A Mission Team of seven teenagers and four adults from Graceham Moravian Church recently joined with 385 other teens and adults from twelve different states for a week of service in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. All of the participants were housed at River Road Middle School during the week of June 19-25, 2016, participating in one of the many Home Repair Workcamps throughout the country, sponsored by Group Mission Trips based out of Loveland, Colorado.
This was Graceham Moravian Church’s seventeenth Youth Mission Trip, with the first trip in the summer of 2000. The Mission Team has traveled to Canada, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Garret County in Maryland.
The Elizabeth City-based River City Community Development Corporation provided building materials for the region, while the volunteers provided tools, painting supplies, and ladders, and labored in the hot North Carolina sun. During the week, a total of sixty-six crews worked on forty-four homes in Elizabeth City and the surrounding areas, including home repair projects in Camden, Pasquotank, and Perquimans counties. Local resident’s homes received fresh coats of paint, new porches, wheelchair ramps, and roofs during the week, with volunteers logging in an amazing 3,555 man-hours.
In addition to the work, time is set aside for morning and evening worship, as well as daily work crew and youth group devotions. This is a life-changing experience, impacting the lives of the residents who are served, as well as the teens and adults who participate.
The Graceham Moravian Mission Team is currently beginning the planning stages for their summer of 2017 trip to Erie, Pennsylvania. They will be sponsoring a fundraising yard sale at Graceham Moravian Church on October 6-8, 2016, from 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (rain or shine). Many items will be available for purchase, including the popular “$5 Fill a Bag with Clothes” special. All proceeds from the yard sale will benefit the 2017 Mission Trip. Food will also be available on Friday and Saturday. For more information, please contact the church office at 301-271-2379.
