July 8 – Mission Trip To Dungannon, VA – Day 4

Howdy Y’all,

We are coming to you from all the way down in Dungannon, Virginia where the tea is sweet, the deer heads are on the wall and everybody waves to you as they drive by.

Today was our third day of work and we all returned to sites we worked at yesterday. But before we went our separate ways, we got to spend a little more time with each other in the middle of a county mountain road while stopped due to road work. We took total advantage of the situation and proceeded to have a dance party in the middle of nowhere with numerous songs and games of Chinese Fire Drill, much to the surprise of the road workers and other drivers.   

Group 1 returned to a house that was in desperate need of a new roof. They got to finish applying the aluminum paint to the roof of the house, avoiding power lines and sitting on rafters of what will be the new porch roof attached to the house. We measured and used a circular saw to cut boards for the rafters and the plywood for the actual roof – what fun!  We withstood three small rainstorms, and while crazy Ben Joyner kept hammering, the sane Skye Whitlow and Lauren Gustafson ran for cover (no lightning danger to our team).  Unfortunately we had some difficulty with the beams. With the help of Richard Kelly, The Enforcer, tomorrow that darn roof will be finished.

Group 2 returned to the same place as yesterday and finished painting and putting trim on the door. Today our mission was painting ceilings, which was not too difficult seeing as they were about a foot taller than the shorter members of the group. Although we had to dodge inflatable turkeys and mounted hunting trophies, we successfully painted the ceilings of 3 rooms. Others tidied up the outside and constructed and applied trim around the front door. In other notable events, Heather Kelly petted the home owner’s goat.

For our evening activity, we went to the town hall of Dungannon and listened to a “gospel” group sing. Turns out that they were more of a Christian based country group and a complete family affair! The three singers consisted of a brother, sister, and wife of brother. The sound crew consisted of the sister’s husband. In the audience sat three of their seven children (combined). We were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed a lengthy set of their music. In the audience were 21 townspeople and 14 missioners (us).

At the end of the day, we got our whole group back together and observed evening compline. We did not follow the traditional compline service, however; this compline was about LOVE. Each member took the time to write a love letter in appreciation of another in our group, after randomly drawing names from a hat. Some were creative and others were deeply touching.  It was about showing our love for each other as well as allowing us to love ourselves. We closed with a Celtic evening prayer by J. Philip Newell.

Tomorrow we look forward to Group 1 finishing the roof and Group 2 going up to the top of Sandy Ridge, near Norton, Virginia, to assist the Episcopal Grace House on the Mountain by clearing brush and downed trees from trails. We have enjoyed our time here and are amazed that the days have gone by so quickly. We cherish new friendships, rich cultural experiences, and the opportunity to lend a hand to less fortunate people here who just need someone to show kindness.

Keep us in your prayers during our last day of work and pray for those we have served.

Signing off:

Lynn Rohrs, Lauren Gustafson, Christina Iovino, Heather Kelly

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