June 18 - Washington, Illinois - 7:15am
It is Wednesday in the middle of our mission trip and I am tired and sore. But it is a good pain and a welcome weariness. As they have told us over and over again, our task is to build swing sets and our goal is to build relationships. We are making much progress on both fronts.
We are organized into four work teams and my team delivered our first swing set yesterday. It was to a family of a little 3 year-old girl. They still weren’t living in their house yet, but it was almost ready. We met the mom, Kelly, and she was so happy and thankful to receive the swing set. She told us how much her daughter, Jocelyn, would appreciate it.
The hope and love we share with this community is so much more important than the swing set itself. So many families are not yet back in their homes, that we must keep that in mind. A swing set is a great thing for the kids, but it does not compare to a roof over your head.
Being here reminds me so much of Hurricane Andrew. The repair effort that our community in Miami underwent in the months and years after that tragedy are mirrored in the efforts here. On our first day, we met a man named Al in the CVS while we were buying things we had forgotten. Al found out why we were in Washington and told us how he had gone with a group of men from his church and worked in Homestead after Andrew. It has felt like my opportunity to give back to this community what was shared with Miami in those days 22 years ago.
We had an idea in December to build swing sets for this town and God had a plan. The first person I talked to here was Dan Phillips, the outreach coordinator for 1st UMC of Peoria. Dan was the perfect person to pick up this idea and run with it. He is a combination of positive energy, creative fervor and good old midwestern dogged dertermination. His laugh and smile are infectious and he lives to serve. But he is not alone at all. He has an amazing cast of characters surrounding him and making this whole thing happen.
Julie Rolffs is the boss. She has built this based on a program she ran in Cincinnati the last few summers. They are extremely organized and it is quite impressive. They have foreman to direct the work teams and help them build the sets. They have intern/team leaders who run everything from the food to the small group bible studies. They have teams at each church providing dinners. They also have the praise teams from each church helping with worship each night.
Julie is the director this week and runs the whole operation. In their wisdom, (and these folks are very wise) they are rotating the weeks directors. Next week Dan will direct and then Trevor Bartolomucci, Youth Director from Crossroads UMC, after that.
Mike Francisco, the youth director from 1st UMC Peoria, has been really great to work with as well. His team is staying at one church while we stay at Crossroads. All the swing sets are assembled in the parking lot of Crossroads UMC. Once the set is ready the work team delivers and it and completes the assembly on-site. Mike has been great since their three church vans are our transportation.
Our team leaders are amazing college students who do most of the work. Katie, Logan, David, Caitlin, Rachel, Sara, and a few others whose names I haven’t remembered are the heart and soul of this operation. They are working closely with the kids and are fantastic.
I do not have time to tell you all the amazing things happening but they are many. I sit here in the cafeteria watching Black & White team set up breakfast. Each work group is organized and color coded. Each group sets up breakfast one day during the week. All your tools and lunches and anything else you need is in a bin color-coded to your team. There are eight work teams this week as we are working with a team of 31 youth and adults from 1st United Peoria.
This is three United Methodist churches working together and they have built quite a machine. They have enlisted the support of the community and other organizations (for example the kids shower at the community center) The schedule is full and littered with great ideas. One is that they put a little ‘Coming Soon..” sign on the front yard the week they plan to deliver a swing set. I told you these guys are organized. I think they may invade Iowa this fall but that is just a rumor.
Our task is to build swing sets and our goal is to build relationships.
Signing out..
Robert Gray
Camouflage team
Crossroads United Methodist Church
Washington, Illinois
