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Christmas In Gary, WV-2009
For the 4th consecutive year, our congregation will be collecting and delivering Christmas gifts for children in Gary, WV. We will be teaming up with Central Steele Creek Presbyterian church for this wonderful opportunity to serve in this community. A collection box will be located in the friendship court through December 4 to collect toys and items for girls and boys of all ages. A group of our missionaries will then take the gifts up to the School For Life in Gary WV on December 5. When they arrive, they'll set up a room to display all of the gifts at the school. Our friend at the School for Life, Jack Fultz, will invite numerous parents from the area that afternoon to come pick out gifts for their children to receive for Christmas. This is certainly a joyous time for these families and our congregation. Matthews Presebyterian Church is blessed with each opportunity we have to reach out and make a difference for this community in need.
Summer Mission Trip (August 6-9, 2009)
There was a time in high school when I spent a week during the summer away from home at a tennis camp. For an entire week, I was immersed in tennis. Nearly every conversation with every person had something to do with tennis – New equipment, stories of past glory, new techniques, winning strategies – and I loved it! I couldn’t get enough. Perhaps you had a similar experience somewhere in your childhood. Often times, upon returning from such an experience, full of excitement and a renewed commitment, it is hard to adequately convey the things you felt during that week. It can be equally difficult trying to sustain the enthusiasm you experienced during your time away. Nonetheless, it always stands out as one of the great weeks of my young life. When asked why I had such a great time, I probably just made a joke about meeting cute girls or getting a good tan. Looking back, however, I would say that the honest reason was that I really enjoyed being completely immersed in something that I love (tennis), 24/7, being challenged to develop myself in new ways, and making new friends who love the same things I do.
Upon returning from this year’s mission trip to Gary, WV a challenge was issued to all who went on the trip: Reflect on your mission trip experience and try to capture the essence in 10 words or less. We had to relax the 10-word rule a little bit, but the results of this challenge were thoughtful, varied, and sometimes surprising. This is one of my favorites, “Gary, WV is only 5 hours away, but it's awfully close to God.” To me, it’s almost like tennis camp -- for God, the difference being that at the end of the intense immersion program, instead of having a new kick serve or two-handed backhand – you have a new perspective, a deeper faith, a renewed love for God. Maybe all of the above. Maybe more.
This year’s trip was a lot like previous trips, and a lot different from previous trips. This was our 5th year travelling to McDowell County, and our 4th working with Jack and Brenda Fultz at the School for Life (www.schoolforlifeinc.com) in Gary, WV. Again we went for just 4 days, Thu – Sun, which allowed for several families to go on the trip together, and made it easier for teens, working adults, and seniors all to participate. Again, we divided our time between visitation of shut-ins and nursing home residents, performing home repair and painting projects within the community, and working to improve the facilities at the School for Life. Like many previous trips, we were blessed with excellent weather. We spent time in quiet devotion and Christian fellowship with both people we have known for years, and people we have just met. We also made new friends within the community and at the nursing home, and we got to visit with some old friends again. This year’s trip had 64 missionaries, including 40 first-time participants. It has roughly quadrupled in size in 4 years.
This marked the second year that we partnered with the good people at Central Steele Creek Presbyterian Church. Their involvement has resulted in many wonderful improvements to the mission trip, not the least of which is the new friendships being formed outside the walls of our own church in Matthews. It has increased the amount of good we can accomplish there, both with visitation and home repair. It has also allowed us to keep in contact with our old friend Rev. Luke Maybry, who left Matthews Presbyterian to become the head pastor there a few years ago. All in all, it has transformed the trip in ways we couldn’t even have imagined, and we are all the better for it.
It is hard to explain why the time we spend in Gary every year is so fulfilling for those who make the journey. For most of the people on the trip, God is revealed in a hundred different and unexpected ways, large and small. In the sweat and the hard work. In the quiet time and in thoughtful reflection. In the majesty and awe of the quiet, cool, and misty West Virginia mornings. In the noise and fun of being in the presence of children of God. In the joy that comes with sharing a very private part of yourself with someone, and finding a new friend in the process…. Just to name a few. God is so present in every minute of every day, and it’s WONDERFUL! Leaving on Sunday is always a bittersweet departure. I think it is because we all know that this Summer Immersion Program with God is about to end, and it is so hard to recapture and recreate once we get back to our daily routines. I’m not sure why, but it just is.
Suffice it to say, even in my old age, I still enjoy being completely immersed in something that I love, 24/7, being challenged to develop in new ways, and making new friends who love the same things I do. Any place that makes you feel “awfully close to God” for four days is a special place. For me (and many others) Gary, WV is just such a place.
Howie Webb
MPC missionaries were featured on the local news in West Virginia during their recent Mission Trip. You may view the story at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlWyoqZTATo. The website, http://garywvmissiontrip2009.shutterfly.com/ has lots of good photos up now. Please visit. It’s free.
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