During the week of August 3-9, 2008 eight members of Warren United Methodist church went to Red Bird Mission to work at their Work Camp.  Those people were:  Rev. Richard Haden, Adam Pillard, Brian Pillard, Diane Pillard, Rick Rodgers, Minnie Stephens, Heather Torpin and Susan Torpin. 

The group left on Saturday, August 2nd and drove to Mt. Vernon, IL and stayed overnight before proceeding on to Beverly, KY where the Red Bird Mission campus is located.  We arrived on the Red Bird Campus mid afternoon on Sunday and checked in to receive our schedule for the week. There were 119 people at the work camp during this week.  They were from Miami, OK, Seaford, DE, Ebensburg, PA, Bensalem, PA, Santa Rosa Beach, FL, and Lexington, TN. 

Each morning we had devotions, which was shared by two different groups.  Our group shared devotions with members from Lexington, TN on Thursday morning.  Each group took turns cleaning up after breakfast, lunch and supper.   Our Crew leader was C. D. Gossett or CD for short.

We were responsible of putting in three windows, two doors, building a stoop (or deck) and putting sealant on the tin roof of a home owned by Oakley and Josephine Gregory.  This home did not have any indoor plumbing, the electricity was cords running from the house into another shed and plugged into a generator.   We would leave the Red Bird Campus around 8:30 AM and return back to the campus around 4:30 PM.  We were encouraged to drink plenty of water because of the hot and humid day weather and at night it would usually cool down very nicely.

The first day we got two of the windows in and all the frame work for the stoop except the steps and railing done.  The second day we worked on painting the windows and getting the third window done.  The stoop got finished by time we were ready to leave.  Wednesday was our day off.  We visited the Cumberland Gap National Park where Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia meet.  Thursday we finishing the third window with paint, got the two doors hung and started on the roof.  We were surprised by Josephine’s husband who stopped by and brought us homemade donuts from the Mennonite Bakery located in Manchester.  Josephine’s husband, Oakley works 40 miles away in London upholstering furniture. Friday we came back and finished the trim around the doors and putting the sealant on the roof.  We were then moved to the Brock home where we started on framing for underpinning tin and trying to fix a leak in the kitchen sink.  This home had indoor plumbing.  At the Brock home we were fed a home cooked meal.

In the evenings  we had tours, on Monday evening we toured the Health Clinic, the K-12 school, and on Tuesday evening we had a chance to visit the Craft Shop and  be entertained with some music. Tuesday and Thursday evenings was also ice cream at the Firehouse ($1.00 a scoop) which went toward the upkeep of the Firehouse.  On Thursday evening it was Talent night and Friday evening was a time of sharing and communion.

We left Red Bird on Saturday morning, August 9th and returned to Lincoln on the early afternoon of August 10th.  I am sure that all of us found it to be an “eye opener” and one that some of us might like to do repeat in the future.