Yardley United Methodist Church -


	Yardley Methodist Church...at the top of the hill

Almost Heaven...West Virginia Mission Trip 2005

This year's mission trip was July 30-August 6, 2005 in Southern West Virginia, an area with a very high poverty rate and limited economic activity. This year's team consisted of 11 adults and 18 youth.

We helped two families with home repairs. One home was owned by a young couple in Matoaka, WV. The house was high up on a mountainside with beautiful views of the surrounding hills. This home needed new roll siding, a new bathroom, and roof, trim, and siding paint. The yard was very overgrown when we arrived so our first job was to clear around the house while being careful of poison ivy, snakes, and wasps. The bathroom proved to be a major project. Rich Miller, with much assistance, removed the bathroom floor down to the bare ground under the house, rebuilt the foundation, framing, floor, walls, plumbing, and fixtures.

The other home was in Princeton, WV and primarily needed interior and exterior scraping, caulk, and painting. This project was led by Rob Reed.

Our host group provided some fun and interesting cultural programs in the evenings including a folk music quartet where we all learned some folk dancing, and a national park service ranger who taught us about the history of the region. We also explored the area including visits to the Pipestem State Park, nearby Brush Creek Falls, and a trip to Hinton, WV for the Riverfest and Fireworks.

We all felt that it was a worthwhile, meaningful experience and are looking forward to next year's trip.