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Trip Start Nov 09, 2011 Previous
Entry Trip End Nov 13, 2011

  Snow Hill, North Carolina
Sunday, November 13, 2011

After breakfast we attended worship service at the Brooks Frizzelle UMC.  At other stateside mission trips we usually leave on Saturday and so never get the opportunity to attend services at the host church.  It was a real treat to be able to attend a service especially after having met so many of the church members at the Fellowship dinner on Thursday.  It gave us a chance to renew the friendships begun three days before.  And for me an added treat was participating in communion.  It was a great way to end the mission trip.  They mentioned over and over how appreciative they were that we were helping to restore the damaged homes.  But I felt blessed to be able to serve in a small way some of the families in the surrounding area.  

After the service we headed for Winston, NC (a town I could not find in my GPS) and Bill's Barbecue.  It's also called Bill Ellis' Barbecue, but you will only find it listed as Bill's in the GPS.  Ken and Kim had been in front of us heading for the restaurant, but when we got there they weren't there.  I called and Kim told me that they "might have taken an alternate route"  which was a euphemism for "we are lost".  They called back a few minutes later to get directions to the restaurant.   On Sundays Bill's offers a buffet with barbecue and fried chicken and lots of different vegetables.  The food was good.  

The remainder of the trip was uneventful.  There was conversation and laughter in the van, but everyone was pretty tired and ready to get back to their own homes and families.

We did accomplish a lot more than I had expected in three days - two homes roofed, cement footers poured, some additional framing done and two outside walls replaced and ready for siding at the home I worked on and a third home had siding and soffet replaced and some other work done.  Everyone had something to contribute to the projects and everyone helped everyone else.  We laughed and joked together and in so many ways encouraged each other.  And I want to give special kudos to Pat and Karen for the delicious lunches and dinners they prepared each day.   

On an international mission trip I went on a year ago I was told that the relationships were what mattered.  On that mission trip the family was there and worked side by side with us.  That was not the case at any of the sites we worked on on this trip.  But it was still the relationships that mattered most.  The relationships we made with the members of Mt Herman and Brooks Frizzelle United Methodist Churches and the relationships we made or strengthened with the members of the team.  At the end of the day it will not be the sore muscles or even the work that will stand out in my mind.  It will be the people I met and the people I worked with that made the trip memorable.  The work was important and I enjoyed learning new skills, but it is still the relationships that matter most.  

Maybe at the heart of service is relationships.  Maybe you can't serve with love without forging relationships.  Maybe when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples it wasn't about cleaning the dirt and dust off the feet of the disciples, but serving those he had forged a relationship with.  It is something I have to ponder.

What I do know for sure is that I saw how much easier the mission trip was once I accepted that God was out in front and that I just needed to let Him lead me.  I know I still have problems giving up control, but little by little, I am getting the hang of following Christ.  It is always a wild ride that I never regret.  

Can't wait to sleep in my own bed and can't wait for my next mission trip.    Oh, and I can't wait to be able to bend down or get up without groaning.  All will happen in due time.  

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