Sara Cumberland

Hey everyone! Thank you all so much for all of your prayers and encouragement throughout the entire week! I really, really, really appreciate them!
Well, the week is over.... I had an amazing time and learned so many lessons from God that I would never even have dreamed about. As I look back on the week, I see so many ways that God has worked in my life and used me and the team in others' lives. It has been a HUGE reassurance to me to know that God can and will use me to make an impact on other people. Many of us have decided that this has definitely been the best mission's trip that we have ever been on. It has been hard, but without a doubt the most amazing and wonderful weeks of my life!
Please continue to pray for the people that we helped out this week. Pray for them to continue to wonder why we did what we did and for Who it was that we did it. Pray for other Christians to come into their lives to witness to them and reap what we have been sowing all week, and lead them to Salvation.
This is it! The end of our week....it's really "bitter-sweet" to me, though. I can't wait to come home and tell everyone all of our stories...but I have definitely fallen in love with Texas and the people in it! God has done wonders this week!

Lauren's Blog

Hi mom and dad! I don't think you will have to worry about listening to my stories all night. I will be too tired that I will just wait until Sunday. See you tonight. Or maybe tomorrow morning! :) I love you!

Matt

Hi everyone!  This week has been great!!  We had so much fun even though it was really hot and we worked hard.  We finished the house that we were painting and it looks so much different and better than before we started.  It is so cool to be able to help people who need it down here and serve God.  Even though we didn't make much of a difference in all of Galveston, we still really touched the people's lives that we did help.  I am really sad that the week is over and we have to leave, but I think I am ready to come home, too.  See you all later!

The Cumberland's (Friday)

We can't believe it is Friday afternoon!! We have dreamed and prayed and planned this trip for months. Here it is...almost finished! God has once again far exceeded all our hopes and dreams for this team! Our hearts are so full...we don't even know where to begin. This has been one of the most amazing trips yet. This trip was so hard - the heat was oppressive and unbelievable. The team did not do this work on their own strength - it was without a doubt God's strength. It will be a memory of God's provision for these kids to carry with them the rest of their lives!

We have completed many small tasks that include laying ceramic tile; grouting; scrubbing and painting porches, eaves, and all kinds of doors; dragging debris to the street; trimming trees; and the list goes on. But we have prayed that the teens could work on just one project that they could call "their own" as a team and see a transformation. God answered that prayer at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bell. They are elderly (Mr. Bell is 80) and couldn't afford to paint the outside of their house. It was in terrible shape and the entire house needed to be scraped before the paint went on. The team has been working in the heat since Wednesday morning to help these people. They were determined to get it done by today and they did it!! God answered our prayers and gave them this job to see to the finish. The house looks so different and the Bell's were absolutely grateful and praising the Lord for His provision in their lives. God used this team to make a difference for them. Here is the "kicker"...Mr. Bell is a black preacher who told us story after story of his life in the years of segregation. He made history come alive for these kids like I have never heard. The best part is...we were looking for opportunities to tell him about the Lord and he was doing the same for us. When God opened the door for us to witness to him...he ended up telling us how to be sure we can be in Heaven for eternity! What a blessing!! At the end of the job today our team stood in a circle holding hands with the Bells and Mr. Bell prayed for them. Jeff and I weren't there, but we are told that it was an amazing moment. We have many pictures of the before and the after! It's our teams "Most Extreme Home Makeover"!!

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement through this blog. The kids have enjoyed writing and always race to see your comments. They know that you are all at home waiting for them and that "you have their backs". That means so much to all of us. Tonight we are going to eat authentic Texas fajitas and then spend some time riding roller coasters and fun stuff at a boardwalk that is close by. Pray for safety as we pack up and travel home tomorrow. We are hoping to have a few more pictures up later, but not sure if we can pull it off. We'll try though. Love to all!! See you soon!!

The Sarvey's 2

It's FRIDAY - hard to believe it's here. It seemed like such a long week, but now that the end is here, it's seems to have gone so fast! today we are hoping to finish painting Leonard's house. We want to get started early due to a parade in the town of Galveston. Leonard has told us the history of this parade, it commemorates the end of slavery, which occured right here! It is amazing the stories he has told us of how over his 80 years of life what he has had to endure being a black in a segrated world. We've read about it, but now to hear stories of it from someone who lived it has just been an amazing thing.

Gotta run - we're loading up - pray we can finish this project and for strength to deal with the heat!

David & Peggy :)

Carey's Blog 2

Today is our last day of work - we have made it to the end of the week and tomorrow we are coming home
i will miss the beaches and the people we helped but i will not miss the HEAT :) i am ready to come home. I miss every one there

Lauren's 4th Blog

Today we finished with the first coat of paint on a house. We are going back tomorrow for the second coat.
My arms are still really burning. We went to the beach this evening, and had our devotions on the beach. Allison and I stayed near the shore and collected sea shells and took pictures. I am going to bed now, because we have to leave the church at 7:30 tomorrow morning!!!

allison's third blog

hey everybody, this week has been amazing and i have learned to much!! today we worked on this man's house and it is really coming together and even though most of us got sun burnt ((including me... and it really hurts!!)) we all had good attitudes and smiles on our faces!! we went to the beach tonight and had devotions there and sang some songs too!! tomorrow we will be working from 8-2 so we get to finish work early and come back and get showers so we can go to... THE BOARD WALK!! which im pretty sure were all excited about. if u didnt know tomorrow is the day when they freed black slaves in galveston so its is like a holiday here so there will be parades and a whole bunch of parties and picnics anywhere no matter what race you are... so it should be a very very fun day!! well see you very soon!=]

Kaylor 2

Hi All,

Just getting back from the beach, we had devotions/team meeting there tonight. We are taking showers in order of age, oldest to youngest and I finally got to have one of the first showers, therefore, I get to blog first. All the teens are in line.

It was another great day. It was very hot as usual, but God blessed JR and I with the cool house today, they have air conditioning. He is still laying flooring, this time cork floor, and I painted book shelves. I still got to do a little grouting with Sara and Marissa. The rest of the gang were outside either moving furniture or painting a house. It's hard to believe we only have one more work day left. Everyone is doing soooo well, getting along and working really hard at our worksites, and around camp here with meals, clean up and lunches. There are many other groups down here also working on many houses and the folks here are soooo appreciative to receive the help. God is truly blessing this area and all of us. There is still so much to do and we are hoping we get to see an end product soon. We do little jobs here and there but never really get to finish anything.

Thanks everyone for all your thoughts and prayers, we really appreciate it. We will be on way home soon.

Mom and Dad, I can't get the girls to sit down and blog, but they are thinking of you and love you. They just think because our whole family is here, no one will look at it. Love to all.

JR and Deb

dustins blog

hey it is so much fun down here but really i am like a fried peanut right now but hey praise the Lord we are getting so much done and yah it took me ten minutes to type this

Nicki's Blog

i am having soo much fun in Galveston! we have been working really hard. IT IS SO HOT!!!! i cant wait till i get back so that it isnt as hot! but we are still having alot of fun while we help the people of galveston. it is amazing to see the damage and not want to help. then you feel so accomplished when you see the difference and how happy it makes the people feel. them telling you that it gives them hope... i hope that every1 feels the way i do about helping them and that we have accomplish so much! i hope that i can go on many more missions trips so that i can help people and have fun with the missions team. it is alot of fun meeting new people and i hope i can talk to them againg. I GOT SUNBURNT!!! Ouch! i thought i used enough sunscrean!!

Lauren's Blog 3

Hi everyone! Yesterday we scraped paint off of a house, and today we are going to paint it. I don't think I used enough sun tan lotion yesterday, because I got pretty burnt on my arms and neck. We had fun feeding the sea gulls at lunch. Dustin tried catching one with a fishing pole. We had a lot of fun and today will probably be just as hot.

Talk to you later!

A Blog by Heidi

20 girls 8 showers equals madness. More people coming equals chaos! Lol Everything is good with us, some are a little sunburnt. Yesterday I had some real southern sweet tea which was really good! Today we should be painting after scrapping the house yesterday so that should be fun.

Love you all talk to ya later!

Matt

Hey everybody! I am having so much fun this week! On Sunday, we went to church and then toured Galveston and Bolivar and then went to the beach. Monday to Wednesday i was at a house laying ceramic tile from 8 am to 5 pm. It was so much fun learning how to do something new and getting to work with and know other people. On Tuesday, I got to work with 6 people from a city about an hour north of Houston. It was just so much fun getting to know them and working with them. Today after we were finished working, we went to the beach again, and we brought a little fishing net to use, and Dustin and Josh each caught a fish with it. I am really looking forward to the rest of the week. I am not sure what I will be doing, but I am sure that I will have a lot of fun doing it, no matter how tough the job is. It is just great to be down here serving God and other people who need help. See you all later!

HANNAH & MARISSA

I can't fine the hot pink so i'll just have to deal with black. uh, we didn't cook yet i'll probablyjust "supervise" lol and I forget your other question mrs. shaff shaff, anyways, today I painted and I have it ALL through my hair lol so does josh. now we're going to the beach, i'll really tired and hot. now we're going to the beach. bye!

Marrissa says hi to her mommy<-- lol loser

allison's second blog

hi, today was our 3rd day of working and i think it was also the hottest!! but we kept drinking lots of water and gatorade so it helped tons!! plus when we left for target so we could all go to the bathrooms and buy some stuff when we came back there were 12 more workers so we got to sit in the shade!! right now we are at university baptist church in galveston getting dressed to go back to the beach!! and we are all pretty excited we are leaving right now!! miss you guys!! bye =]

The Sarvey's

Today David & I went to a house that saw 4 feet of flooding inside the house, which sat up 3 feet - so there was 7 feet of water all together! They have just returned to the house - the inside was pretty much redone; however, the outside needs some attention! David pulled his tools out and went to work! We scraped, caulked, cleaned up the yard, and got ready to paint (tomorrow). David repaired many boards that were just rotten. We weren't able to repair the porch, which is in such bad shape; but at least we can get the house looking better.
The really cool thing about today was that we were going there to minister to them; but God is so good - - Leonard & his wife ended up ministering to us. He is 80 years old and a pastor in the neighborhood they live in. He spoke so much to us and encouraged us - how neat, he challenged our young people to live for the Lord, spoke of his mistakes that he has made in his own life and just really lifted our tired spirits up! He even got Dustin aside and talked FISHING!! Dusting loved that! Leonard even gave Dustin a FISHING POLE!! Imagine the smile on that kids face - he's still smiling!!! Our plans are tomorrow to go back and paint his house. Pray for us that the sun won't be too hot and that we can finish this project and continue to give hope to this community!
Love to all back home!
David & Peggy Sarvey

Lauren's Blog

Hi mom, dad, Ryan, and grandma and grandpa! We are getting ready for another day of work. On Monday and Tuesday my group went to help a lady named AJ fix up her house. On Monday Lisa and I learned how to place tile. Then yesterday we painted. After lunch yesterday AJ and her mom took us on a tour of their church. It was really big and the sanctuary was beautiful. We don't know what we will be doing today yet.

I am glad that Ryan is feeling better. Who won the baseball game? I will try to write later or tomorrow and tell you what we did today. I love you!

Carey's Blog

We are having a good time - yesterday we were scraping paint off of a lady's house. The paint was literally just peeling off - some if it was stubborn though :) Last night we sat in a circle and started playing a game of whatever u call it well c ya soon

The Sarvey's

Day 2 was HOT. David & JR tiled a small - I mean SMALL- bathroom for a gentleman named Elliott. He has lived in Galveston for 63 years and in this house for 37 years. What a sweet man! I helped where possible in the house. Carey was at another job site scraping a house & power washing it, getting it ready for repair & painting. From what I heard, she joined a quartet of singing Disney songs - wish we could have heard that!
Anyway, God is really teaching me to have a softer heart to those in need and to realize that life is not about things or stuff - it's about people and that I need to be a better sower. We are so grateful to be on this trip! Pastor Jeff & Michelle are such great leaders and we are thrilled to see first hand how they can relate to the kids on such a great level. Praise God for them!
David & Peggy Sarvey

Sara Cumberland

Well, we are beginning our 2nd day of helping others rebuild & repair their homes from the Hurricane...WOW!!!!!!!!!!! I never knew you could be so tired...but it's a really good kind of tired!
The whole week (so far) has been really good. For the most part, the flight and getting everyone through the airport went really well. On Sunday, we all went to Sunday School and the morning Service at the church that we are staying at. It was pretty different than we were used to, but it was great to try something new and to see how much the congregation appreciates groups like ours that come to serve God. Yesterday was our 1st day of work. The work group that I was in went to this elder ladie's home prepared to rebuild a fence and paint some things. When we got there, Pastor Jeff and a man from University Baptist Church figured out that we didn't have the supplies or the skills to build the fence for her. We were supposed to paint her porch, but the wood was rotting out in places that we couldn't replace it...so....she asked us to clean out her garage for her. It was an amazing thing. The water from the hurricane flooded her garage and house to about 4-4 1/2 feet up. Through the past 9 months, she has just been piling all of her things that were ruined by the water. It was a really sad thing, but in a way, I was kind of awestruck by the power of God for Him to be able to make such a powerful storm & yet, give all of these people who have lost a huge chuck of their lives the strength and hope to rebuild their lives.
Last night, as we were having out team meeting/devotions, I was reminded of how awesome God is through something as little as a hidden blessing. I have been sick with a sore throat and losing my voice the whole trip so far. I cannot talk normal (and sound a little froggie) and the most frustrating thing is, I cannot even attempt to sing....NOTHING comes out of my mouth, so I have been forced to sit back and listen to the others lift their voices. I have been wondering lately, just how many kids in our youth group has a true love and worship for God. Sitting back and just listening to them all sing last night showed me that all of these kids here with me really do want to be here to worship and serve God with all that they are. I kept thinking that we are truly in the "Heart of Worship" together. I really needed that reassurance and because of it, I thank God that I lost my voice the past couple of days
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement! It means more to me (and I'm sure the others) than you could ever know!s

The Cumberlands post

Hello to everyone! We are having a great time so far. God has definitely come before us and paved the way. Yesterday was a great day for our first. We were divided into 4 work groups and went four different places. Jeff worked at a local school laying tile and rubber base all day. Caleb and Matt worked on some yard work and clean up. Sara helped a crew clean out an older lady's garage. Josh and I worked at a family's home that was destroyed by flood. The house that Josh and I worked at will actually be shown on the Today show next Wednesday after we are home. That is kind of neat. We all had great opportunities and I could go on for ever telling you what we did and saw! A great day for sure!!

As for the team, we couldn't be more proud of them!! It is hot and uncomfortable, but they just worked right through it. They all worked hard yesterday and made a difference where God put them. It was so neat last night at praise time to hear their thoughts about their day. Each day will get harder as we work through the week, but it is so good for us all. That is why we are here. By Friday, it won't be our strength to finish well...it will be God's strength to get us there!

As for food...Oh my!!! We have already gone through over 6 loaves of bread, a "sams club" size jar of peanut butter, 10 pizzas, several gallons of milk and OJ, 10 lbs of taco meat, and the list goes on!! Wow! It is a job in it's own to keep all the tummies full! Everyone is pitching in though, and the load is light.

Hope all is well at home. We are drinking LOTS of water! Love you all! Pray for another great day with opportunities for God to use us. The family where Josh and I were have 5 kids, ages 5 - 16. They have been staying with friends since the storm. She said to me as we were leaving..."thank you so much for coming all the way here to help us. Days like this give us hope that we will be back in our home soon!" God is good...ALL the time!!

CALEB

hi, everything is going great. except it is really hot. yesterday we went to the beach and today we worked in the sun all day. it is very tiring working in the sun all day, but we are doing it for God's glory.

Kaylor Blog

Hi all,
Things are going very well here in Texas. It's as hot as they say and even feels hotter. We started our work today, going to 4 different locations. The Pastor "in charge" reminds me a lot of Pastor Dave. Going 100 miles an hour and spinning many plates at one time. I don't know how he does it, he has so much to do. He is full of energy and very excited to work for the Lord and help the great people of Galveston who have lost so much. We are doing a variety of jobs from tiling, clean up, baseboard application, painting, plumbing, and on and on. They are putting their faith in us for sure, since many of us have never done this kind of work before.

Everyone is getting along really well and working well together. The church we are staying at is really nice and Ken and Jan, the resident keepers are great. We plan to get some sleep tonight, may even get to bed before midnight. Will keep in touch. Please continue to pray for stamina, strength, and eagerness to work hard for all of us.

Hi Moms and Dads!!!

Love,
Deb and JR

from David & Peggy

Hey all - wow, it's HOT down here. We got to see the gulf of Mexico yesterday. Saw dolphins too! Could not believe the devastation here. We literally saw a house laying on it's roof - - we said to each other "Dorothy!!" :) Today David helped a person who's house was flooded 4 feet! David helped start a bathroom w/ tiling stuff - more work to be done! I helped Jeff Cumberland at the old Galveston College, which will now be an elementary school for some kids who lost their school on the island of Galvaston. We laid SEVERAL feet of "rubber" baseboard. It is such a great feeling knowing that we are working in the offices and classrooms of children that will have a new school to come to in a few weeks!Hope all is well in PA - love to all - David & Peggy Sarvey

For Christe & Maddie & Mom

Hi, guys! We are having a great time, but we miss you so much! Texas is very different from Pennsylvania - very hot and humid. We feel like we're drenched all the time. We're trying to drink tons of water and Gatorade!

We helped a sweet lady clean out her garage today. She lost so much of her stuff in the hurricane. It was sad finding things like her wedding picture with mold and stuff on it, and stuff her grandparents had given her that we had to throw away. But, it reminded me that our true treasures are not the things that can rot or mold, but Jesus Christ and those He has given to us to love and enjoy - especially you two! So, we are so thankful for you and Grandma and hope you have a very fun time while we're away! We love you!

Mom & Dad

Lauren's blog

Hi everyone!  I am having fun in Texas.  It is really hot down here, but it is nice. We had our first work day today.  Thank you for all of your prayers.  

Val Hilgar

First day of "Mission Galveston" and I love being on this mission trip with such a great group of people!  We divided into four core work groups and headed out to our designated job sites at 8AM.  The group I was in consisted of nine total co-laborers and we conquered the tasks set before us (in the strength of the Lord).  The family that we helped were so very much appreciative and thanked us so many times for our help.  This is what it is all about, doing God's work in God's time by God's strength for GOD'S GLORY.  I am so very thankful for this opportunity to serve a God who has done so very much for me.  God bless you and I love you.             Val

HANNAH & MARISSA

I worked today! we put base boards in tons of rooms and did some tiling and stuff. *hope i spelled that right* anyways... I have blisters on my hands! :) Hannah snores.. and (NO I DONT!!!!!!!!! AH!) and drools (okay .. that IS true..) and she's a neat freak but she keeps me company so i can't complain. I love Texas! even though it's really hot.  

so we were sitting in church this morning waiting for the pastor to assign us our jobs and this other group came in. the pastor was teasing this one kid about being the only one in the group for not matching.  then he was like hey whats your name (to the not matching kid) and he was like thompson.  the pastor was like is that your last name? and the kid was like no, its my middle name. then the pastor asked what his first name was. and the kid said alfred. so the pastor was like haha ok well we'll just go with thompson then... well it was a lot funnier earlier. guess you had to be there -Marissa

HANNAH & MARISSA

Hi we're going to bed now. We just ate tacos, they were super good. Now we feel sick. It is so hot. We have to make lunch. There is sand in my bed. Marissa's clothes are ALL over the place. Two people we don't know LIVE here. They had tacos with us too. I hope team #2's tacos didn't make them sick lol. but over all we're having so much fun! every night Marissa puts in my ear drops and I put in her eye drops. HAHAHAHAHAHA ok bye! -HANNAH

SHOUTOUT TO MOM!!! you better miss me! -MARISSA

hey everyone  - our first day of work. IT WAS HOT! Having a great time 

- carey

amanda's blog

this trip is going very well so far. yesterday was fun just touring around and the ferry which was nice ride. and today was our first day of work. had a little trouble getting out of bed at 6 am. considering we didnt go to bed till like 12:30 or so. but it turned out good. i am having a really great time and am loving the sun. sure its hot but its nice. this is going to turn out to be a very good week.

allison's blog

hi everybody,

today was the first day of work and it was very hot out but it was really fun though! we went a ferry yesterday and we saw a bunch of dolphins (which of course... I WAS HAPPY ABOUT!!) and then went to the beach and swam in the gulf of mexico! although i got some water in my eyes and mouth it was still fun! i also enjoyed the flying i sat between to complete strangers which made me laugh cause one looked like my uncle neil! miss you guys lots! see you soon! 

Sunday's activities

We had a fantastic day today.  It was VERY hot!  The radio said that Galveston was 87 degrees, but we're sure the heat index had to be 100.  The stewardess on the plane told us yesterday's heat index was 110!!!  WOW!!  After we fell into bed last night at 2 am (our bodies were still on 3 am), we made it up this morning and were ready for sunday school at 9:45.  Our worship was a great time here where we stayed at First Baptist of LeMarque.  The members of this congregation were so welcoming and are sincerely thankful that we are here.  We weren't quite sure why God changed our housing locations, but today it became clear by what we heard from His word.  

We toured the area and saw some of the damage that is still visible this afternoon.  So much still needs to be done.  We rode the ferry to Bolivar Peninsula and saw many dolphins from the boat.  Everyone was excited about that!  We ended our day with our first swim in the Gulf of Mexico.  The water is warm and the kids had a blast!

Tomorrow will be our first day of work.  Please pray that God will plan and direct our steps and that we will be able to recognize and meet the appointments that He has prepared for us.  Pray also that we will be able to effectively work in the heat.  We were thankful for today to become a bit more acclimated to it before having to work in it.  

God is so good!  We are praising Him in all things!  Love to all!

Heidi's Blog

Hi, we made it safely.  Today we went to the beach it was really nice.  I think we all enjoyed it.  I miss you all. see ya soon!  Off to work tomorrow.

Hello Everyone!! We are so glad that God protected you on your flight to Texas!! Please know that we are praying for all of you as you go through the week. We know that God will bless you as you do His work, and we will be anxious to hear all about it when you return!! Take care and God Bless!! Jill and Ron Yockey ps - we hope Curtis got his luggage!! We love you Curtis!!!

It is 5:15 on Saturday afternoon.  We made it through security and we are waiting at the gate for our plane to board.  The kids are full of excitement and we are all anticipating an amazing trip.  Many of the kids have never flown before, so this is a very new and exciting experience for them.  Pray for safety during our flight.  Also that God will give boldness as we have opportunity to tell about our mission and praise Him to those around us.  We all have matching blue shirts with an outline of the state of Texas on them.  It is obvious to those around us that we are doing something special.  

Love to all.  We will post again when we arrive safely tonight.  

We ask for your prayers as we travel to Galveston on Saturday.  So you can pray specifically for us, we are listing our Saturday itinerary.   

Saturday, 6/13:  2 pm - leave the church to travel to the airport

      5:30 pm - our plane takes off from Pgh International Airport

      7:35 pm (TX time) - land in Houston, TX  and drive appr. 1 hour to 

First Baptist Church, LeMarque, TX

Thank you for your prayers and support.