UMCWFB
ASP Update  Saturday, July 16
Greetings! 

 

Welcome to the first Appalachian Service Project (ASP) update for 

 2011!  I'm Ann Homstad and I'll be your scribe again this year as we follow our travelers in their work in Jeff, KY.  I have two sons on the trip but I'm writing to you from the comfort of my own couch.  You'll get all the news that's fit to print each night as long as the miracle of cell phone service works in the mountain setting.  UMCWFB youth director, Eric Rose, claims he'll find reception somewhere or resort to using a pay phone!

 

I look forward to sharing each day's events with you as our group of 80+ adults and youth, including some new friends from the Delavan United Methodist Church, venture out to do God's work making homes warmer, safer and drier for families in Appalachia.
Safe and Sound
First things first:  Our group arrived safely at the Calvary Baptist Church in Lexington, KY.  This is our first visit to the beautiful church which has a gym, game room and other youth-friendly amenities.  Even better is the air-conditioning!  The group feasted on pizza following today's drive.  On Sunday they will awake for a special service at the University of Kentucky's Arboretum and then make their way to their headquarters for the week at Dilce Combs Middle School in Jeff, KY.

 

The Grand Departure
Rewind to 6:30 Saturday morning when adults and youths gathered to pack up their final belongings and assemble the caravan of twelve white 10-passenger vans.  Most of the hard work had been done Friday night when the whole group met to pack up all but their final carry-on stuff.  The hardest part of the Friday night pack-up is removing the back seat of each van and carrying it into the church to be stored. This gives more space for tools and luggage.

The liveliest part of Friday night is the mad dash to pick a van to travel in.  The high school travelers race to team up with friends and secure a van for the ride to Kentucky.  Generally each van has two adults and five students in it, although this year we have two shorter vans.

Gender differences could clearly be seen in today's van window paintings.  Flowers and lovely cursive writing adorned the girl-dominated vans while Pac Man references and minimalist art seemed to be more typical of the boys.  

After circling up for a group photo and a blessing, the vans departed amid honking and waving.  Weary parents straggled over to local coffee shops pondering how much they could accomplish if every day started so early.
Mystery Showers and Other Coming Attractions
Showers are a big deal on ASP as you might imagine.  After working all day in the heat, a person likes to clean up a bit for the evening. Sometimes on ASP, the group has had actual showers in high school locker rooms.  Other times, a hose and plastic tarps have been rigged up and deemed "showers".  For the first time ever, this year's showers are in an as-yet-undisclosed location 10 minutes away--BY VAN!  More later on the mystery location.  Guess there won't be a lot of primping going on.

 

In Sunday night's email, I'll also include a list of who is in each work group for the coming week so you can keep track of their progress.

 
Here's to new adventures--

 Ann


Ann Homstad
Church Member, UMCWFB