PDA Mission Trip #33 (New Bern, NC) DAY 2

Written by Bruce Andrews, Elisa McClelland, and Lucille Baur

We were back to our home bases today, Miss T’s house and Darrin’s house. We’ll begin with the work at Darrin’s house and get an engineer’s perspective from Bruce Andrews about what they were up to.  

Electrical work continued at Darrin’s house with the three engineers (Stuart, Bruce, and Dave S. [AKA Dave #2]) installing outlets and switches. As installation neared the completion stage, we shifted into testing mode to ensure completed success. With the assistance of a newly purchased Lowe’s inverter. Unfortunately, it was determined that there was a shorted wire in the wall introduced by a previous work team. So, tomorrow we will see the installation of a replacement circuit. Another team (Dave F. [AKA Dave #1] and Alice) began the process of adding window moldings beginning with some painting and Alice learning new miter saw skills. 

Bob, Maxine, and Pat joined this work site after lunch to prepare interior edging for the window frames. Jerry and Edco continued to work on a new storm door at Miss T’s house, while Lucille, Elisa, and Laura moved to a house on Dry Monia Road to do some touch-up painting on the front exterior woodwork. Elisa McClelland shares her thoughts about Miss T.                                                                                                                                                  

Yesterday, at the end of a day of hurry up and wait (as PDA mission trips do sometimes unfold), our painting team of Lucille B., Elisa M., and Laura W. were once again in the frenzied state of hurry up. Hurry, the light is fading; hurry, the paintbrush is drying; hurry, the hour is growing late. 

Then came the wait. The other work crews had left before us and we were finishing cleaning up (remember that paintbrush drying?), we came upon our homeowner Miss T. sitting under a tree on a chair. We hadn’t had a chance to really talk with her, she was usually in another part of the house trying to stay out of our way. But now was our chance. So, we waited. We didn’t rush back to our home base at Neuse Forest Presbyterian Church. We talked with her. We found out about some of Miss T.’s struggles with caring for family, health, and practical needs. We discovered that she is a woman of deep faith and love. She has been waiting as a faithful daughter, wife, mother, and grandmother. 

Her home has great needs. We’ve been hurrying to help get at least one room ready for her mother to move into. Meanwhile, she came out to breathe the fresh September air. We tried our best to help her fill more than her lungs with freshness, we tried to buoy her up with compassion and understanding. We offered to bring her lunch the next day (today). 

So, today began in a hurry to make a barbecue sandwich with all the fixings to bring to share with Miss T., so she might share her time with us under the tree at lunchtime. We hurried to finish up our painting, so we could invite her out to join us outside to eat our lunches. She had waited all morning to eat with us under a tree. Since it was lightly raining, our lunchtime “tree” was a canopy shelter set up to protect the power tools and the people. 

While waiting for and then spending time with her today at lunch, the whole team learned something about her life. When we get to spend time with the homeowners, we more easily succeed in connecting with them and truly understanding the reason God has placed us in their paths, and they in ours. Sometimes on these mission trips we spend a lot of time hurrying up to wait. And often the wait is well worth it. 

Our time with Miss T. was not our only special time today. This evening, our group of 18, put together very memorable music, dance, and spoken tribute to Mary Beth, along with a “Thank You” cake and ice cream. This is her last mission trip with us (though she has an open invitation to rejoin us at any time), and she is leaving us tomorrow morning to have a quick visit with her brother in South Carolina. Our hearts were full as we sang verse 1 of the hymn, “Come Ye Thankful People Come,” while Laura Wilson performed a beautiful liturgical dance to the lyrics. Then we each spoke about how thankful we felt and shared how much we have appreciated, learned from, and benefited from her mission trip leadership and time with us as a long-term pastor at GPC. Then we sang verse 2 to conclude our tribute, and very much enjoyed our Thank You cake and ice cream. Tomorrow just will not be the same without her.