Monday, October 6, 2014

Central's Mission Photo Blog

Our Mission Photo Blog has Mission Trips dating back to 2010 through 2014 including New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Joplin, North Carolina plus a few others.  Check out all the great snapshots..http://slickpic.us/564432M3JI

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

West Side Chicago & North Carolina - Spring Break 2013


Chicago Mission Trip: March 23 - March 28

THE GOAL:  Combating hunger and homelessness, participants can expect to work with agencies that provide meals, shelter and help develop support networks. Transportation and accommodations are being finalized, but will strive to keep costs to a minimum.


THE TEAM: Eighteen people - aged 10 to 64 (65 as of tomorrow.... happy B-Day Karen!) Eight parents, eight kids (all but one related to the aforementioned parents), one friend, and one grandma (not related to any of the aforementioned).

THE LOCATION: Chicago's West Side. The neighborhood is marked by boarded-up brownstones, broken liquor bottles, and trash that makes us remark about the days before anti-littering campaigns and bottle deposits. How does all this trash affect a person's self worth?

THE ACCOMMODATIONS: First Church of the Brethren. Martin Luther King had an office here in 1965 trying to combat housing inequality. "White flight," we learn, was fueled by unscrupulous real estate agents buying homes from white residents and "turning them" at twice the price to black residents. Three congregations worship here - Menonite, contemporary christian, and hispanic. This type of diversity under God's spirit  by selling at twice the price to over toas A that  Arrived at Church of the Brethren via the Chicago Transit Blue Line Monday at 6 p.m. The neighborhood is gray and dirty with the dusty remnants of winter, but the people are full of life and loving spirit. Krista, the local DOOR coordinator (Discovery Opportunities, Outreach, Reflection)
throwing things away, including people.


North Carolina: June 21-29, 2013. 

Trip partnered with Appalachian Service Project.

Friday, June 22, 2012

New York Mission Trip 2012


On Wednesday, our group helped at a food pantry (served 28 families with groceries) just at the foot of the bridge to Queens, still in Manhattan. Woman in charge is a survivor of building 1 from 9/11. Incredible story...she was on floor 77...most of her Co workers were lost. She helps many people daily!
Stay cool...over 100 here today...cooling stations open and hydrants flowing.

On Thursday, we celebrated Allie's 15th birthday in Times Square following the show. Gelato to beat the heat of a balmy evening.  Godspell on B'way was outstanding!  Today, we visited Grand Central Station and Central Park.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

New York Mission Trip

Big City; Big God; Big Serving.  The youth have been touring New York taking in the sights of the 911 Memorial Tower down by Battery Park and also seeing Lady Liberty.  We rolled up our sleeves with some local agencies that serve the poor working on a community garden in Queens.  The leader's vision is for children and special-needs folks to work in the dirt & grow veggies in this urban neighborhood. Very cool!

Monday, April 2, 2012

Joplin, Missouri Summary 2012

We're on the way back and just east of St. Louis in Litchfield. A week without Internet access, other than iPhone, is quite a challenge but here's the Reader's Digest version of the past 5 days.

We worked on Dan's House all week on the second floor doing drywall...mudding, sanding/washing, patching and muttering about the previous crew who could have done a much better job of taping...which made our work more difficult and time consuming. However, we managed nicely and Dan was on the property most days to thank us and tell his story which we'll save for our general presentation. Today we were able to move downstairs and start the repairs to the drywall there...we are actually pretty good at it now and did more than a day's work in 5 hours.

Kurt's cousing, Kelly, really took care of our every need regarding meals and accomodations despite her 16 hour days caring for Bob who has advanced Alzhiemers. We had a very nice version of Wonderful Wednesday one evening...a short church service at her church...Grace Episcopal and the Eucharist (Communion) then a $1 dinner of Italian pasta, sauce, salad, bread and special cookies from a baker who bakes traditional treats you'd find in Jordan...where their church sponsors a school for the death and blind.

Interestingly that school accepts Jews, Arabs and Christians and it's the only school in the Middle East that does so and teaches to each faith.

You can't believe the damage that the tornado has done...it even moved the local St. John's Mercy hospital off its foundation causing it to be abandoned...it is a seven story cement and steel structure...taller than Munson Hospital in TC.

We met and worked in tandem with at least a dozen teams of volunteers from churches, colleges, high schools and private individuals who just "wanted to help out." There was not even one person with an "attitude" that we observed and the street where Dan's house is located had another 6-8 homes going up or in some stage of completion with large crews of folks in team T-shirts. Several of these crews shared our one Porta John...pictures later. There was electricity by generator, water at a neighbor's home (just completed) across the street and plenty of sunny/breezy weather in the 80s all week...very pleasant.

This was a great team, the days flew by and our evenings were planned out by Kelly and Kurt...even including an evening at the Senior Center where a five piece country band played and everyone did the Texas Two-step...even me. If you want dancing lessons you only have to ask Carla and Jim...they were turning heads of the locals and the band members!!

Carthage, MO, is the site of the first Cival War battle west of the Mississippi and a drive down their main thoroughfare is a blend of 6th street mansions, traditional post-war homes and the mix you get by being at an exit of an Interstate...the downtown is centered on the courthouse (see photo gallery) square and much of it was constructed in the late 19th and early twentieth centuries. The stores reminded me of downtown Manistee.

It's midnight, Michigan time, and we're going to be on the road for 12-14 hours tomorrow so...until Sunday,
thanks for checking the blog.
Staton

Monday, March 26, 2012

Joplin, Missouri - Very busy day...it's 11pm

Blog by iPhone, no WiFi. Did the Arch while Jim and Milz did courthouse that first heard the Dred Scott case. Then worship at Centenary Methodist downtown St. Louis built 1869. Photos at Busch stadium home of current World Series Champs. Six hour drive SW to Carthage. Where Kurt's cousin Kelly met us and gave a personal tour of her home church and Labrynth gardens...Grace Episcopal. Then she filled her SUV with prepared meals for us to have tonight and 4 breakfast! She joined us for dinner, after she settled us in a magnificent home loaned to us. Carthage is a local stone, the same as her church was made of also in 1869.Flowers are everywhere, leaves are half open and we are eager to start work early tomorrow. Staton

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Joplin, Missouri - Gateway Arch is Awesome

Rebuild Joplin team started out at 6am...right on time and watched as Spring emerged mile-after-mile as we headed to St. Louis...weather was perfect for a van that has no air-conditioning and we arrived at the Arch 11 hours later.

The Tour to the Top was sold out but we plan to arrive at 9am Sunday for the amazing journey. We saw the movie depicting the construction that took 3 years from 1962-1965 and no lives were lost!

Kurt's cousin is giving us local information on a great restaurant...we are hungry...the NCAA quarter finals are here and so are the people...rooms were a little tough.

Milz is looking forward to the building project but everyone is expecting to see the Ozarks for the first time after the Arch tour and a church service downtown.

Kurt is happy to report that all is going very well.
Staton