by Karen Penner
On October 16th, our group headed to Lutherock for a four-day mission trip. Our goal was threefold: to bring supplies, help clear roads, and assess how Saint Peter can continue providing assistance as the cleanup continues both in the camp and the community of Arden, NC. We drove about three hours, following whatever roads were open since I-40 remains closed.
Besides Kevin and me, we had Pastor Jason, Eric Leazer, Bill Rivero, Chris Smith, Colleen Weathers, Lewis Weathers, and Henry Wiesenberger. Before we left, Barbara Grever assembled meals ready to cook. The congregation donated funds, coats, fire extinguishers, propane heaters, and sleeping bags. We traveled in three trucks, one of which pulled a loaded U-Haul trailer donated by Sentry Storage. In addition to donated items, we brought fuel since gas stations in that area were still closed.
We also brought several chainsaws with the idea that we would spend the week cutting and hauling wood. When we arrived, however, we noticed the roads in the camp had already been cleared.
Luckily, we also brought our tools. Since some of us had construction experience, we were asked to repair two of the cabins. One needed what turned out to be pretty extensive roof repair. The other cabin needed two rooms stripped of water-damaged sheetrock.
The demolition project wasn’t as easy as we thought it would be. We put on our masks and hauled out load after load of wet sheetrock. Then an examination of the cabin basement revealed mold on the cement walls, so that was as much as we could do on that project. Specialists would have to come in and treat the mold and then everything would have to thoroughly dry out before bringing in new sheetrock.
Then we were asked to fix a roof on an outbuilding at Lutheran Church of the Nativity, just around the corner from the camp. This was another job for the guys, who had to reattach or completely replace the shingles that had come off in the storm. They finished both the cabin roof and the outbuilding roof by noon on Saturday before we had to leave. We didn’t see much of Pastor Jason since he spent most of his daylight hours on one roof or another!
Three of us ladies took our church’s donations to the local Mutual Aid Disaster Relief (MADR) distribution center and met with Pastor Elizabeth. Her team makes regular trips to this drop-off site and delivers the donated items to where they’re needed most. The people at the MADR were overwhelmed with the amount we brought and how far we had come!
During our trip, some of us stayed in dorm accommodations, and two couples stayed at a cabin. For meal times, we gathered together in the cabin. Colleen and Lewis did all the cooking, which was greatly appreciated.
Thanks to Barbara Grever for assembling the food for our trip and the bags of cookies that Anita Bowman baked. We ate well and enjoyed fellowship together after each day’s work. In all, it was an amazing trip, sharing God’s love in the wake of the storm!
