What's Happening in WV -- Part 1

(Received Thursday evening, July 31, 2008)

PROLOG
PACE asked Pat and Carl Lotz if they would consider covering three weeks in West Virginia this year. Unfortunately, not possible. As a result they laid the background to initiate someone that would be willing to cover one of the three weeks.

This led to a trip to the town of Gauley Bridge WV to scope out the facilities. This year the facilities are intriguing in that the groups are staying in an old High School that hasn’t been used in three years. (It’s now a Community Center) But we are cooking in an Elementary School that thank heavens is just across the street.

Now that we knew what we were up against, we met the woman (Bonnie) who was willing to cover the first week. She had a little experience but was willing to do Carl’s menu which is a little complicated.Quintin Lotz (13) volunteered to go down with Bonnie and handle the griddle. Carl would order the food from PA and Bonnie would carry out the menu in WV.

You don’t realize just how complicated it is to feed 130 people who would be there with PACE the first week As a result Carl & Pat and Quintin drove the 450 miles to Gauley Bridge July 20th to help Bonnie get started. We staying until after breakfast on the 21st to help her and her volunteers get settled. However enthusiastic a person is, there is always more than meets the eye in bringing all the pieces together every meal and as a result there were almost daily phone calls from WV to Frazer. But they got through the week.

CAMT Service Starts
Pat and Carl headed out Friday night so we could arrive in Gauley Bridge early enough on Saturday to take inventory. We had the option to modify our food order as late as Sunday morning noon. When we finished inventory the food order underwent major revisions. Luckily the food supplier is open on Sunday afternoons so we made the adjustments.

Once again we are in an area where cell phones just don’t work due to the mountains around us. One of the PACE workers did get two bars by climbing a ladder inside the school and through a trap door that led to the roof of the old school. No, we’ll just wait for our group of CAMT volunteers to arrive this afternoon (Sunday). They’re due here around 4:00. Pat Lotz waits at the Glen Ferris Inn (the home base for CAMT for the week) a great place along the falls of the convergence of the New River and the Gauley. The Inn only serves dinner until six on Sundays so when they arrive dinner is first on the agenda.

Carl had to attend the leaders meeting of the groups that arrived during the afternoon. The main highway through Gauley Bridge runs along the river. So do the railroad tracks of the Norfolk and Southern Railroad. In the 1870’s, the railroad laid the tracks thru the valley connecting Richmond VA to Cincinnati OH. By the way there is no bridge at Gauley Bridge. It was burned by the confederates during the Civil War in 1862. Since the road and railroad take up the flat land most houses are built clinging to the steep hillside. And the school is no exception. To get to the school you cross the railroad tracks and traverse a cutback.

Invitation to a Party
Sunday afternoon while setting up at the school Carl had a conversation with a husband & wife out for a walk. The outcome was an invitation to a Church gathering along the river at five o’clock followed by a picnic. Although I had to meet with the leaders at six I wanted to squeeze this in. You see it was a Baptism in the river.

When I arrived, it was like any other picnic. The women of the church gathering food to the picnic tables as it arrived. The men bringing in grills on trailers. The children down at the river bank trying to fill the river with stones. At 5:30 the call to Baptism came, and we all gathered by the river. What song would you expect us to start with? “We will gather by the river”, of course. Two people were to be baptized. The Elders waded into the water to slightly over waist deep. One person was in a wheelchair so they picked up the whole chair and carried it into the river. The other waded in. After the challenge from the preacher both persons were submerged. One emerged from under the water with loud Hallelujahs. The Minister and several of the Elders then turned around and dove into the river and swam for a while.

When the picnic dinner was ready, I was afforded the honor of first in line. I just finished a piece of southern pecan pie at six o’clock, so I ran off for the leaders meeting.

Ice Cream Social
We always start the week with ice cream on Sunday Night for the Dori Gillstrom Memorial Ice Cream Social. 200 people devour a lot of ice cream. Vanilla, Chocolate, and Strawberry, not to mention chocolate syrup, nuts and butterscotch toppings. We finished by ten o’clock. We start breakfast preparation at 5:30 in the morning so we head right to bed.

No News Is Good News. (We Hope!)

Team leaders Pat and Carl traveled to West Virginia Friday to make sure the kitchen was in good working order and that the food they ordered for the next two weeks had arrived safely. Their grandson, Quintin, had been there the previous week to help a team from another church who were new to the job of feeding 100+ young people for a week. He’s only 13, but wants to be a chef, and if you’ve ever seen him in a kitchen, you know he’s well on his way. He knows his way around a kitchen, keeps up the kind of pace necessary to feed large crowds, and occasionally comes up with a menu idea all his own that usually turns out to be a hit!

Mary, Molly, Millie and Nancy drove down Sunday to get ready for the youth teams they would feed this week beginning Monday morning. Carl said he’d call in the news of the trip, and I expect that will happen—but as of right now (9:00 pm) Monday night, we’ve not heard a word. Check back tomorrow….

New Ventures July and September

CAMT Heads Back to WV

A Covenant Adult Mission Team will be headed for Gauley Bridge, WV the weeks of July 27 and August 3 to prepare meals for PACE (PA Christian Endeavor) youth mission teams who will be doing home repairs in the area.

Team leaders Carl and Pat will be there the weeks of July 27 and August 3, and six others will work one or the other of the two weeks: Quintin (Carl and Pat's grandson), Molly, Mary, Millie, Nancy and Richard. Pray for safe travel and for the witnessing of Covenant's love for all God's people.

We're never quite sure what the email situation is in new places--but, once again, we hope to have reports of their experiences during the time the team is there.

Check back for news of the team starting the week of July 27.

Outley House Shelter

CAMT continues to serve lunch on Saturdays of holiday weekends at Outley House Shelter, a rehab center in Philadelphia. Richard is the team leader and plans the menus. 3 people from Covenant helped serve March 29, 4 served April 12, 3 on May 24, and 7 on July 5. The next visit will be Sept. 6.

Call the church office (610-648-0707) for more information or to sign up.