THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 15, 1994 TAG: 9409140166
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TRUDY CUTHRELL, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 98 lines
A MISSION TEAM FROM Main Street United Methodist Church recently returned from a ``mountaintop'' experience - at the Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Ky., in the heart of Appalachia.
The weeklong mission work project brought together a rare group: eight youths and 12 adults, from 12 to 63 years old, including singles, a married couple, some parent-youth combinations, church staff and lay volunteers. But hard work, fellowship and ministry soon bonded the group into a cohesive force that brought love and tangible assistance to several impoverished mountain families.
``It was a wonderful experience for all involved,'' said Jeane Johnson, mission team member and programs coordinator for the Main Street congregation.
``A trip like this gives us a sense of what missions really is,'' said the Rev. Alan Felumlee, pastor of Main Street Methodist and a team member. ``It gives us a feel for what the church is doing globally. My kids also participated and got a sense of what it means to really help others.''
After a 12-hour journey Aug. 21, Suffolk missionaries arrived at the Red Bird Center nestled in the emerald greenery of the Appalachian Mountains. At the center, the Suffolk group joined four other work teams from New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Teams were housed in mountainside cabins and fed in a common dining hall at the Mission Center.
Rise 'n' shine was 7:30 each day. And following breakfast, the Suffolk group divided into two work units for hands-on labor.
Miss Ella welcomed her volunteers with a bright smile as she leaned over her sink to skin a squirrel for her lunch. She told the workers she moved into a 10- by 20-foot trailer 15 years ago after her house burned down.
Two years ago, volunteers from the mission built a three-room addition and added a new roof and siding to her home. The Main Street team installed indoor plumbing and a water heater, painted the bathroom and laid linoleum and carpeting. Since the mission trip, one Suffolk team member returned to deliver a bed and mattress.
Miss Ella was overjoyed with her new amenities - even the donated bathroom fixtures, which left her with a blue tub, yellow sink and white toilet.
``If it pleases you,'' she said with an appreciative grin, ``it pleases me.''
The other half of the Main Street delegation followed a fellow known as Sam the Paint Man each day over mountainous terrain to the home of a 70-year-old widow. On site, the group finished painting the two-bedroom home, a job begun by earlier volunteers.
``She was a really nice lady,'' said Main Street youth worker Amy Davis. ``I loved everything about the trip, but especially the people we met.''
``There was a very easy feeling with the people,'' Johnson added. ``We were helping them, but at the same time they were eager to help themselves.''
At various times during the week several members of the Main Street team also did volunteer work at the center, including kitchen duty, price-tagging donated clothing and cutting and sorting soup can labels. According to team members, volunteer workers clip thousands of labels a year - 950,000 labels will buy a 15-passenger van for the center's transportation.
Following dinner each evening, work teams toured the facilities built and supported by the Methodist denomination at the Red Bird Mission. Started years ago as a medical and educational facility, the center now houses a medical clinic and a 350-student private school for kindergarten through twelfth grade. In addition, an Opportunity Shop provides donated used clothing for local people at discounted prices, and a craft store markets handmade items made by local craftsmen.
At 9:30 each night, the Main Street team gathered for a report session and devotions. Often the sharing and laughter continued past midnight.
``This was a wonderful time of fellowship and getting to know each other,'' Felumlee said.
With their mission work accomplished, a tired but satisfied group returned to Suffolk Aug. 27. Laboring together in ministry had forged a bond among teammates.
``A sense of community was built,'' Johnson said. ``And it was a wonderful time for the young people and adults of our church to get to know one another as real people.''
Leroy Edwards, team member and Main Street administrative board chairman, said the church was proud of the young people who participated in the mission trip. ``They were motivated, they worked hard and they were a fine example,'' he said.
Jonathan Felumlee, 13, especially enjoyed the fellowship during recreational breaks. ``We rested after a hard day's work and played basketball and swam,'' he said.
Those were good times for the Main Street young people as well as the young-hearted adults who joined in the fun.
Edwards, along with other Main Street workers, brought back from Appalachia a new zeal for missions. ``Mission work is so important,'' he said. ``There's so much that can be done.''
And inspired by their experiences at Red Bird Mission, Main Street missionaries plan to keep on keeping on. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Ashley Gunter, Amy Davis and Joanna Felumlee of Main Street United
Methodist Church paint an elderly widow's home in Beverly, Ky., on
the church's mission trip to Appalachia.
by CNB