September 25~DuBois, Pa. Mission Trip~

Our mission this time around was a welcome change.  Instead of tearing out the old wet, soggy and moldy flooring and wall coverings, this time we were actually helping to put things back.  Since we were a team of two this time, Rev. Tucker assigned us to a house that was close to completion.  Our job was to finish the spackle on the seams, sand and then thin set with another coat of spackle, then sand one last time before giving the drywall a coat of primer.  We had 3 room to complete in the 2 days that we were there.  The home owner, a lovely lady, I say that not only because she loved to watch ESPN's Sports Center each morning, but mostly because she was a hard working single mother of two adult aged special needs sons.  She greeted us each morning with a big smile that said "thank you for coming" from the bottom of her heart.  She said there had been about 3 feet of water running through their home at one time.  She had been able, with the help of her son Mark, to move some items to the upstairs but as the water kept rising they soon had to leave while they still could get the car out.  The stream at the back of her home was small, maybe 3-4 feet wide but on June 27 the water left the banks to cover most of the lower portions of DuBois.

Happy home owners after we finished our work day.

Margie with the prayer shawl that we gave her from the Shawl Sisters of the WJUMC

Sharon and I worked hard both days to complete the project and are proud to say that we helped to complete the very first of all the homes that have asked for assistance from UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief).  All of the home projects have been cleared of the mud, mold and debris but still need to have drywall installed and some need electrical and plumbing.  It seems to be an unending process.  But think about it, there is still a need for assistance from Katrina and Hurricane Sandy and those happened much earlier that the flood of DuBois.

We finished up Tuesday afternoon around 3 and said our good byes to the family and went to the YMCA for our daily shower.  We decided to drive north to Benezette where we were told we could view herds of wild elk and visit a large nature center.  It did not disappoint as you can see from my photos.

Our first elk sighting, a cow along side the road

The entrance to the visitors center at Elk Country

We watched as this bull elk challenged another for a herd of cows

The bugle sounds that they made were unlike anything you have ever heard.

We saw this herd, about 50, including a bull on our way back to DuBois

We arrived home today around 2.  I am packed and ready to drive to Delaware tomorrow and will be walking in my 3rd Four Seasons Parkway Walk for pediatric cancer research. If you would like to contribute you can search for Team Lily at the above link.  The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is the number 1 hospital for treating pediatric cancers and leads the way for research in the field.  Thank you for your support both monetary and your kind thoughts and prayers.