Picnic lunch

We were blessed with no rain as we gathered around the picnic table to eat and share cookies and apples.

A local UCC church had a tent that served drinks and light foods to those who stopped. The do this twice a year as part of their outreach program. Onward we went.

Scott Martin

Some pictures from dinner

Pictures from dinner

Dinner with our new friends from NJ

Dinner with new friends

After checking in to our hotel in Mount Laurel NJ we went to Ott's for dinner in Medford NJ, quite close to where we will be working.  There we met with four members of the New Jersey covenant partner for The Fuller Center for Housing who will be guiding us this week.  Neil and Merle Brown and Dennis and Donna Yates were full of wonderful tales of past Fuller builds and our upcoming job description.  They also filled us in on local places to eat, and the lore of the Jersey Devil.  Who knew that the devil was the thirteenth child who was born with a forked tongue and roams incessantly in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey?  We are all looking forward to getting to the job site bright and early tomorrow morning!

Commissioning

Paul and Joy sent us on our way with a touching heartfelt litany and prayer. The whole congregation laid hands on us (virtually) while saying:

We covenant with you and before God to journey with you in prayer and to be open to new ideas for action when the group returns. 

Suitably inspired, we piled into our cars (3 Priuses and 1 Sienna) and departed for points South.

2012 Adult Mission Trip 

Tomorrow, eleven of us leave for Tabernacle NJ to work with the local affiliate of the Fuller Center there.

One project we know we'll be working on is finishing up a new addition that is being built for a boy named Justin. Justin suffers from a rare inherited disease named Friedreich ataxia, which requires him to use a wheelchair. The Fuller Center is building an accessible bedroom/bathroom with an external ramp. See this page for more information about Justin.

Today we're all packing our cars with tools and other necessities and will depart for NJ tomorrow right after church. We hope to keep you all posted on these pages.

Mike Kraley