MISSION TRIP Update, October 26th

FIRST THINGS FIRST - Three cheers and a big praise the Lord for the work done by the UT, Chattanooga students and leaders this past weekend. Just over 40 people went and once again proved that they could work hard, witness, and learn life long lessons of faith together. Job well done! We are now at almost 200 people who have worked really hard.

NEXT - We need to update everyone on the two upcoming trips. The November 5th trip has about 15 people headed to Bay St. Louis to the First Presbyterian Church there. They will be helping with work in the neighborhood for the week and scouting jobs for our big trip coming after Christmas.

WITH THAT IN MIND - We have had several reasons come at us to change the date of the post Christmas trip. So we will leave on the 27th NOT the 26th and stay through Monday January 2nd. This will give us 5 days on the ground working. We will stay at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Gulfport Mississippi. We will be kind of mashed in together but this is the church the UT trips went to and they were well cared for.

PEOPLE NEED TO GET EXCITED AND SIGNED UP - We strongly encourage you to get your High School Youth Groups and leaders together for this trip (Have a 1 adult to 5 student ratio please) We have had requests for junior high kids to go - we CANNOT permit this due to insurance, planning and on sight conditions. We will work to put together a trip over Spring break that could include junior high groups and individual junior high kids. But no junior high kids on this Christmas trip, please.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATRIONS - The deadline for the Christmas trip will be Monday, December 12th and a mandatory meeting for leaders (and participants who can come) will be held Sunday the 11th. (Specific time and place to follow on this meeting) Applications and info about what to bring can be found as a link on the Presbytery web site. (Go back to home page and look for the link just below this blog link)

COSTS - Our costs remain $100.00 / person. This helps pay for gas, buses and vans, tools and materials, food and all the little stuff that will be needed. (If there is a big donor out there who can sponsor the trip or help reduce the costs we would love to talk to them)

SPECIAL SKILLS NEEDED - We need: Cooks 2-3 who have experience feeding large groups. Medical people - Dr or Nurse - to help with the scrapes and cuts bangs and bumps. (Hospitals are open for the serious stuff) People who know how to do roofing, carpentry, dry wall, and Habitat for Humanity kinds of things.

SPECIAL STUFF NEEDED - We need church vans to help reduce the cost of transportation. We need big tools like: bobcats, air compressors and roofing staplers, pickups, backhoes, enclosed trailers to transport stuff. Individuals should bring: Good gloves (!) crowbars, hammers, carpet/roofing knives, and basic tool kits. (For personal stuff see the Katrina link from the Presbytery home page)

QUESTIONS - Call or e-mail us. Phone the Presbytery at 865-688-5581, E-mail Katrina@Presbyteryeasttn.org.

UPDATE FOR MONDAY THE 10th.

Ministry Memo

TO: Blog – all ministers and churches
FROM: Katrina Disaster Relief Office
REGARDING: Update on our Whirlwind Tours
DATE: Monday, October 10/2005

Rick Kulhman and his crew of almost 150 students, leaders and helpers from UT, Knoxville are ready to go! The first of our Whirlwind Tours will be headed off this Thursday leaving from the UT, Knoxville campus at about 7:00 AM. They will meet at parking lot C-1 near the baseball field.

The next weekend our UT, Chattanooga trip will head off to follow in the footsteps of UT, Knoxville. These 2 student dominated trips will be followed by the one week trip in November (The 5th -12th ) and the final trip leaving December 26th.

Today’s notes:

1)First and foremost, THANKS for your support! God has indeed blessed us with Presbyterians and Presbyterian Churches that are stepping forward to assist these trips with time, talent and treasure.

2)TOOLS ARE NEEDED – If you have a hammer, crowbar, pair of leather gloves, shovels or other hand tools that can go with the students this week please deliver them to the Presbytery Office by Wednesday at 5:00 PM. If you put your name on the tool we will get it back to you.

3)FUND RAISERS – If your church can organize a creative fundraiser we still need funds to help with our trips and the work they will be doing. Special offerings, fund raising brunch/supper, church yard sale or other fund raisers your church can do will go a long way to help pay for our ministry. The ongoing costs will not end with the Christmas trip. We are being asked by the Synod to adopt a church near Gulfport Mississippi. Their needs and the needs of the church members will be our continuing project and concern.

4)VOLUNTEERS Get your applications from the Presbytery web site home page and get them in to the Presbytery office ASAP. We need to know how many people to plan for, not only at this end but down in the areas the trips are headed to. We have lots of room for now but that may change quickly. We have a limit of 50 for the November trip and a limit of 150 for the December trip.

5)RV’s – Yes, bring the RV or camper on the November and December trips. We will be staying at a Presbytery Camp and they have hook-ups for RV’s and parking spaces much like here at our own John Knox Center. (This may be subject to change but plans for now include the RV’s)

6)SPECIAL TOOLS AND SKILLS – Yes we are looking for people with special skills and tools. Doctors and Nurses are needed for the trips. Contractors who know how to tear out and fix-up homes and buildings are needed. Front-end loaders like Bobcats are needed. If you have a special skill call us and we will let you know how we can use you.

7)PRAYERS and more PRAYERS. Pray for our leaders and the students going on this first trip and for each of the other trips and when you’re done praying – start all over again.

Monday October 3, Updates

MISSION MEMO

To: Pastors and Churches in the Presbytery of East TN
From: Disaster Response Office
Regarding: Katrina Relief Efforts Update
Date: Monday October 3, 2005

1.We have had people in Presbyterian churches ask how to get their college age students signed up for a trip who may not be going to UT. – Get to the web site and download an application and E-mail your intentions to Rick Kulhman at bighooah@aol.com. Then be at the meeting at UT campus this Wednesday, October 5, at the Panhellenic Building on Cumberland, in the Alpha Delta Pi room on the second floor, at 7:30PM. The meeting will help all students (UT students or students from another college ) who wish to go on the October 13-16 work trip complete their applications (a notary will be there) and get geared up for the weekend trip. If you are going on this first of the Whirlwind Tours you need to be in attendance at this meeting!

2. Deadline to sign up for the fist trip October 13-16 is 7:30PM Wednesday when the above meeting starts!

3.We have raised almost $5,000.00 to date for the trips and need to encourage churches and individuals to continue to raise funds for the trips. Transportation and food are the key costs for the trip but we need to buy things like dust masks, surgical gloves, hand cleaner and no end of little things to make sure we have what we need when we arrive on site. PLEASE encourage your sessions to put together a special fund raiser or offering for the use of these trips and send the proceeds to the Presbytery Office marked clearly Presbytery Mission Work Trips. One church has a $10,000.00 challenge going, another is having a BBQ, a third is offering 1/3 of the proceeds from their fall festival. There are lots of things you can do. --- Thanks to all who have already done!

4.We are still looking for:
-Medical people, doctors or nurses to go along on the trips and patch up the scrapes and bumps that are inevetable on a trip like this. Hospitals are open in the area for serious stuff but we need to be able to help with the little stuff.
-Trucks and vans to transport food and materials, a refrigerated delivery truck to transport and hold the food would be great!
-Bobcats and similar equipment to help move junk.
-Light hand tools that can be used for the college trips. Shovels, crowbars, hammers, sledges, pry bars and similar tools. Bring them to the Presbytery office and we will get them to the workers.

5.Update on costs for volunteers: Students are being asked to pitch in $30 to help pay costs for the 2 college trips. Volunteers going on the November and December All Presbytery Trips will be asked to donate $100.00 each. As funds come in from the churches we may be able to drop the costs per person, but be prepared to help with costs. (Hot tip- get your church to have a potluck supper to help pay your way)

6.Start getting your applications in for the November and December trips so we will have a look at the numbers. Applications are available through the link on the Presbytery homepage.

7.All our trips will be going to the Golf Port, Biloxi Mississippi area. We are talking to people in those areas who are working for the Presbyteries and General Assembly disaster teams, they are really excited about our arrival and are getting housing, food preparation areas and work lined up. God is blessing our work and things are falling into place.

NOTE: The response Presbyterians from all over our Presbytery has been wonderful. Many people are getting on board and helping plan even if they can’t go with a trip. Please say thanks to those who are already helping and encourage people to get on board, the energy and memories from these trips are already and certainly will fuel many forward steps in individual faith journeys and in the journey we all share as members of the Presbytery of East Tennessee. Praise the Lord and pass the tools!