

Projects at Taryn's home we almost finished, we at least got thing well underway, the decks were complete, the gate replaces, plants replanted, and tile and bathroom fixed, and painting done.

We all signed the big buoy that washed up to her house during the hurricane. She plans to keep it!

Help4Galveston

2009-06-24T12:57:00.001-07:00

Al Roker as part of Help4Galveston was the leader of a donation day, and over $250,000 was given through Lend a Hand on the Today show today. We represented all of those who had come to work this year in Galveston. Worth standing in the sun for three hours!

Worship

2009-06-24T12:54:00.001-07:00

Youth led worship is always a vital part of our mission trip! Richard, Ryan and Darien lead on Tuesday night.

Work Day 2

2009-06-23T16:44:00.000-07:00

Today we worked at he home of Brian and Angela Cornelius, where Taryn Cornelius now lives. They are Jeff and Linda's children who live in Galveston, but grew up in Calvary. 56inches of water surrounded their home, and the wind blew open a window and did damage. We worked on several projects and has a Texas sized Pizza for lunch! It was very hot!

Some worked at Moody, and gladly, some did laundry for the team.

A dinner with gulf shrimp and a night of rest will prepare us for tomorrow!

More Fun in Galveston

2009-06-23T16:32:00.001-07:00

We toured the Manta, a research vessel for the US Government NOAA that works mostly in the Flowers Gardens coral reef in the gulf. This is the largest reef in North America!

Vacation bible School is happening at Moody this week. Here we found the petting zoo! Cool!

We walked the Sea wall that was all that kept Galveston free from the Gulf. The damage came from the bay side of town!

A quick dip in the gulf ended a great day!

Our First Work Day!

2009-06-22T11:58:00.000-07:00

Two teams, many projects and only one trip to Home Depot. Some moved stuff from one home, and others went to work on a home that had damage. They plan to raise the house 12 feet up, and several on the block were already raised. We are unhooking electric, and plumbing in preparation for new materials and the anticipated house raising! One team helped with Adult Day Care at Moody and with Vacation Bible School set up. VBS starts tonight!

Youth Worship and Play

2009-06-22T11:54:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Night the youth from Galveston and our team played and worshiped together. Britt played Bass, and the groups were mixed up in all sorts of ways!

Then our boys played basketball in the gym with some youth from Galveston. A good time in what the youth call the Moody United Methodist Hilton! What a place to call home for a week!

2009-06-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

On the tour we saw lots of destruction, along with the beautiful homes of Galveston. Even a year later there is much to do!

Many business have left and will not reopen.

Hard to imagine how deep the water was, marked by a blue line!

Worship and Tour

2009-06-21T15:02:00.001-07:00

This morning we went to worship and Sunday School at Moody. 8:30 worship was informal and I helped serve communion. Sunday School we talked about Father's day. Some youth went to the Spanish speaking worship, and they had to sing in front of everyone. Some went to the contemporary service where they sang lots of songs, some familiar. Some went to the traditional service, and heard the pipe organ.

Lunch at the church, then a tour of Galveston! A bus pulled by a jeep, with lots of information!

Tomorrow we works with Help4Galveston doing projects! http://www.help4galveston.org/

We are here!

2009-06-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

Or we are there! Galveston by 8:00pm today. Lots of driving. We saw lots of destruction that is still evident. Buildings destroyed, or just gone, whole septic tanks uprooted and on top of the ground, and one house in a field on it's top.

We drove down the sea wall, and could imagine how the gulf would easily come over and hit Galveston.

Thanks for your prayers, and we will be going to the church later, after dinner at Taryn Cornelius' home.

Tomorrow is worship in the morning, they have five worship services, 8:30, 9:30 and then three at 11:00, one in Spanish, one contemporary, one traditional. Then some rest before starting to work on Monday!

check it out at www.moody.org

Driving Still

2009-06-20T09:08:00.000-07:00

Left Meridian this morning, had breakfast in Haitesburg, saw Mississippi State University, entered Louisiana, now on the way west on I-10,just north of Lake Pontchartrain. Really near where we went last year in New Orleans, just past Slidell.

We will pick up a youth in Beaumont today to complete our team, and then take the ferry to Galveston! Please keep us in your prayers, thanks.

A note about pictures, I am using a wireless phone card for these post, it takes too long to do photos, should be able to do that at Taryn Cornelius' home tonight! We are having a picnic there, if traffic cooperates.

Mississippi!

2009-06-19T19:05:00.001-07:00

We arrived safely in Meridian Mississippi. It is hot here! And it is 9:00pm!

Thanks for your prayers for our day. As we ate dinner in Birmingham, I thought of Dr. King, and the dream. At the restaurant in the town where he was put in jail, just over 40 years ago, there were Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, and Indians in the restaurant eating together. We haven't gone a long way in race relations, but we have gone somewhere!

Tomorrow morning we leave at 7:30 heading down to Galveston! It was over 100 there today, and the humidity was high.

Dinner in Birmingham

2009-06-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

We had dinner in Birmingham, Alabama. At 4:30 central time! We were hungy, although we had just eaten!
Travel has gone well so far! One van is very quite and the other, not so much! We are looking forward to being in Central United Methodist in Meridian Mississippi tonight. Hope the floor is soft, and not too noisy. Although they told us to park near the garage, as we will be staying on the fourth floor!

Made it to Tennessee

2009-06-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

We are in Tennessee at 10:00am, still on schedule, heading to Meridian Mississippi tonight. Just passed by the turn off to Sneedville, where we will go in mission in October! I am not driving at this time, but using a wireless Internet card in the van. Someone asked me hoe it works, and the youth said, "He doesn't know. don't you listen to the sermons?" The one who asked missed last Sunday because of vacation.
We are thinking about lunch in Knoxville, but we will see later.
William just woke up! It gets quiet when the youth all listen to their headphones, but batteries do not last forever!
We appreciate those who came to see us off this morning! Thanks to all of those, and the biscuit from Hardee's was awesome!

Post at the next State line!

The Texas Team

2009-06-18T07:21:00.000-07:00

Pray for our team members --
Youth -- Darien Aliaga, Adam Butler, Zach Dameron, Richard Davis, Britt Failes, Sara Heitzenrater, Sarah Hutchinson, William Lenhow, Ryan Moneymaker, Delaney Powers,
Adults -- Christy Arehart, Linda Cornelius, Jan and B. Failes, Chuck Hutchinson, Martha Moneymaker and Debbie Powers.

Hurricane Ike Facts

2009-06-18T07:20:00.001-07:00

Recovering from Hurricane Ike At 2:10 a.m. Sept. 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike made landfall on the east end of Galveston Island, leaving behind the damage of 100 mph winds and a storm surge estimated between 17 and 20 feet. More than 75 percent of Galveston Island was left severely damaged.

Hurricane Ike Facts
· Hurricane Ike made landfall at 2:10 a.m. Sept. 13, 2008, with the eye coming ashore over the east end of Galveston Island with sustained winds of 110 mph, gusts of 125 mph and an eye that was 46 miles wide.
· The largest storm surge has been estimated at 17 feet - and possibly 20 feet in some areas.
· Urban Search and Rescue task forces rescued more than 3,540 Texans and helped an additional 5,798 people evacuate from extremely dangerous situations.
· 234 shelters were opened across the state, providing refuge for 40,614 evacuees
· An estimated 26,244 heavy plastic sheets were installed as part of the USACE Blue Roof program.
· Hurricane Ike is the third most destructive hurricane to ever make landfall in the United States.
· Disaster assistance for Texans affected by the storm has reached nearly $2 billion.
· More than $443.5 million in disaster assistance for housing, disaster-related needs and disaster unemployment assistance is in the hands of Texans for Hurricane Ike recovery.
· The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved more than $476 million in low-interest disaster loans.
· More than $583.5 million has been billed to FEMA for short-term, transitional sheltering in hotels/motels for eligible applicants. Some 4,602 eligible individuals and families are still participating in the program.
· More than $308 million in public assistance funding has been obligated for local government infrastructure repair and debris removal costs.
· FEMA has provided temporary manufactured housing for 2,617 applicants or 72 percent of the 3,648 applicants eligible for direct housing assistance.
· More than 20 million cubic yards or 85 percent of eligible debris has been cleared from disaster-affected counties.
· There are 13 FEMA/State Disaster Recovery Centers open in affected counties, offering face-to-face assistance. More than 139,000 visits have been made to the centers.
· Hurricane Ike was the most intense storm in the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season.
· The storm had the highest Integrated Kinetic Energy, the measure of storm surge destructive potential, of any Atlantic storm in history.
· NUMBER of properties are estimated to have been damaged on Galveston Island — that is WHAT percentage of households in the city
· More than 11,000 building permits have been issued by the City of Galveston since Hurricane Ike made landfall.
*Sources—Wikipedia.org, FEMA, NOAA and The Galveston County Daily News

Team News

2009-06-18T07:19:00.001-07:00

Calvary’s UMC's 2009 mission opportunity for high school youth is to Galveston, Texas from June 19 to 28th. We will work help4galveston at at the home of Brian Cornelius, a former member of Calvary. Our youth choose to go to Texas because we felt they needed help after Hurricane Ike, and we could make a difference in God's name!

Texas Mission 2009

2009-06-18T06:46:00.000-07:00

June 18, 2009

Our team packs tonight, and then you will be able to follow us all the way to Galveston and back! Check back daily for updates and information on what we are up to! You are also invited to post words of encouragement to us!