Mission Trip

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Early in 2006, Riverside Church began discussing a mission project. It was determined that, rather than return to Mexico, we should respond to the needs of those who had been devastated by recent hurricanes. Contact was made with Central Florida Presbytery, and we were referred to Peace River Presbytery. Plans began for a mission trip to Arcadia, Florida.

Arcadia is located on the western side of Florida near Fort Myers. It is located in an agricultural area with many citrus groves, sod farms, and dairy farms. Many of the residents live at, or just above, the poverty level. When Hurricane Charley hit the area in August 2004, many homes were completely destroyed. Peace River Presbytery put out an appeal for assistance. Working with the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Agency and Desoto (county) Disaster Recovery, four members of Riverside Presbyterian Church formed a team to volunteer our services.

Gerry Harris, Joe Marshall, Richard Krizan, and Sammie Krizan made up the team. We arrived at the First Presbyterian Church in Arcadia mid-morning of Monday, April 23. We met with, Kathy Broyard, the coordinator of volunteers. She explained that Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and Desoto Disaster Recovery were building or renovating homes for people who lost their homes to Hurricane Charley. Many of those people were still living in FEMA trailers, and those trailers were scheduled to be removed soon. There was an urgent need to complete homes for these people. Several homes were at various stages of construction. Kathy showed us our lodging, where we changed into our work clothes and followed Kathy to the first worksite.

The first home was being built for an elderly gentleman. This house was ready for primer and paint on all the inside walls. That first afternoon, we were full of energy and worked through the afternoon accomplishing a great deal. We stopped about 6:00 PM and went back to the church. We were being housed in the church office building that had been a duplex at one time. After cleaning up, we went out for a nice dinner. We were so exhausted by bedtime that we didn’t mind too much that we were sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor or on cots. Tuesday morning, we returned to the home and began painting again; however we learned to pace ourselves a bit and take breaks from the paint fumes and the heat. We worked hard all day and completed most of the work. Wednesday morning, we returned to the home to finish painting inside. When we finished painting inside, we painted the trim on the outside of the house. It was exhausting work, but we felt good about what we were doing when we met the gentleman who would soon be able to move into his new home.

Kathy Broyard, the volunteer coordinator, came to check on our progress. When she saw that we were finished with that project, she took us to the second project. This home was being built to replace the home of a widow lady that had been blown away by the hurricane.

Wednesday night we were invited to join the regular weekly potluck dinner and Bible Study. We enjoyed meeting members of the First Presbyterian Church and their pastor, Dr. Ted W. Land. We enjoyed the food and fellowship. Dr. Land’s Bible Study was thought provoking and informative. Afterwards, he took us on a tour of the sanctuary and explained the history of the stained glass windows.

Thursday morning again found us with paintbrushes and paint rollers in our hands. Since this house had already been painted inside, we were assigned to paint all the doorframes and doors in the house. You don’t realize how many doors there are in a house until you have to put on a coat of primer, wait for it to dry, and then apply a coat of paint! We worked at the task all day. Friday morning, we returned to finish painting all those doors. While Joe and Sammie finished the painting, Richard and Gerry began to hang the doors that had been finished the previous day.

The work was exhausting, but rewarding. We shared the load—bearing one another’s burdens. We joked and laughed together. We shared meals together. We met some delightful fellow Christians.

We were the helping hands for you, the members of Riverside Presbyterian Church. By the way, there is still much to be done to provide relief for the hundreds of thousands who have lost everything to the recent hurricanes. Let’s get a larger group together, and go do this again!

By Sammie Krizan