St. Andrew Mission Participants Minister to the Town of Belington, West Virginia

The St. Andrew Delegation

It was in this spirit that our crew settled into either the 4-H camp called Camp Barbour or the Philippi Hotel as we prepared to share our time and talents with others through physical work, to spread Christian goodwill by helping those who could use our help. In the process of working in the community, we also lived out the message of scripture by getting along with each other, by sharing the peace of Christ through cooperation, communication, and common experience. Our delegation helped make up a total of 108 participants from six different churches from all over the US. Workers came from as far as St. Louis to the west and Annapolis from the east. We were charged with such tasks as deck and porch construction, roof repair, scraping and painting houses, clearing brush, town beautification, and general gardening. The mission participants rotated among 14 different worksites in and around Belington. Townspeople and local churches provided logistical support and meals for hungry workers.

Garrett M. helps install a deck

Torrential downpours throughout the morning beset our first workday, and it rained during some part of every day. It was our task to build a deck onto one of the houses that was in one woman's family for 150 years. She also needed her siding to be scraped and painted, along with repairs to a leaky rubber roof. We slopped around in the mud during our first day, calling it quits around 1:00. We poured the cement for the deck's posts, but painting could not begin until we had dryer weather. The youth also challenged each other’s spiritual wits with skits and theatrical performances throughout the week.  

The temperatures hovered around 100 degrees all week, so we had to be careful not to become dehydrated. The deck took shape during days two and three, and we completed repairs to the roof by the end of week. After Wednesday's daily thunderstorm, our homeowner friend told us that no water leaked through her ceiling. We also put the final coat of exterior paint on her house.

Each workday was followed by dinner, games, and devotions. On mission, we fed our bodies, our mind, and our spirits, so to speak. Ultimate Frisbee was one popular pastime among the youth during evening recreation time, among others.  Devotions were conducted by one of the founding ministers of the Belington Mission. His lessons were centered on a painting by the German artist Seiger Koder, a retired priest. Then he would show a short video by Christian motivational speaker Rob Bell, and we'd discuss the concepts held in common by the painting, the video, and a relevant piece of scripture.

Gabe, Matt, and Garrett get in some ping pong

The children who went on the mission trip participated in an ecumenical Vacation Bible School program centered on the development of artistic and musical skills. Participants performed in a concert at the end of our workweek, singing songs and reciting lines on God’s promise to Noah. We had our share of rain that week, but as in the biblical story, we ended our time together in Christian fellowship and the joy that comes from hard work.

Mission was a multi-faceted experience for all of us. We gained new perspectives on class, materialism, and the potential for Christians to play a positive social role in our impoverished world. We gained insight into Appalachian culture and the economic challenges faced by our brothers and sisters in that part of our nation. We were able to demonstrate Christian love to those of our brothers and sisters who found themselves in need and to each other as we worked together to achieve a common goal.

Grace Cassutto congratulates VBS performers