Day 9 - Last Work Day at SPY

Thursday, July 8 was our last workday at SPY. After morning worship including our favorite energizer dance, we had breakfast, packed our tools and headed out for our work sites. Each group set off to finish as many of their projects as possible before returning for the day.

The purple team went back to Dolly's house and finished the painting, stairs, and walkway they had begun. Unfortunately they were not able to completely dig out the basement door as the conditions made it just too difficulty in the given time.

The orange team split up into two groups. Some stayed at Fieldstone and continued working on the painting, weeding, and other work that needed to be done at the church while others went to work on some projects at a different house. While the group at the house was working, they were surprised with a peanut butter treat!

The red team had a special mission on Thursday morning. Earlier in the week, Jordan noticed something on the top of the trash outside while the group was working. What he found was a bill that was past due and that seemed much more than this family could afford to pay. There were many finance charges listed from late or missed payments. After some discussion amongst the work team and VOY adult team, we decided to stop by the location the bill was from and pay the balance. The whole work team signed the statement that listed the $0.00 balance and the group waited until the end of the day to present it to the family. The red team finished sealing the roof and the big job for Thursday was replacing the linoleum flooring in the living room. Our first challenge was to take off the previous tiles. This proved to be quite a sticky job but with some help from our homeowner, we were able to get the tools necessary to remove them. Then we placed the new tiles down and tried to make the room look as good as possible. At the end of the day, the group gathered and presented the paid bill to the homeowner's mother. She immediately began to cry and had to sit down. She was in shock and was extremely grateful for all our group had done. She thought that with the new flooring, it looked like a completely new trailer and couldn't thank us enough. The group listened for a little while but soon it was time to go. We gave our final hugs and said goodbye, knowing that we are all a part of the family now.

Once all the teams returned, we took showers and got ready to go to the Newport Community for dinner and worship. The pastor and some members of Newport-Mt. Olivet UMC made dinner for the campers, staff, and other community members. We enjoyed the meal and some time of fellowship with the community with singing, frisbee, soccer, and other games.



Before we left, everyone gathered in a big circle to sing and then share some of the "Strange Things" that we had all seen in the past week. After everyone had the opportunity to share, it was time to head back to Fieldstone UMC for the following slideshow capturing pictures from the entire week.




Then we ended the night with some goodbyes and the SPY Energizer dance with all of the interns leading us!

Day 8 1/2 - Bonsack UMC

On Wednesday night, after we had completed our half workday, we traveled to Bonsack UMC for our first full concert. The trip only lasted about 45 minutes but we were all grateful for the opportunity to rest on the way there. We arrived, unpacked and then headed to the sanctuary for practice and a chance to see how the whole program would work in the sanctuary setting.

We worked out a few logistical issues and were ready to roll. As we were ending rehearsal, we received word that dinner was ready for us. Places had been set and we invited those from the church that prepared the meal to join us for the blessing. We enjoyed a meal of chicken, mashed potatoes, many great toppings, salad, watermelon, and dessert. After dinner, members of the choir set-up our display and prepared for the concert. Then we met in the gym for devotions led by Sara's family group to help us focus before the concert.

During the service, Mollie D. shared the first testimony. Although the group had been together less than a week and had only completed 2 1/2 days work at SPY, she had a lot to share.


Later in the service, Jay H. spoke to the congregation about how this experience had impacted his life so far. It is definitely the best experience he has had so far this summer.

Our alumni message was from Rachel Hundley and she mentioned a story that was accidentally left out of the blog. On the evening that the group traveled to see the fireworks and enjoy the festivities at Big Joe's house, we just happened to have one of many God moments. As it turns out, Big Joe's brother-in-law is Jim Perry, the founder of Voices of Youth. Jim was at the Fourth of July party for the first time in 15 years and this will probably be the only time that some members of the Voices of Youth will be there. Rachel had the opportunity to talk to him about the program and how amazing it is that it is still running 25 years later.

We had several alumni join us for the concert, which was very well attended. They came up front to sing with the choir for "In Remembrance" and "The Lord Bless You and Keep You".

We incorporated a dance into one of our songs thanks to Mollie, Alli and Margaret. They did a wonderful job helping to express the song "Let Us Sing the Songs of Those Who Cannot Speak" in a different and unique way using ribbons.

At the end of the concert, it was time to go back to SPY so we could finish our final day of work at SPY and prepare to begin the rest of the Virginia tour.

Day 6, 7, and 8 - SPY Work

Sorry we haven't posted in a few days but we have a good reason. We've been busy working hard with our different colored work teams. Here is what each of them has been doing for the past few days.

The Orange Team...

On day one, we were told our job would be weeding and re-mulching the picnic area behind the SPY building.

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.

The Red Team...

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.



We found that the kitchen counter was only supported by the wall on one side and so we built a support for it.

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.


Caitlyn and Alexis noticed that the tub in the bathroom needed to have caulk applied around it to prevent more leaks so we worked on that.

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 Purple Team...

We had a rough start at the Quesenberry residence, though we quickly overcame our hardships. We were giving the challenging task of digging out a half buried basement door, that is located in the heat of the burning sun.


Along with that, we were assigned to build stairs, create a ceramic front central walkway, patch holes to the basement, and paint trim.


Quickly, we accomplished the trim and the patching of the holes. On day three, we created a beautiful new, safe slate and sand walkway.

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.

We still had time for worship


and a little fun...