Teamification

Definition:  the process of becoming teamified.

Hibben team building porch on volunteer trailer

Tuesday morning’s plan was to depart Hamilton by 7:15 so that we could be at the volunteer trailer work site in Toscombia by 8 AM.  Under the guidance and direction of Rev. Eric Bell, director of Alabama Northwest District Methodist Relief, we finished work on the trailer’s exterior plumbing and began the task of placing felt and shingles on the roof.

We have made some new friends here at the trailer park.  Judy and her husband James live a short distance from our work site.  She came over to say hello on Monday, and asked us where we were from and why we had come to northwest Alabama.  Another neighbor stopped by, thanked us for coming to help, and shared a watermelon with the team.  In the afternoon, we met Toscombia’s own Energizer Bunny when Judy brought her 4-year old son Benny Ray home from day care.  Benny Ray, who also is called Boo, had so many questions for all of us.  Mostly he asked what we were doing, whether or not he could come with us, and if he could help us.  He was thrilled to receive a toy or two and some coloring books that we had picked up for him on Monday at Hackleburg Methodist’s Relief Center.  We were pleasantly surprised to learn that James happens to be a very experienced and skilled roofer.  We’ll get back to that in the next blog post.

By the end of our third day of the trip, the group had really come together in the work that we are doing and in the way that we relate to each other.  Everyone pitches in to help, whether the task is cleaning up the work site at the end of the day, straightening up the parsonage’s kitchen area, placing shingles on the roof, or reading a story to our new friend Boo.

Which brings us to the title of today’s blog entry.  Building a community where people join together to serve God isn’t something that happens automatically.  God equips and calls us to serve others, but we must accept that invitation and take action that will enable us to be useful in service to God and others.

And we (and our team, especially) have to be able to laugh when some folks make up words like ‘teamification.’  Personally, I’m going with the story that I wasn’t fully awake when I blurted it out in the bus at 7:30.

It is a privilege to be here with such talented and compassionate people.  Thank you, Lord, for bringing us together and allowing us to be part of your service to the people affected by the tornadoes.

Yours in Christ’s service,

Michael and

Your mission team in Alabama

TMI, Part II

(Too much inflammation ...)

As this blog entry title suggests, some of us are feeling sore today due to our previous day’s work.  On Monday morning, we left the Hamilton UMC parsonage and drove to Hackleburg, AL.  As some of you know, Hackleburg is a very small town (population of 1,500) that was devastated by the April 27^th tornadoes.  Virtually every business location in the town was destroyed, and well over 100 homes were leveled to their foundations.  18 people who called Hackleburg home were killed in the violent storm.  Both the elementary and high school buildings are now abandoned.  As the school year begins, students in the town now attend classes in trailers that have been set up a short distance from the gutted school buildings.

When we arrived, we met with George Gravitt, pastor of First United Methodist Church of Hackleburg.  George showed us such warmth and hospitality.  His welcoming us and his joyous spirit set just the right tone for the day.  We had brought Hibben’s donations of school supplies and cleaning supplies, and we unloaded them in First Methodist’s Relief Center (their converted basement).

Monday morning was our first opportunity to see Hackleburg for ourselves.  Some homes have already been rebuilt, but we saw many lots with a driveway that led to a cleared flat cement slab where a house formerly stood.

Everyone we have met here has been so gracious, friendly, and welcoming.  But what truly amazes me is that I have noticed almost no bitterness or sense of despair among those we have met.  It seems that they are placing their faith in God and in each other, and they are doing the best they can to rebuild their towns and their lives.  I am humbled and inspired by their strength and their faith.

Monday’s work effort involved renovating a large trailer that will be used to host mission teams who come to the area for tornado relief work.  The trailer, which can accommodate more than 12 people, was donated by a church in another area of Alabama.  Removing the roof’s shingles and re-fitting the exterior plumbing gave the team plenty to do on Monday.  Our team takes satisfaction in knowing that our work will be helpful to the efforts of future work teams.

At the end of the day we headed back to Hamilton to get ourselves cleaned up and to enjoy a wonderful meal prepared by Carlson Huey (Hooray for Carlson!).  A well-prepared, delicious dinner tastes even better when you’ve been doing construction work in the Alabama heat.  Thanks to Carlson for sharing his gift of hospitality.

The theme of our daily team devotions is, most appropriately for a mission trip, service to others. One of the most striking examples of service is Jesus’ washing of his disciples’ feet (John 13:1-17).  It’s not something that you might expect Jesus, who is Lord of all, to do to his followers.  Yet, it is the example and the commandment that he gives to us.  It is a great reminder for us as we go about our work this week.

Time to rest.  Good night, Hibben!  Thanks for your prayers!
Michael and

Your Alabama Mission Team

Alabama Tuesday am

We are on the work site and sweating already!
Feeling the effects of yesterday...TMI has a new meaning for us: Too Much Inflammation!!!
Lots of Aleve on board. We are ready to go!
Love Kathie and the TMI team... See below photos
PS more will be photos posted tonight

Rev Kathryn enjoying hefty piece of watermelon

Volunteer trailer renovation

Sending Out From Hibben to Alabama

Greetings to readers of this Alabama Mission Trip Blog!

Our time of preparation and planning for this trip is ended, and we set out Sunday morning on our journey to Alabama.

We need to recognize and thank many people at Hibben Methodist and Northwest District Alabama Methodist Relief for getting us equipped and ready for this mission opportunity.

‘Thank You’ to the entire church family for supporting and nurturing the vision of ‘equipping the saints for ministry’ (saints with a small  ‘s’).   It is a simple truth that without your prayers, your encouragement, and your financial and material support, this trip would not be possible.  Because of your gracious response to Jesus’ call to serve our neighbors, there are some families in rural Alabama who will be reminded that God indeed loves them and cares for them.  And that’s a great thing.  Worthy of an Amen?  I thought so.

Thanks to all the church staff and volunteers who took care of important details over the past couple of months.  Jennifer Roberts and Candace Dellinger gave vital support to the team since early May when some folks began to pray about putting together a Hibben trip to Alabama.

A special thanks to all mission team members’ families for making it possible to have your loved one away from home for the week.

And we must also say thanks to Sean Kilpatrick for organizing and leading the trip.  Sean has put in a large amount of time and effort to coordinate the trip and keep in constant touch with the missions staff in northwest Alabama.  He has done a great job seeing to the team’s needs and plans (His heart is close to Alabama).

As the team proceeded into Alabama, we had a chance to settle in and talk.  Dudley Patrick gave us the particulars about barbeque restaurants between Charleston and the Georgia state line.  Kathie James led us in some stretching when we reached our first rest stop in Denmark, SC.  Kim Brown shared her delicious homemade chocolate cookies.  Sean Dolan challenged some of us to games of electronic Scrabble.

On a reflective note, I find my thoughts still drifting to the ‘busy-ness’ of the past few weeks, along with some recent worries and concerns.  Sometimes in the midst of all that’s going on, it seems as though the world is just so messed up.  But for me, that usually happens when I am allowing my focus to slip to negative things.  The true picture is that God’s goodness outweighs and easily overcomes whatever messes we humans get ourselves into.  After all, Jesus promises his followers that he will be with us “always, until the end of the age.”

So as we begin our trip in Alabama, we are mindful of the many good things that God has given us.

We’ll have much more to say.  Thanks for reading this, and thanks for your prayers.

Yours in Christ’s service,

Michael and

Your mission team in Alabama

Kathryn
Cheryl
Kathie
Kim
Sean
Shawn
Dudley
Carlson
Michael

Alabama : live from Tuscumbia!

Your Alabama mission team is on the job! After a smooth trip in we were treated to a church service last night a moving video of the destruction from the F-5 tornadoes in April. Today we are removing and replacing the roof of a donated trailer tobe used by future volunteers. Next is cleaning and hooking up plumbing.
More later! Love, Kathie and the team