About our work here.....

Even though I am posting this early Tuesday morning, I wrote most of it about 4 yesterday afternoon. Internet access is spotty and so my posting is as well.

I am going to write mostly about the area we have come to, and over the next couple of days we’ll show more of what our own people are doing.

When you drive to this part of Virginia. You are immediately struck by the beautiful scenery – tall mountains and lush green valleys. The towns you drive through seem prosperous and busy. But you don’t have to go far off the main highways to realize there is a tremendous amount of poverty here.

You first hint is the Powel Valley Baptist Association building itself. Unlike our associational building in Roanoke, which is mostly offices, the Powel Valley office is two metal buildings, one of which is largely dedicated for use as a clothes closet. They are sponsoring a free shoes day and free bookbag day for people at local churches. As Martha Murray and I were preparing meals today, the phone rang constantly and one after one they were calls from this church or that church asking for 20, 30, more bookbags or shoes for their kids. Simply taking care of day to day needs is a large part of their ministry here.

Jonesville, where we are doing a backyard bible school, and a bible study at the nursing home, is an old town, founded in the 1760’s. Walk through the town and you’ll find about half of the buildings are vacant. Saint Charles, the town near Darbyville First Baptist Church, where we are doing the Vacation Bible School, is an old train switching town. They still switch trains late into the night there, but it’s far from it’s once bustling self. Walk the streets here and you see there are only a couple of real businesses – all the other buildings are being used by various social services, or lie empty.

I parked at the church, where we are doing the VBS, and where Tim and Joe are working on the roof and other projects. A boy who had attended the bible school that morning and a young man who was his friend were there. We walked up the road and they told me about their neighbors. Nearly every third house had adults of working age sitting on the porch or standing outside, with nothing to do. “No Jobs.” the young man told me. “Nothing to do anywhere.”

A lot of times, when we think of missions, we think of going to non-christian places, but that is not always the case. There is a lot of faith here and people are not afraid to proclaim it. In the hotels, gas stations, restaurants, and everywhere you go, there are faith reminders. On our hotel tables, there are bibles, open, not hidden away in a drawer someplace, and a note asking for God’s blessings on the guests. At a store where I stopped to take a picture, there were hand written prayers framed on the walls.

Consider this, a week of VBS is like getting an entire quarter of Sunday School in just a few days. Many of the small churches do not have the people or the resources to provide a VBS for their kids and the kids in their neighborhood. And our coming here allows them to do that, providing not just good teaching for their own members, but an outreach.

Every one here is working hard. As I type this, the teens from our church are finishing up working with David O’Dell on the backyard bible school in the blistering heat of the day. Our adults have finished up teaching in the nursing home and are now packing bookbags and gifts for the kids in the local church. Tim and Joe are probably on a roof at the church. We’ll meet here again about 6 and eat, then worship together.

Thank you all for your encouragements. You comments here and to individual members hold us up and remind us that there are many who are praying for us. Each of you who pray; each of you who gave food or drinks, have made a profound difference for us, and for people here in Powell Valley.

Tom

PS - don't forget, you can click on the small pictures for larger versions.

We arrive in Jonesville

It's about 11:30 PM as I write this. For most of us, today started about 8 this morning as we arrived at church to begin loading the trailer and the cars and trucks. If you have been at church this week you know how the halls and basement have been filling up with supplies, food, craft materials and gifts for the trip. Those who went last year say we had nearly twice what we had to take last year.

Tim Craft's trailer is a lot larger than the trailer than we used last year, and it was a good thing. We stuffed it from floor to ceiling and also stuffed two pickup trucks, a very large SUV, and some cars.

Besides the group from Troutville Baptist, we were blessed with two unexpected but very welcome people joining us. Joe, a friend of Tim's came and will be helping Tim on some of the construction work. And Shannon asked a friend of her's, Sarah, to come.

We made the drive fine, and got here about 6, unloaded in the hotel, and then went to the Powel Valley associational office. Pam Rhodes gave us an overview of what we would be doing.

In the mornings there will be Bible School at Darbyville Baptist, a small church on the outskirts of Jonesville. How small? Well this Sunday, when Pat and Pam visited they had 19 people. But they have a heart for children there, and have been out in the area giving out flyers advertising the VBS and told us to expect perhaps 40 kids.

In the afternoon there will be a backyard bible school for kids in a nearby trailer park, and special lessons for a local nursing home. And Tim and Joe will be doing work on the church, and on people's homes. We'll also be building book bags of school supplies for a lot of kids while we are here. We're going to be very, very busy.

We ate, and then went to the church about 8 to begin getting the rooms ready. Rooms were redecorated, as was the sanctuary. The moose had to be blown up. (that's Drewry blowing the moose up). All the crafts had to be laid out and made ready. All the things that were done for our own VBS we did there, and in just a few hours. But 11 we were done, and back to the hotel for the night. Most of us adult types were pretty bushed, but the teenagers, Shannon, Emily, Lacey, Drewry and Sarah were all dancing to Jessie McCartney as we closed up for the night.

So we are tired, but very excited. Keep us in your prayers - the real work begins tomorrow.

Tom
PS - for those of you new to blogs, you can click on the small pictures to get a larger version!

A day before we go

We leave for Jonesville tomorrow. At 8:30 Sunday morning. we get to the church early and load up the trailer that Tim Craft has with all the stuff that has been filling the halls at church the last week.

If you've been to the church this week, you've seen it, full of boxes and bags and all kinds of things. There are supplies for the crafts that we will use in the bible schools we'll be leading, lots of water and other drinks and food for us who are going (and those who will be coming to the programs we do), gifts for the kids and others, just all kinds of things.

This is sort of spur of the moment, but it occured to me that members of the church might like a day by day place where they could go and learn about some of the things that go on during this trip. It might be to keep up with a loved one who is serving here, or to see what kind of experiences God has in mind for us this week, or for some other reason.

I decided to do this in the spur of the moment. It suddenly occured to me that both Pat Rhoades and myself are often surgically attached to our cameras, and, if there is energy at the end of the day (and that is always an "IF", I could post up a summary of the day, maybe an antedote or two, and a picture or few.

I don't know what time of day I'll do this. It will either be early in the morning (I am an early bird), or late at night. But check in each day and see how God is working through Troutville Baptist.

And it is Troutville Baptist's mission. Because it is ot just us who are going who are on mission, but also each of you who gave, worked to raise money, brought supplies, sent a loved one, or prayed for us. It takes all that and more to send us, and so in a very real way, this is your mission as well as ours.

None of us know just what we will be doing. Yes, there are some "plans" in place. For instance, we have some plans to teach a bible school in the mornings and a backyard bible club in the afternoons. And there are plans to teach in a local nursing home. There is a church that may use some of us in construction. Martha Murray and I have a rough menu for cooking and we sort of know who we might be bunking at the hotel where we will stay each night.

But God has a way of changing the plan, and putting new needs, his needs, in our path when we least expect it. So while you may well hear about some of the things we think we are doing this week, don't be surprised if you also hear about something entirely unplanned!

Be in prayer for us. If you have a prayer partner for the trip, be in particular prayer for that person. You can also leave notes of encouragement here on this blog.

In love and anticipation,

Tom Atkins