Ada was waiting for us when we arrived at her home on Monday, June 17. She had been waiting for almost a year since she applied to the Red Bird Mission for help, but on this day, she knew we were coming and was eager for our visit.
Ada hasn’t had an easy life. She is a widow living in chronic pain from a hip injury 30 years ago. She lives with her sister and severely disabled adult son, Cecil. She relies on her extended family for help with Cecil and other daily tasks. She has been able to have repairs and upgrades made to her home over the years, thanks to volunteers serving at the Red Bird Mission.
After greetings and introductions, she showed us the kitchen and our purpose there began. We emptied the base cabinets, completely covering her kitchen table and the floor under the table with pots and pans and food containers.
Before long, we were removing the kitchen sink and demolishing the counter and cabinets. Once the debris was piled high in her yard and the floor was cleaned up, we began installing new base cabinets. We finished the day feeling like we had accomplished a great deal and knew we would have no trouble completing our work, which besides the kitchen, included replacing a broken window and power washing and staining the deck and wheelchair ramp. The only snags we ran into on that first day were rain and realizing the countertop we were given wasn’t long enough.
As the week went on, we experienced more challenges and worked through them. We had to piece together two pieces of countertop and support it in two open areas that extended beyond the cabinets. We ran into all sorts of frustrating issues with the kitchen sink and plumbing. All the while, the rain came down in buckets for the greatest part of 4 days.
Some of the days, because of the weather and the limited space to work inside Ada’s home, 2 or 3 of our team members stayed behind and found other work to do on the campus in the kitchen and community store.
On Friday, the sun finally came out. Kristine stayed on campus to work in the kitchen, and the rest of the team headed back for our final day of work. Ada lit up at Pat’s return, and the two of them were able to sit and visit. I have no doubt that the time Pat spent visiting with Ada was more valuable than the physical work we did in her home.
It wasn’t until our last day that we were able to finally get the kitchen sink working and complete the power washing. The excessive rain kept us from installing the window and staining the deck and ramp, but that work will be completed. The Red Bird Mission will send other volunteers there to take charge of what we couldn’t accomplish, just as in previous years we have been able to finish tasks for previous groups.
As we said our goodbyes, we left Ada with some gifts: a prayer pillow from the Sewickley UMC Prayer Blanket and Pillow ministry; a new doormat for what will be her freshly stained deck; and a dish drainer filled with towels and dish cloths, sponges, dish soap, hand soap & lotion, devotionals, hot pads, a kitchen rug, and a box of assorted chocolates. When we presented Ada with our gifts, she began to cry and gave each of us a hug and heartedly thanked us.
This was the 13th consecutive year a group representing Sewickley UMC traveled to the Red Bird Mission in Southeastern Kentucky to spend a week in service. Our group this year included Pat Grossarth (9th year), Jenine Furry (4th year), Rachel Boward (5th year), Laura Honeychurch (10th year), Kristine Swaney (13th year), and me (12th year). Although each of us have been part of the SUMC Red Bird Mission Team multiple times, each return visit is unique. We have many lasting memories of individuals and families we have helped and the many jobs we have completed, sometimes in challenging conditions.
Our annual trips to Red Bird have not only helped us grow stronger in our faith and desire to serve others, but we have also had the great gift of getting to know each other on a much deeper level.
Each week, as many as 140 volunteers, many of them youth, come from all over to serve as the hands and feet of Jesus in the impoverished area served by the Mission. Want to learn more? Please, feel free talk to any of us “old timers.” Would you be interested in being part of a 2020 summer trip to the Red Bird Mission? It might change your life!