Sunday had a great start because we were able to sleep in a bit more than usual. We put on our tie dye shirts and gathered in the Soul Cafe at Fieldstone UMC for breakfast with members of their church community. After a quick breakfast, we went into the Celebration Room to begin practicing the songs we would be singing for morning worship. We had just enough time to practice our 6 songs with our new accompanist before it was time to let members of the congregation in for the service.
The beginning of the worship service was led by Fieldstone. They shared about the joys and successes from their Vacation Bible School adventures from the week before. They also talked about how amazed they are every week at the volunteers that come to SPY. For children's time, the kids sang some of the songs they learned at VBS. For the second half of the service, the Voices of Youth provided music for the offering and then provided some songs and testimonies to awaken Fieldstone's congregation to our mission but to also let them know how excited we were to be a part of their mission work. The service ended with our choral benediction, "The Lord Bless You and Keep You".
Just as the service was ending, our bus driver Ed Richards arrived! This is the fourth year he has been driving us and he has become an important member of our team. His first job of the tour was to get Voices and some members from the other groups at SPY to the Jefferson National Park where the group would be eating lunch and then going on a hike. After a quick phone call to make sure that the bus would be able to clear a small bridge, Ed forged ahead and the group all gathered for lunch from Subway to get some energy before our hike began.
Once lunch had been cleaned up, we made a big circle and played some group building games in order to get to know members of the other groups a little better. We played a game that revealed things people liked, a "Twilight" version of rock, paper, scissors and each work group tried to solve the human knot.
After the games, we put our shoes back on and got ready for the 2 mile hike. We were given two options for the hike, the hard trail or the "easy" trail. Most of the group chose the hard trail and I'm pretty sure that if you asked any of the people who took the easy trail, they might disagree with the name.
Although the hike seemed like it would never end at times, the reward for finishing was worth the effort. The Cascade Falls at the end of the hike were beautiful and the water was "refreshing" if not freezing. The whole group enjoyed some time swimming and relaxing at the falls. The time came to leave and we gathered our things and started back down the mountain. Everyone took the easy trail this time in hopes that we would all get to the bottom at a faster pace.
When we arrived at the bottom of the trail, some adults and youth from each work group traveled to the work sites in order to meet the families and get a better idea of the type of work they would be doing in the coming week. Then everyone met at Cici's Pizza Buffet for dinner and no one left hungry. We were running a bit behind schedule so we had to eat quickly in order to make it back to SPY for evening worship. The interim director, Claire, talked to the group about this year's theme for SPY, "we have seen strange things". We discussed strange things in the gospel and how we'd be learning more about them throughout the week. We sang together and Claire challenged the other groups not to be overpowered by the Voices of Youth.
Worship had ended and then it was time to choose between staying at SPY and relaxing or going to see some fireworks near Blacksburg High School. The campers and staff at SPY had been invited by Big Joe to come see the fireworks at his house. When we arrived, we were greeted warmly by the people already at the party and we jumped right in to all the festivities. They had airbrush tattoos, glow sticks, karaoke, and lots of food and drink for everyone.
When the fireworks began, we all gathered on the hill behind the house and had a spectacular view of the fireworks. Before we left, the whole group from Voices that had gone to the fireworks had to sing a karaoke version of "Don't Stop Believing". I think that anyone who went to see the fireworks would tell you it was well worth the trip. The best part of the trip was when we were told that we could sleep in an extra hour tomorrow morning! We arrived back at SPY and headed toward the showers to get clean. Then it was time to get to bed in order to be energized at our work sites in the morning.
We worked in the heat for half of the day until Tim came and told us that some of us could get out of the heat and prime the girls bathroom downstairs.
The next day we went to Newport-Mt.Olive UMC and did some work in their community garden. We stained a gazebo, a foot bridge, and some tables. We also laid down mulch and repainted benches. On day three, we were back at project SPY to continue our project from day one.
Our task was to work on a trailer in Newport. The biggest job was to help prevent further leaks in the roof by applying a couple layers of aluminum sealant.
The microwave was mounted on the wall and kept falling so we built a stand for it to sit on the counter without it taking up too much space.
The kitchen sink pipes were leaking so we had them replaced.
The homeowner had done some remodeling in the bathroom but didn't replace all the boards around the pipes. We decided to get some board and cover up the exposed area. The homeowner also grows several types of vegetables all around his house so we pulled some weeds in those areas.
The stairs are coming together at a rapid stage and look fantastic against the beautiful dark brick of her quaint and lovely home. We can't wait to finish our service and mission this coming day.
