Mission Trip 2006  --  Port Arthur Texas

Click On Each Picture Below To Hear An Audio

Description of Our Mission To Assist Hurricane Victims  

Pictures and Audio by Zena Featherston 

If you can't hear the audio, try downloading "QuickTime" at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/win.html

If your sound skips, click the "pause" button and wait while the audio downloads for a few seconds.

The following is from the August 2nd Edition of The Fort Smith Disciple newsletter written by Lance McReynolds.

The mission trip was an amazing experience.    I am extremely proud of our youth and their attitude of service.  They are young but they are mature disciples.  I can not say enough about John, Zena, and Randy, our trip sponsors. Everyone gave their time, blood, sweat, and tears to make this trip successful.

   While preparing for the mission trip, all of the information sent to us said to “be flexible”.  The primary work the mission station managers had lined up for us was roofing.  There are still, one year after the hurricanes, many blue tarps on the roofs of homes, churches and businesses in the Beaumont/Port Arthur area.  Roofing needs to be done.  Well, for us, it rained, and rained, and rained —not a light rain but a torrential rain accompanied by lightening and thunder.  It was not the type of weather that would allow one on the roof.  So we were “flexible”.  The mission station managers scrambled to find some inside work for us to do.  In between rain storms we were assigned to demolish a small home of an elderly lady know to us as Alberta .  She had abandoned the home during the hurricane and now lives in an assisted living community.  The home and all its contents needed to be taken out to the curb for trash pick-up.  We began this job with the help of the neighbors and their RAM truck.  Tuesday we worked half a day due to the rain.  Wednesday we were given some inside work at Victory Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a mostly African-American congregation.  The church had siding damage, roof damage, and the fellowship hall received wall and ceiling damage due to the exterior problems.  The kids jumped at the chance to be back at work.  The most frequently heard question was “What can we do next?”  We scraped and painted and replaced sheet rock, and plastered.  Pastor Norman of Victory Christian told me he prayed it would keep raining so we would come back.  We did come back.  We finished their fellowship hall.  Sunday was to be Pastor Norman’s 21^st year as Pastor, and the fellowship hall was completed for their celebration.  The neighbors that helped us at Alberta ’s house were contractors and through our connection, contracted to replace the siding on the church.  Pastor Norman said it was amazing how it all worked out.  I told him that there are no accidents in this life.  Pastor Norman said that sometimes as Christians we forget that. 

Return to the fccdoc home page