The Rattlesnake Ridge experience was Sandy Springs Christian Church at its best!  Just five hours up I-75, in one of the poorest counties in the United States, 34 church members and friends put their compassion and talents to use transforming their lives and the lives of those we served.  A truly intergenerational experience, with people from ages 2 to mid-70s, we witnessed to a variety of residents through our actions.  

Click here to enjoy a slide show of scenes from an amazing mission trip.

Click here for more pictures from Rattlesnake Sunday and the departure of the mission team.

Rattlings from the "Ridge"

 Ray Woods

How would you like to spend weeks anticipating your trip to Rattlesnake Ridge with the SSCC All-Star Mission team, only to be told you were being put "on the bench"? When I got the word from Nancy, it was at first a bit of a let-down. After all, I had been to Mexico and Nashville and Tuscaloosa with SSCC before and had heard so much about the last trip to Kentucky.  But, Nancy McDaniel does not disappoint, and the project to build benches for the community sports field and picnic area presented its own challenges. How can you truly enjoy these activities, plus the natural beauty of the area without some convenient places to sit  and relax? 

The  delivery of our bench materials reminded us of the first Commandment of Mission: "Be flexible"!  With some of the  pressure-treated pieces not being available, substitutions were in order, and we did some quick "recalculating." With the help of Floyd Hale, Atticus Mooney and a few local youth, we did a quick re-order, adjusted the design and did a lot of serious priming and sealing before we could begin the assembly process. We had a good time building and installing the new benches, plus building new relationships. McCluskey and Co. excelled in the digging and concrete work of the installation.

Where else can you go on a 5-day mission trip and gain 2 pounds? Our host for lodging, worship and most of our eating was the First Baptist Church in Whitley City, McCreary County, Kentucky. Their kitchen provided Team Torbert, (Mandy Mooney and Jim Torbert) with excellent facilities where they made sure made sure we ate well and to excess if we desired. Breakfast and dinner were eaten in the church, with lunches taken to the work sites. In addition, there were cakes, one of which was for Gary Peterson's birthday, celebrated during one evening at the church.  Our food team also prepared a hot lunch for the local children who participated in the Community Camp at the local community center. Each family was also given a watermelon for further celebration at their homes.

Our lodging was next to the local volunteer fire department, and we could watch them training. They have a modern facility, complete with a Hot-House and high rise simulator where they could practice fire fighting and rescue efforts in heated and smoke-filled conditions similar to an actual fire. On one evening, we were invited to tour the facility with the local firemen. It was a very educational event for our youth and adults.

At the end of one work day, we stopped by the Big South Fork River at a beautiful and calm spot where we witnessed the baptisms of four of our fellow missionaries. Steve Clark, Pete French, Jay Donnelly and Gary Peterson had each determined that this was a time and place where they could renew their faith commitment among fellow messengers in service to others.

All in all, it was an amazing five days of work, worship and wonder, set in the hills and hollers of Kentucky, among fellow spiritual travelers. I suspect we are all looking forward to a rematch next year with our Rattlesnake Ridge friends, provided Nancy McDaniel has recovered from her generous and compendious planning duties.

Click here to read stories by Elizabeth Peterson and Bailey Mooney.

The International Quadrennial Assembly, recently held at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, is one of the most exciting events for women our church has to offer.  Every four years women from around the world come together as Disciples Women to learn, laugh, get reacquainted, worship and to stand in solidarity against injustice. 

I became a Disciple in 1960 in Monticello, Indiana.  I have wanted to attend Quadrennial for over 40 years, but life seemed always to get in the way. Last month I was finally able to fulfill this dream and remove another item from my bucket list. Among many women who attended this Assembly were six disciple sisters from my original Monticello church and sister disciples from SSCC, which added even more blessings to this first-time experience.

The general theme for the 2014 Quadrennial Assembly was I SEE YOU!  On Wednesday we focused on I SEE YOU THROUGH THE EYES OF GRACE, Thursday I SEE YOU THROUGH THE VOICE OF COMPASSION,  Friday I SEE YOU WITH THE HANDS OF JUSTICE and Saturday I SEE YOU WITH A HEART OF JOY.

Saturday was a special day as we Walked Against Traffic in downtown Atlanta to raise awareness of Human Trafficking, a problem across this nation and especially here in Atlanta. The underlying focus of the entire Assembly was Human Trafficking. We hope to bring this awareness back to our local churches.

Our final session on Sunday was with the inspiring Rev. Dr. Cynthia Hale from the Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur, Georgia, who spoke on I SEE YOU WHOLE. She had her choir, musicians and dancers with her from Ray of Hope. This moving service was one I will never forget and a wonderful way to end the Quadrennial.

I was so proud of Barb Duren for coordinating the communion and the offering at each service for around 1500 women.  This was a huge job, and Barb did an outstanding job representing SSCC proudly. Our church also had volunteers at the Quadrennial singing in the choir, serving communion, collecting the offering and attending the many outstanding sessions. 

The highlight of this Quadrennial was meeting women from around the world, seeing the joy in their hearts and hearing their inspiring stories of faith and courage.  I left the Quadrennial with a heart overflowing with the love of our amazing God and thankful for the gift of attending the 2014 Quadrennial Assembly.