Appalachian Servant Event

On Our Way Home

2011-07-20T17:54:00.002-04:00

James Spangler
Yesterday was the last day on our worksite. We finished at about noon and then went out to eat at a local restaurant. I had a full brisket sandwich, half a pulled pork sandwich, some fried apples, chicken tenders, hush puppies, fries, and a brownie sundae. To say the least I was very pleased with my meal. After that we went to some souvenir shops and I ended up getting a big knife (the blade being the size of my forearm). Once we got back we packed and had dinner, shortly after everyone was done packing we did a game to find out who our secret servant was and then had the talent show, I was part of it in a group with Phil, Cole, Hiawatha, and Joey. Now (after closing worship) we’re having an all-nighter and watchin some movies before we have to leave in the morning. I’ll be seeing all of you back home soon, but I will also miss everyone I met here at ASE very much.

Rachel
Asheville yesterday was great. We went to Marble’s ice cream company, the most yumalicious ice cream ever. I didn’t buy anything from the indie trade shops that we stopped at. Last night was also the all night party. I watched mean girls and the beginning of iron man 2 before I was like,” That’s it, I’m going to bed.” We all started the longest massage train of all times, and it felt so good to get my back massaged after a long week of hard work. We were woken up around 5:30 am to clean up the fellowship room, and then the tears started to flow. Luckily, the Michiganians will be able to see each other, because most of us live within an hour of each other. I am depressed that I won’t see any of the friends I made till next year, possibly never again because this is their last year of high school. I want to go back next year and would recommend this to a friend. Talk to you all next year.

Seth Whitehouse
Yesterday was our last day. It was good but sad. Half the people in our group split up to work on the site or to work at the church. I worked at the church and then went into Asheville, which was fun. The talent show was awesome, a lot of musical stuff. The all nighter was also enjoyable, but unfortunately the morning came and that was rough and sad saying good bye to all those good friends.

David Lang
Last night we had an all nighter, actually for me it was like a half nighter. We watched movies after we had church, we watched mean girls, iron man 2, and rango. I only made it through mean girls and the beginning of the iron man. They also had snacks for us. Then in the morning we had to finish cleaning up the church to the way it was when we got there. Then we had muffins for breakfast, and everyone said goodbye. Now we are on our way home, we are driving all the way in one day this time.

Nikki
We are on our way home. This is always a sad time for me. As much as I miss my family when I am gone, it is an indescribable experience to be completely immersed in God’s word and serving as Christ’s hands and feet in a very tangible way. It is difficult to transition back into ‘the real world’, even though we have learned this week that we are to be God’s salt and light to the world. Kind of hard to do that if you are not in the world, huh?
This year was the 30th anniversary of the Appalachian Servant Event. Some of the folks who began this event and have served here for the entire 30 years are now bowing out. 30 years is a long run for anything. The knowledge that this is likely their last year brought it’s own sadness. This event was their (God given) dream and it has been amazing in just the five years that I have been involved to see how much of a ‘God thing’ ASE is. There are different people every year, but always with the precise skills that are needed for that year. There are always set-backs, but they teach us, both to trust in the Lord for all things and how to something better or different. I trust that the Lord will keep ASE going for many years to come, as long as it continues to fulfill His will, both for the people that we serve and for those who come to serve, youth & adults alike.
May we all go forth and serve as God’s Salt & Light wherever we are planted. To God alone be the glory!

Jake Nichols
Slept in the car a lot, slept though three states. I woke up when I smelled the twizzlers being opened. There’s not much to write about. I’m eager to get home to see my puppy and family.

Jimmy Pacey
The all nighter was fun. I was doing well up until around 4 o’clock. I took a nap during the middle of the movie Rango. We cleaned up put everything back in order and prepared to leave. There were many tears shed as people were ushered to their vehicles to part ways. The community we had built over the past ten days was at an end. But, we will all remember the friends we made and the lessons we learned working together. The drive back to Michigan has gone smoothly. Taking naps makes the trip go buy much quicker; as well as the pleasant company in the van.

Last Day

2011-07-20T00:53:00.000-04:00

JAke Nichols
Today was the last day to work at the sites. Thankfully we finished at our site. Afterward, we ate lunch at “Butt’s BBQ on the Creek.” It was amazing. Before we showered at the “Y,” we went to some gift shops and I bought this wicked gift for my sister. Tonight’s the all-nighter. Will I stay up all night? I hope so. Oh yeah, while we were sitting around on buckets and doing nothing, I had the successful idea of having one of those bucket drum bands. It was amazingly epic.

Jimmy Pacey
We had a minor glitch with plumbing yesterday, so we were unsure how long it would take to complete everything today. However everything went well this morning. Arthur had running water and a working toilet by noon. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be without running water; To not be able to get a drink from the faucet or take a shower anytime. We bid out farewells to Arthur. Wished him well and expressed our joy for the time we had working with him. After completing everything we went into Maggie Valley for lunch and stopped by some touristy shops. Now I’m looking forward to the all nighter; I’m one of the adult volunteers to stay up all night with the youth. :-P It should be fun!

David Lang
Today was the last day of working on the worksites. We did not finish the bathroom addition completely. Then we had leftovers from the last week for dinner. Then we had to start packing up to go home. Then we are going to have a talent show, I am not participating, then an all nighter. Then tomarow we will have breakfast then leave for home.

Nikki
Journals are a little on the light side today because everyone gets a skip day and so far only Jake & I have used ours. That means everyone had the option of doing journals today or tomorrow. (Unless of course they actually WANT to journal tomorrow! I will certainly allow it.)
Today part of site one (including David) went out to the worksite and part of the worksite (including Seth, Rachel & me) stayed back at the church to do some things there. We cleaned tools, washed a wheel chair that had been donated to the church, spread grass seed, fertilizer & straw on their new playground, built a temporary water break/dam in front of the playground so the seed wouldn’t wash away, and repacked some of the tools. All this was accomplished by noon. After that we showered here at the church and then went into Asheville for the afternoon. We lunched at Asheville Pizza & Brewery. It was a very eclectic place with lots of fun artwork and signs.
We concluded the evening with talent show (James & Jake both were in it), revealing our secret servant, and closing worship. Closing worship includes a foot washing within each state group. We found out that someone (I not saying who) has very ticklish feet! Now the kids are watching movies and eating snacks. I better get to bed so that I can drive us all home safely tomorrow. God’s Blessings!

Winding Down

2011-07-18T23:59:00.004-04:00

Rachel
Today was back to work. We finished the trenches and putting the tanks in. We deserve a dance party. Part of my group got back early, since most of us were not needed on the site. Pearl McIntosh, the lady we work for, gave us watermelon as a treat. We then started a watermelon eating contest. In the middle of one round Phil Leyva started to laugh, which caused Cole Jackson to laugh while he was eating his watermelon. Cole then shot watermelon out of his mouth because he was laughing and it flew onto Hiawatha Mitchell. That was probably the best part of today. I really don’t like the regular schedule of waking up at 6 am. It reminds me that sophomore year is almost a month away. Tomorrow is the all nighter and the talent show, also the last day of working. I am sohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif ready to listen to James’ and Cole’s rap song at the talent show. Let’s hope Joey doesn’t dress up in a faeire costume and dance.

David Lang
Today I had a very strange breakfast of sausage and my choice of grits or cheese toast. Then we went to the work site. We have a lot left to do on our addition, but the team that is putting in the septic tanks is almost done. We then went and took a shower and had dinner and now we are having state meetings.

Seth Whitehouse
Today I had a weird breakfast of cheese toast. I didn’t have much work to do today, and the day seemed to last awhile. Hopefully we have a good last day tomorrow. So far the trip has been great. Miss you mom and dad.
James Spangler
Today was fun. Still not a lot of work but what we did is split off into two groups one taking a morning work shift while the other went to a national park. We switched at noon and took a hike when we got there. The view was amazing and today went rather quickly. Tomorrow will be the last work day of ASE.

JAke Nichols
I haven’t had breakfast the whole time I was here, or desert. Once we got to the work site, there wasn’t enough work for the people on the site. So, half of us went hiking and the other half stayed and worked. When I went on the hike we went to Fergus’s cabin and then climbed to the top of the mountain. After we got back to the van, we traveled to the ski slope. Then we traveled through Maggie Valley. It is the most beautiful little town I have ever seen. I entirely recommend it as a traveling vacation destination. Once we arrived back at the work site we had lunch and I attached the doors to the cupboards. That’s basically as interesting as it gets for today. derWhiteRaven, out.

Jimmy Pacey
While there was still work to be done there was not room enough for all to work at the same time. To remedy this we split into two groups one worked while the other went to a nearby national park. Arthur joined the first group. It was a great opportunity to talk to him and learn a little about him. He knew all the trails in the park, and guided us to a cabin and a ranger station. On the way down he took us through a shortcut that was a little messy, but he knew what he was doing. It took us right to where we had parked the van. Rather than returning straight to the work site, Arthur directed us to a path to a ski slope. It was a little frightening driving up the steep incline and sharp turns in a fifteen passenger van. But I now have undying faith in the driving ability of Pastor Chris. Finally, we were near one of the chaperones vacation home; so we made a quick detour. As it turned out Arthur had done a lot of construction/landscape work in the subdivision. It was amazing to have this opportunity to see the area and learn about the person we are serving.

Nikki
The bittersweet last days of ASE have arrived. We continue to enjoy each other’s company and work hard, play hard, and pray hard together. However, we are reminded regularly that our time is quickly coming to an end. Today was our last ‘regular’ community life and spiritual life. While these time slots are on the schedule for tomorrow, they will consist of revealing our secret servants and the talent show for community life and our closing ceremonies for spiritual life. Evaluations were filled out tonight. Not everyone is returning to work sites tomorrow. It will be time to clean up and pack up tomorrow.
Site 1 has had problems with the concrete pad and plumbing for the bathroom from the get go, and consequently we will not have the bathroom portion of the site completed when we leave. Not to worry, there are some great guys from Emmanuel who have committed to getting this finished for us. Pearl WILL have her bathroom! The work on the septic system will be completed by the time we leave tomorrow. It was a big task and we did it well despite its own complications of rocks.
I forgot to share a story the other day. We were digging the trench up the mountain when we discovered a shiny bug that appeared to be hibernating. We decided to bring it back for show and tell at the church in the evening, so I asked Pearl for a glass jar. When she saw what I had she said ‘ Oh, you got yerself a June Bug there? ‘ Someone else was there also (I forget now if it was a neighbor, cousin, or inspector) and told me that when they were kids they used to catch June Bugs (which play dead) and tie a string around its leg, hold on to the string and watch the June Bug fly around in circles. That’s what they played with when they was little, that and marbles. Miss Pearl heartily agreed that they sure did!

Sabbath Rest

2011-07-18T00:11:00.002-04:00

Rachel
Today I slept, ate food, watched women’s soccer, slept some more, watched a video of Joey Quinn dancing around in a faeire suit from two years ago, and drew pictures with sharpies. I was happy that we got a day of rest from driving. The highlight of my day was seeing Joey getting carried away after trying to squirt a pastor with a water gun. We are at state groups, and we saw him running out of the door with Pastor running after him, followed by a crowd. Tomorrow is back to work, with only two days left.

James Spangler
Today was a fun day. After we sang for the church here we got to all hangout all day. We took our group pictures and state pictures. Once that was done we just did random stuff like music, watchin the women’s soccer game, playin basketball and volleyball, then we had an excellent dinner. I felt kinda funky after dinner so I took a nap but when I got up I was ready to go again n was practicing for our talent show bit, it’s gonna be bomb.

Jake Nichols
This morning I woke up and I turned out to be the last one awake. I skipped breakfast and went to 8:00 church service, and also attend two church services at 11:00 for a song that we were singing. It was useless cause I don’t sing. After that I went out to the edge of the soccer field and played keyboard till lunch, which was pizza. After that I went up to the chapel to play piano. I needed help with a song tuning so I went downstairs to ask a friend to come up. He came and basically near dinner we came up with a song to play for the talent show. He knows the words, and I know the tune. After dinner I hung out with a friend in the elevator, which someone had placed four chairs and a table in. we played cards, war, until state groups. Since I can’t predict the future, JAke out.

Seth Whitehouse
Church this morning was long but good. After church we had good pizza and then took pictures. After pictures we had a lot of fun just hanging out with each other. For dinner we had a professional barbeque guy, and it was very good. Spiritual life was good as always mixed feelings about the next couple days, bye.

David Lang
This morning we went to three church services, one full service, and two services that we had to just sing and a few kids had to give testimonies. Then we had to take a group picture. Then we just had a lot of free time. In this free time I spent it playing volley ball, basketball and watching the women’s world cup finals. It was nice to relax for awhile.

Jimmy Pacey
Quite a relaxing Sunday! It was nice to be able to join the congregation of Emmanuel Lutheran Church. I took the free time in the afternoon to have a much needed nap . I look forward to returning to the worksite tomorrow and start finishing up the projects we began. Arthur, the guy we are helping out, is cool to talk to. He recounted a conversation he had with a friend prior to our coming to help him. He said that he didn’t know what he was going to do; the electrician couldn’t do anything until the plumbing was done and he didn’t know what he was going to do. His friend told him he needed a miracle. He told his friend that we were his miracle.

Nikki
I enjoyed a nap outside this afternoon – it was much needed after this week of long days and hard work. The youth have pretty much told you about our day, so I think I will share a little about Pearl McIntosh, the woman who we are working for at site 1. Pearl lives in the house she & her two brothers were born in. Her Granddaddy passed it down to her Daddy, who passed it to her. It has been in the family for at least 100 years. She isn’t sure before that. Her brother Fred lives next door. Pearl spends most of the days while we are there outside visiting with us and seeing the progress are making. Fred is usually out to greet us in the morning and comes for lunch and at the end of the day. They both join us in our morning, noon, and afternoon prayer circle. Friday morning we were rained on again (no lightening this time though) and after our lunch break Pearl made coffee and brought it up the mountainside in the pot to us for a warm up. She even made a second trip so everyone could get some. It is amazing to this flat lander who has sore knees after walking up and down Pearl’s mountain all week how she, at seventy-something, just walks up and down that mountainside all day long without a second thought. Pearl works cleaning houses for a few local families. There are only a few people who live in the Holler that are not related to Pearl & Fred. Her Granddaddy had owned a large portion of the holler – big enough that after he divided it up for his kids there was enough for them to divide up for their own children, all of whom still have acres of land. Pearl’s cousin up the street is the one who made initial contact to get this site in motion three years ago. Just a piece down the road on a mountaintop is a cemetery in which nearly everyone is relation to Pearl & Fred. Pearl is a joy to visit with and gladly goes off to ‘aggravate someone else’ when whoever she is visiting with needs to get back to work. Of course, getting to know the people we are helping IS part of the work we set out to do. Glory be to God!
P.S. I added some rafting photos to the album

Rafting Day

2011-07-17T00:36:00.001-04:00

Seth Whitehouse
Today we had another good breakfast (biscuits and gravy and eggs). The whole day we pretty much spent rafting. It was a good time. There weren’t quite as many exciting/scary moments as last year, but it was almost more enjoyable without those difficulties. I’m looking forward to the rest of the day, bye.

David Lang
Today we got to sleep in till 8:45. Then at 10:00 we left to go white water rafting. I have never been white water rafting before, but it was a lot of fun. We even got to swim down part of the rapids. This was a lot of fun.

Jimmy Pacey
Got to sleep in!! Late breakfast at 9:00, then off to go white water rafting. Never been rafting before, but love water and found this to be a lot of fun. I know the kids had a great time. The tour guides were great; a couple of them had some funny jokes. The kind that a lot of people just groan …. But I never understood why, I’m too busy laughing. I find them hilarious. Back to Emmanuel around 3:15. Have some free time before dinner to recuperate and get ready for the evening activities.

James Spangler
We got to go to white water rafting and it was a blast! Besides that nothing exciting, I FINALLY got my flannel today! Also y’all should look forward to a very awesome video for the talent show. During white water rafting I got to get out of the raft n swim in the rapid at one part and that was really fun. I was in the back the whole time because the raft I was in had the first aid kit but it was still sweet.

Jake Nichols
Today we went white water rafting. It was sort of fun. I have the privilege of sleeping in a not so freezing room tonight. We finally got our shirts. They’re blue and green….it’s fun to give James a hard time about the way he sleeps.

Rachel
Today, we went white water rafting. Although we were all excited to sleep in and we couldn’t wait to go rafting, James came up with the brilliant idea that we should get a midnight snack from sonic. Sonic closes at midnight and we got there at 11:30 with around 40 people. The latest group got their food around 12:30, and they got back around 1:00 am. Rafting was awesome, at least till the very end when my group actually got stuck between rocks. We also got to make a pit stop to jump off a “cliff.” It didn’t look daunting at first, but when it was my turn to jump I started to feel a little nervous. James and Mrs. Spangler know that I don’t like heights and James was sad when he didn’t see me jump, because he was going to laugh at me. I had a great time today, and I warn you never to take me on level 4 rapids. The bad news of the day was when some people came back from site one and said the pipes leading from the shower exploded. Ask David, he can give you better details than I can. I hope tomorrow is a better day, because the next news from site one better be good.

Friday

2011-07-16T01:15:00.003-04:00

David Lang
This morning it rained till about 10:30, I personally did not get very wet, because I was working inside the addition for most of this time. Today some of our big accomplishments were we got the shower stall set into place, and got part of the last exterior wall framed in, and started framing the indoor wall. Then we went to a small town called Marshal to a county dance hall.

Seth Whitehouse
Today I had breakfast, then I had lunch, and then I had dinner. We worked after hours on our site today to get the two tanks in. Unfortunately, after we finished the pits and put in the first tank we found out that the second tank was cracked so we couldn’t put it in. I had a fun time at Marshal, and am looking forward to water rafting tomorrow.

JAke Nichols
Today I woke up went to the site played ninja for nearly the whole morning at the top of the mountain. Then I had a snack. Then I taught Red not to bite. Then Red peed on Lucy. Then I had lunch, which consisted of 4 pieces of American cheese. Then I slept in the car till we had to leave. Its 8:00 and we’re going to Marshall, and Seth is wiping caramel on the back of my shirt. Seth says “I lied.” Oh well. derWhiteRaven out..

James Victor Spangler
Our site, once again, didn’t have a whole lot to do. We ended up playing a lot of games and tossing a rock with a shovel, which actually went a lot better than it sounds. I finally got an opportunity to do something and jumped right on that. I got my own suspenders yesterday and wore ‘em for the first time today, now all I need is a flannel. The work is almost done on the site. Tomorrow we get to go white water rafting, that should be fun!

Jimmy Pacey
Friday!!!  The grunt work is winding down. Just a few jobs left to do, so working these in shifts. Several of the youth as well as adults have taken to solving riddles while working. Really makes the time go by quickly. The tap has been put into the creek and connected to the house. Once the plumbing in the house is finished up there will be running water. Amazing to think of all this effort that goes into daily routines we take for granted. We finished up our Friday by attending Marshal, a bluegrass/country music shin dig held in an old train depot. It was fun to see a slice of the culture. And had a blast dancing!

Nikki
This is officially my journal skip day, but you should know that there are now some site #2 pictures in the photo album, courtesy of Linda from Northville, MI.

Rachel
Well, today basically was raining. We hated it of course, but today's rain was better than Wednesdays rain, because it was raining that hard. Today went horribly wrong, because as soon as the girls left our site, the boys that were still working texted and said that the septic tank had a crack in it, and that we couldn't put it in the hole. After we rushed back to the church, we got ready to get our groove on. After dancing with basically everyone, we are heading back to the church now, and Seth was complaining that he didn't like country music. Tomorrow we get to sleep in, and it will be a nice change.

Laundry Day!

2011-07-15T06:24:00.002-04:00

David Lang
Today was a little cooler than Monday and Tuesday. On the addition today we started finishing the roof, we started insulating the two walls we built, we were also working on the plumbing. Tonight for dinner we had some delicious meat loaf, potato salad, corn, and rolls. We are right now doing our laundry. We are having a pretty good time so far. Talk to y’all tomarra.

Rachel Appold
I dug in the trench that was built down a hill. I can’t wait till Saturday, when I can sleep in. I enjoyed when a puppy came over twice for attention. We all couldn’t resist a puppy that adorable, so we took a little break from work to pet the little guy. It was very hot, but the trench I was working in was in the shade. We left early, to shower and eat dinner. We are at the laundry matt right now, and we will be heading over to family dollar for some fun. Tomorrow, we head to Marshall.

James Spangler
Today was rather slow. I haven’t had good luck sleeping here. The first night I hit my head on a cupboard, the second night I fell of my cot, and last night I fell off and my air mattress landed on top of me. I got to cut up another tree as well as lay some pipe today. It wasn’t a very eventful day so I don’t have much to write. Hopefully tomorrow will be more eventful.

Seth Whitehouse
Today we made a lot of progress on our sites. The people digging the trench to connect the trenches to the tank pit got a lot done. Also, we got a lot done on the pit, including digging out a huge boulder, with the help of Ryan Deberry from last year and another ASE alumni who came to help for the day. Today was fun, and so far the laundry is going smoothly.

Jake Nichols
I helped attach the water pipes today at the top of the mountain. Not really the top. But close. It rained a little and I really didn’t do much work today. There was nothing to do. Well, we’re almost done with our site. I seem to forget everything after I see it, oh well. That’s just an oh well.

Jimmy Pacey
Done!! Well, not totally. But, site two did complete the septic tank system. I can now proudly say that my name is signed on a septic tank in North Carolina that I helped install. The pipe running to the stream has been laid. Just need to tap into the stream and put in the small reservoir then running water will be ready for the house. All the youth continue to bond over the shared work and success. It is amazing to see and be a part of the community being built.

Nikki
What they haven’t told you – Jake has been playing music for the prayer portion of evening worship. He is doing a beautiful job helping to create a prayerful and reflective mood for this part of the evening. David and one other youth stayed late at the worksite yesterday and went in early this morning with the two men leading the work on Pearl’s bathroom addition.
It was slightly cooler today. I am reaching the point of exhaustion and will be very glad to sleep in Saturday morning. Despite the tiredness that we all feel, there is the sense of accomplishment in a job well done. We are not finished yet, but we can see the progress being made. I have a great group of youth on my worksite as well as in my van to and from. They are hard workers but fun to talk to and banter with as we work and travel together. There have been no afternoon naps in my van the last two afternoons, which is unusual at this point in the week and is a testament to the camaraderie of the group. There is different energy this year despite the heat and sun that we have had. I must retire for the night so that I can get back to work in the morning. Blessings to all!

Wednesday

2011-07-14T00:23:00.002-04:00

Seth Whitehouse
Today we started one of our two septic tank pits. I worked on the pits, and was nothing but rocks. Lunch was really good; a guy from the church brought good ice cream and really good blackberry and peach pie. It also rained a lot, but only for a short period. We had to go into the vans because we saw lightning. Other than that it was a good day; dinner was good.

David Lang
Today we made some progress on the addition, we put part of the roof up, and we moved a drain pipe. A member from a previous job site brought us some delicious peach and blackberry cobbler and ice cream. I thought this was a very nice gesture. Anyhow all is going well so far. Talk to y’all later.

Jimmy Pacey
Playing word games and riddles while we worked helped pass the time. The day seemed to go by very quickly. I do enjoy a good riddle, both telling and answering. But looking at what was accomplished was amazing. The third trench was completed and the septic tank was placed.

Jake Nichols
Ok, I finally figured out the “green glass door” and the “I’m going to a picnic.” If u don’t know, well… don’t even attempt to understand. Today I witnessed the extraction of a deer tick off of Red, one of the many dogs that wanders around the site. I was fortunate enough to go and see the reservoir where Arthur received his water, straight from the mountain. I am going to drink from it tomorrow.

James Spangler
Today was rather slow, in the morning we were ready to fill in the last trench but had to wait for inspection. In the meantime I was tasked with clearing a path through a patch of blackberry bushes so we could run the water line through there. I also got to chop up a huge log. We received our septic tank today and when we put it in there was still a little bit of dirt preventing it from going down all the way so we had to take it out, dig some more, then put it back in. It looked like it was in the pit wrong again but when we put the leveler on the tank it was perfect. The other thing we did while we were waiting is toss a rock with shovels which was quite entertaining.

Rachel
Today, we got three days prayers worth of rain. I was helping with the downhill trench when we started getting yelled at to start re-covering the three trenches. It started to downpour, and then we heard thunder and saw lightening. So, we dropped all our tools and “ran” for the cars. My group had a 30 minute delay, and I can personally say that no one enjoyed it, because we wanted to go shower. I am getting a work out over here; I am falling into the range of pain killer every day. I hope tomorrow goes better.

Nikki
Today was a very different, but good, day at the work site. The contractor who works with us, and whose license all of our septic permits are under, has fallen victim to state cutbacks with respect to non-profit projects. ASE is addicting (in a good way) and he has sought other funding. There is a new Housing Coalition that is helping to fill the gaps left by the state cutbacks. A group from there spent most of the morning on our work site to be able to get information for presenting to the coalition (as I understand all of this). They visited with the adults, asking a lot of questions about the projects we do, and the group. There was a photographer. It was just an unusual work day in that respect.
At lunch time Damien, a congregation member and someone who we did a site for a couple of years ago, brought out still hot homemade blackberry cobbler & peach cobbler as well as ice cream and a cooler full of bottled water. He is the one that was a Katrina victim and had relocated to NC who had a Habitat for Humanity house. I was not on that site, but visited with him some knowing that Sarah Foradori would want to know how they were doing. Ruby is going into Kindergarten!
After lunch we had the inspector show up and we were able to put the 10” pipes in our septic field trenches. We were working on covering them up when we heard a rumble of thunder in the distance, then a light ran started to fall. It is very important that the trench not get rained in with exposed piping. We hollered to the folks working on the trench down the mountain to come give us a hand and were able to get them at least covered before the full force of the rain hit, followed by lightening, which put us all in the vans for about half an hour. Then we got out and worked for about another hour. The trenches still need some finish work and there is plenty of other work to get done yet. We are really at our halfway point with only four work days left.
They have already started talking about going home next Wed morning in community life. It is always sad when they start talking about that. I know that it is appropriate preparation, but it is such a downer.
Look for more pictures tomorrow. I think I can get wireless at the laundromat so will have ample time to work on that. Sorry about the lack of site two pictures. We don't have anyone in our group with a camera there. I'll see if I can get some from somebody soon.

Work Day 2

2011-07-12T23:26:00.002-04:00

David Lang
Today I had a great breakfast of biscuits and gravy . It rained while we were driving to the job site. We started putting the walls up for the bathroom addition. We also cut out the door. Any how having a good time. This is David Signing off for today, see you tomorrow.

Seth Whitehouse
Today breakfast was really good; I really liked biscuits and gravy (David Lang, line 1 of page one). Digging was annoying today because we had to make the trenches square and level. After lunch though, we got to start digging the trench down to the tank pits. Today was fun; everyone is nice. Bye.

Jimmy Pacey
I must also iterate the excellent breakfast we had. I have not had biscuits and gravy (good gravy anyway) in quite awhile. Good southern cooking. We completed two of the three trenches today. Laid the pipes and filled them back up. It gave us a sense of accomplishment and let us see that our efforts are paying off. The youth continue to bond over the shared work and accomplishments. It is fun to watch it happening. Eager to see what the rest of the week shall bring.

Jake Nichols
Today we nearly finished our trench, filling it back up with dirt with the pipes in it. I skipped breakfast as usual. It was raining for the morning, and got real sunny at noon. I was basically a drone –robo- while I worked, I didn’t get tired til the Water Nazi called us to rehydrate. Were almost done! WOOT!

James Spangler
The site I’m working on nearly finished filling two trenches today, just leaving the third trench with some finishing touches. There were a lot of big rocks on the third trench so I had at least a solid hour of busting up rocks that I did today, besides that filling in the trenches didn’t take as long as I thought. Actually all the work is going quicker than I had anticipated. I wore the suspenders again today and I think I’m just gonna go to goodwill or Kmart and get myself a pair. Other than that there wasn’t a whole lot at the site that went on. I’m interested to see how quickly everything else gets done.

Rachel
Today was a better day for digging trenches. It was raining this morning when we started to pack the car, and a little bit after lunch, the sun was shining. My group got out of the YWCA before everyone else, so we got a “little” portion of kids to go eat at sonic before dinner. That was not a good idea for me. For the community life event, we got into four teams, and we were given styrofoam sticks and a beach ball to play hockey. Well, kids and styrofoam stick equals war. It was interesting to play, just a suggestion for Mr. Arnold, if he wants to have that instead of nerf wars. It was very difficult to play with a beach ball because it was breezy outside. Tomorrow is the last day before laundry. I am very happy since my clothes are laying next to where I sleep.

Nikki
Everyone seems to be settling nicely to servant event. Some had a slower start than others, but I am now seeing everyone participate and interact. It is so wonderful to see community coming together. I love being out in these mountains playing and working with the youth (and other adults). It is a refreshing from the everyday and renews a spirit in a way that nothing else does. Of course the community life, spiritual life and worship that we have in the evenings is all a part of that. I am truly blessed to be here. I want to get this up while I have a good connection. Not to mention that sleep is in order. I am feeling muscles I forgot I had this evening. Blessings to all.

P.S. It is a great encouragement to the youth to know that someone is actually reading their journals. If you are, please drop us an e-mail. (This is why I get to journal last;)

Work Day 1

2011-07-12T17:17:00.001-04:00

Nikki
Had some connection issues with the network here last night. Monday was very hot, but we got a lot of work accomplished. We are doing a new kind of fill in the septic field this year, so our trenches only have to be 12” wide by 18” deep. It would seem like this is better because it it is less digging, but I actually find it more challenging than the 3’ x 3’ trenches because the work space is small. It is better for this site, because it is quite rocky, but the work is easier in the bigger trenches. Better get these up for everyone now that I can get online. Oh yes, Rachel, Seth, David & I are all on site one. Mr. Pacey, Jake & James are all on site 2. Hopefully the youth with tell you a little about each as the week goes on.

Rachel
Well, all I can say is that cold showers are like heaven to all of us. Today, we started to dig the trenches and build the bathroom extension, while singing songs. It felt like Les Misérables, except there was no very gloomy music being sung. If you want to know how hot it was, when a cloud blocked the sun we started cheering. There was a rain cloud right above us for twenty minutes, and it didn’t rain, even when we did the rain dance. The owners were very kind and kept telling us that we should take a break. Only ten more days of working, and hopefully it rains because tomorrow is supposed to be over a hundred degrees. We all groaned when we heard that.

Jake Nichols
Heck with the Z I’m tired. I don’t remember anything. Hey it’s kinda like school. So I saw a North Carolina license plate then I realized where I was. We worked on our first site today. It was great weather. We basically got a lot more than expected done. Blah blah blah. I forgot everything else. I’m brain dead.

David Lang
Today was the first day on the job site. I am on site one. We are putting in a septic system and a bathroom addition on to her house. I was helping a crew with the bathroom addition portion of the job site. Her house is over 100 years old so we have to do a lot of prep work before we can really start on the addition, so that is what we did today.

Seth Whitehouse
The first day was hot. Our work group all got along. The shower felt really good. It looks like we don’t have to dig as much this year. So, we pretty much just dug today, except for the people working on the bathroom addition. And, to my mom and dad, I know why I’m not supposed to drink milk after my morning pill.

James Spangler
As stated by the others, today was the first work day. Due to my scrawny figure my pants would not stay up and I forgot a belt, although one of the pastors had some suspenders I got to borrow. I ended up chopping down a small tree so I found them quite fitting after reluctantly accepting them. I think I’ll be rockin those all week. I got suggestions to get a flannel shirt to complete it. After the tree and the stump was removed I started the on the trenches and that’s where we ended today. The site I’m on is moving along pretty well, I think the work will get done fairly quickly.

Jimmy Pacey
We woke early and after breakfast headed out to our work sites. It was amazing to see the camaraderie that the youth had and developed while working side by side. Nothing like digging in the trenches with someone to get to know them better. We are split between two sites. At the location I am working we are putting in a septic system, and running water for a man by the name of Arthur. While working we also had the opportunity to learn more about him and his life as well as share our own. I, and I am sure the youth as well, are eager to serve and look forward to completing the tasks before us.

Sunday

2011-07-11T00:25:00.001-04:00

David
Today after we got up we had breakfast. After breakfast we had a bible study about Isaiah. Then we went to church. After the service we went to visit the job sites. I noticed that the area we are in has lots and lots of mountains all around it. Then we came back and had dinner and now we are having our state meetings.

Seth
Today we went to church, had Bible study and visited our worksites. I liked the first one better because it had less chance of poison ivy. But don’t worry MOM, I’ll wear jeans if I’m on the other site. We had a good dinner and I’m tired already.

James
After church and lunch we went and checked out our worked sites. They both had the same amount of work to be done. I had a nice nap during the car rides to the sites. Thanks to Seth we now know that “Zombies can’t throw axes!” We start work tomorrow and hopefully everything goes well.

Rachel
Today, all we did that’s important was eat and also drive to our work sites, so that we get a familiar aspect of our surroundings. We got back around 5:30, and waited until dinnertime. The memorable part of the day was when we used sticky notes and wrote messages to put on friends secret servant bags. I have an idea to who my secret servant is, but I just have to wait and see if I’m right. Tomorrow, we get to start working. Bring on the pain.

Jimmy Pacey
Slept in for the last time, we will be rising early to head out to work for the rest of the week. After joining the Congregation of Emanuel for service, we had the opportunity to visit the sites and meet the people we will be serving. While the tasks before us are daunting many including myself are eager to begin. I look forward to serving and growing in faith with the newfound friends we have met here.

Nikki
I am eager to get to work tomorrow. They both look like good sites with plenty to keep us busy. The first site will have two septic tanks, a distribution box, and 3 – 70’ trenches. In addition, we will be BUILDING the bathroom, as this home has never had one. The second site will have one septic tank, three trenches, a line 500’ up the mountainside to a spring for water, a water holding tank, and some plumbing under the home.

Arrival

2011-07-10T09:09:00.003-04:00

Rachel
Today, we continued driving from Pigeon Forge to Asheville. No slow traffic, it was easy-going. We got two surprise stops in the Smokey Mountains, for sight-seeing. The first stop was to look at the mountains, but James unleaded his inner monkey and wanted to take a “trail” which was not an actual trail. We then started an argument on which way the Tennessee-North Carolina borderline was pointing. The second stop was when the fun began. We walked though a river with rapids. Fortunately, Mrs. Spangler and I left our gear on shore, because we weren’t stable on rocks and we slipped into the deeper end. This was after Mr.Pacey threatened to push me into the water.
We continued all the way to Asheville, still looking at mountains and driving through tunnels. We arrived at Asheville, celebrating and a few boys impatiently waiting for Sonic. We basically just spent the rest of the time with the other kids play dodgeball and basketball. It’s also very unusual to have worship at 10 o’clock at night. Hopefully, tomorrow I will get use to the schedule and not lose track of time.
Jake Z. Nichols
Today for breakfast I had pulpy oj. Mrs Spangler fell in a river, and I already want to go home. There are too many rules. BLAH!!! I hate a lot of rules. Oh yeah, and I had an old guy who’s losing his thoughts wash my feet today. I already was invited to join the worship group. The answer is still pending. You know doing journal every night makes me feel like I’m Jake Sully from Avatar, posting my days progress on the log… lost my train of thought… iss soooooooo cold. Our room’s called the meat locker. Jacob: over and out.
David
Today we left pigeon forge and went to the smoky mountains this had some terrific views. Then we continued on to North Carolina where we just got an overview on the whole ten days.
Seth
Today we arrived at the place. It was cool driving through the mountains. It was nice seeing everybody at the place, and I almost finished learning a piece on the piano. We had kitchen duty today.
James
We arrived today without any problems at the church. We stopped at a few places along the way to so we could look at a few things, the view was really nice. We haven’t done too much today but the food is good so far.
Jimmy Pacey
We drove through a national park for the last part of the trip. It was awesome to see the beauty of God’s creation. After a few pit stops, during which one of the chaperones fell in the river, but won’t mention which (Nikki),we arrived at our destination. We became acquainted with the others that will join us in this experience and look forward to serving and growing in faith with them.
Nikki
It looks like the girls are going to be carrying the bulk of the journals … Hopefully they will improve as we actually get into more activity. Several of the groups were stuck in traffic today, so most of them did not arrive until almost dinner time. Of course, the first day is a lot of how this whole thing works and setting expectations. Although we did play some fun name learning and teamwork games.
We did make a few fun stops on our down. Look for our photo album in the links. Fortunately, no one caught me bottoms up in the river. While I did fall, I did not exactly ‘fall in’. It was really more of an almost face plant. I have a pretty bruise on the side of one knee, but otherwise am unharmed. I did give David (who was on shore already watching us all come back in) and Mr. Pacey (who was following behind me) quite a fright I think. I can only imagine what I looked like as I went down on knee with my face quickly approaching the rocky bottom. Fortunately, I was able to catch myself and only my hair went in the water. I kept all of my electronics (phone & camera) safe and dry!

Travel Day 2011

2011-07-08T23:43:00.004-04:00

Nikki Spangler
We are currently in Pigeon Forge, TN - our stop over on our way to Asheville. It is always exciting to be heading back to ASE, remembering previous projects and people, wondering who will be back this year and what new people you will meet. I think that we have a great group going this year, with a good mix of personalities, ages and servant event experience. I pray that we will serve effectively as the hands and feet of Christ and that each participant will learn something new and grow in faith as they serve.

Jake Z. Nichols
Getting to Ohio seemed pretty fast, probably cause there was an unlimited supply of snacks. There was a pretty large back up in Kentucky, and I was entertained by realizing how much people suck at driving. At some point in the trip I became extremely bored so I taught Seth the “Lord Of The Rings” on my keyboard. Right now we are staying in a town that is perfectly fit for a zombie apocalypse. I would write more, type, but Jimmy is cranking up the TV and it’s hard to think. … … … blah.

David J. Lang
Today we just did a lot of driving and eating. We are currently in Tennessee in a very touristy town. There are miles and miles of tourist attractions. The car ride has been pretty good so far we have had a Good Time. There isn’t a whole lot to write about today so I am signing off, to be continued.

Seth Whitehouse
Well, it was a long day in the car today. It took us longer than expected to get to Pigeon Forge; there was thirty or so car collisions reported in Lexington, KY. But, the ride was made more enjoyable by playing with Jake’s keyboard and listening to James’s guitar. The day ended well with good pizza from Papa John’s and interesting sights in Pigeon Forge.

James Spangler
The majority of our day was spent in the car; a bad accident on the freeway caused it to take longer than expected. The north bound side was completely stopped so at least we were moving, I saw some guys playing chess on the back of their car while some other people were just walking around or sitting outside their car. Besides that the trip went smoothly and we got to Pigeon Forge without any problems and enjoyed some fresh pizza to end the day.

James Pacey
We excitedly set forth from Our Savior at 9:00 AM. We saw some nice scenery as we passed through Ohio, including the location where Big Butter Jesus once stood. While we were delayed due to traffic, the trip was made bearable by good company and conversation. Finally we arrived at Pigeon Forge, TN, a most eclectic and interesting town. The short drive from the highway to our hotel was quite amusing due to the attractions and shops in this tourist center.

Rachel Appold
Today we mainly just drove. Everyone basically slept the way down. Jake Nichols brought his keyboard with him so that he could entertain us, even though we forced him to “teach” us how to play it. The most memorable time this whole trip was putting a cheese ball in James mouth while he was sleeping and then waiting 10 minutes to record his reaction. The worst part of the trip was when we were getting close to Lexington, Kentucky, and there were about 30 collisions. Lucky we were southbound and not northbound, because northbound was closed and the line kept getting longer and slower. People were walking around and the funniest part was watching a group of people play chess on their car. When we arrived at our destination, we thought we were in heaven because we met pigs flying around in a circle. No, not really. It was a decoration for one of the amusement place in Pigeon Forge. At one point we thought it would be a great place for the zombie apocalypse. We got Papa John’s pizza, but because it was right next to a chocolate shop, of course we had to go there. We got back as soon as they closed the pool, so unfortunately we could not end our evening with a cool dip.

Final 2010 journal

2010-07-21T23:43:00.001-04:00

Mark: Well today has been a long day already. Last night and this morning we were allowed to pull an all nighter if we felt like doing. I decided to fall asleep though. So I slept for about 3 hours. Then it was like Jesus was coming down from heaven and a bright light shone! I realized that it was not Jesus it was only our counselors flipping the lights on at 5:30 in the morning. We woke up ate breakfast, said some goodbyes, and circled up for announcements like the usual morning routine. After that we said some goodbyes again. We headed outside to get ready to leave and ended up saying goodbyes again. (I think we will all miss North Carolina and all the participants.) Then we left. So as I say goodbye to ASE and the servants of ASE I say goodbye to you. Thank you one last time and God Bless!

Nikki: 10:45am – We are currently driving through Tennessee on our trek home. As you might imagine, the final day at Servant Event is jam packed, and we neglected our journals yesterday. My job site, along with a few from other sites who didn’t want to go into Asheville, took the opportunity to go climb Mt. Pisgah yesterday. There are some pictures in the photo album, but it was about a 3.5 mile hike total, 2.0 up the mountain and 1.5 down, because we parked by the wrong trail head! Fortunately, there were a few who stayed back by the vans and we had left the keys with them, so we were able to call them and they moved the vans to the closer parking lot for us. It was a VERY exhausting hike up the mountain, but it was exhilarating to be on the peak.

It was a fitting final day activity for ASE 2010. Just as we climbed down off of the mountain yesterday, today we are coming back to the foothills of our busy everyday lives after the spiritual mountaintop experience of Servant Event. It is my personal prayer for all of the youth that they are able to retain some of this experience and carry it into their everyday life. To be sure, it is a challenge. We are moving from surrounding of constant prayer, study, and working and playing together in an environment of Christian love to the world, where we are pulled in many directions by worldly needs and if we are lucky we have a few prayer partners to share with freely and openly – if we are lucky. Even after four years, I do not fully understand how we are able to create the safe, no judgment atmosphere we have at Servant Event that encourages both youth and adult alike to examine themselves and their lives and freely share their hurts, concerns & shortcomings. I do know that is very powerful and something that you can not fully understand without experiencing it for yourself. It is definitely a God thing. His blessing is on this, sometimes in spite of us. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this and hope to continue doing so for many years if it is God’s will. It is definitely a highlight in my year. It renews my spirit.

Rachael: Hmmm. I don’t know what to say. Today was the last day of ASE 2010. It was a great one. I will never forget the people I met, the memories I made, and how this event has changed my life. These people are the best group of kids ever. When you pull together a bunch of teenagers that are on fire for Christ, great things can happen, and they did. This morning was incredibly sad to leave. Not gonna lie, I had some issues stopping crying. But now I can look back and know that I had a great time, met a lot of people and learned a lot at ASE 2010. We are out to lunch now. Bye

Sarah: Yesterday was the all-nighter. After dinner, the kids played the game “Honey, I love you,” which was fun. I actually got a chance to go in the middle this time to try to make someone smile. Then we had community life, and afterward was the talent show. That was quite funny, and I took videos of most of the acts. Also, we revealed our Secret Servants. Mine was Steven from Minnesota; he said that he liked all of my gifts, which made me happy. Then we had spiritual life. The whole foot washing/communion part is one of the best parts of the whole trip. Rachel (NC) from last year was there for that part and we had sharing of the peace before communion. After spiritual life, we started the all-nighter. Nobody bothered watching the movies that were played because we were all too busy hanging our for the last few house that we had together. I spent the night hanging out with Heather (OH), Elizabeth (OH), Zach (N’ville), Tess (WI), Stephen (OH), and SeDell (MD). It was a good time. Eventually Heather & I fell asleep. I think that this was around 3am. This morning was super rough, though, as we all had to say our goodbyes. Basically every girl was crying (myself included) and some guys were also. It took forever to get out because we said goodbye for so long. WI, both MI vans and OH rode in a big convoy, and at our first rest stop we got to switch vans, so I rode to OH until we got to the Cracker Barrel in KY. After lunch, everyone parted ways and we are on our way home.

Adam: I had a wonderful time. I met many interesting people and had some great conversations. I look forward to continuing to serve in Michigan in my home, church, and community.

Seth: Yesterday was a fun free day where we got to go to Asheville, do the talent show, and have an all-nighter. Today was the last day, and I don’t think we would have ever left from the goodbyes. The goodbyes were very difficult. Overall though, the benefits of this trip far outweighed the sad goodbyes. I will really miss one kid in particular. I have mixed emotions. I want to stay, but I know I have to go back to my life in Michigan. I look forward to seeing my family. I’m determined to go back next year. It was one of the greatest trips I’ve ever had. I have learned so much. I don’t want to let it go, and I will try not to. It was a great trip.

Luke: I guess I have to write one more journal. Unfortunately, I’m writing on the way home, which is by far the worst part of the trip. I’m tired, depressed, and my poison ivy is driving me nuts. Saying goodbye was the hardest this year, because there’s no doubt this was the last year I will be going to ASE and also the last time I would see some really close friends. Just looking forward to college now.

Monday

2010-07-20T02:18:00.000-04:00

Luke: Today we finished the worksite really fast. So after quick showers we all got in the van and made our way over to downtown Asheville to have lunch at the Mellow Mushroom. I love that place and am determined to build one into my mansion when I’m a billionaire. After that a group of us wandered around downtown for about two hours. We saw lots of really cool stuff, it’s like the whole of downtown Asheville is Hippy-themed. The highlight of our escapades was when we stopped in a bookstore. I originally didn’t really want to go in, but the girls we were with did. My sentiments quickly changed when I saw boxes of legit comic books. Jamie and I looked in those boxes for close to thirty minutes. Of course I bought a couple. It’s pretty sad though. Only 1 day of ASE left. Also I planned it out that this is my last journal. Nikki allows one missed journal the whole week so I saved mine for last. This way I won’t have to worry about writing stuff for the last day. So these are my final words. ASE 2010 has been an amazing experience and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. Thank you for all your prayers and support and for reading all these journals. God Bless.

Mark: Today was a fairly easy and fast workday. All we had to do was fill in some holes with dirt and take some forms off of our cement job from last Friday. After that we went into downtown Asheville and ate lunch at the Mellow Mushroom. It was a really neat place. I had a cheese pizza that I split with someone else. After lunch we split into two different groups and went shopping in the hippy town called downtown Asheville. We went into some pretty cool stores. One was just like a general store another two were some t-shirt stores and we also went into an ice cream and fudge store. I cannot thank you Hartland for this amazing experience you have blessed me with! Not only have I had so much fun and felt so good about helping people but the friends I have made and the people I have met have made this the best trip I could have ever imagined! I along with Luke will not be journaling tomorrow night. So to all of you who read these may God richly bless you like he has blessed me through this experience! –Mark Calder

Seth: Today we finally finished our worksite. It was a surprise to us, but we did it. It took all day, and it ended with a pleasant goodbye to the Rice family. I am excited for my last day tomorrow, which will hopefully be a day off where we get to go into Asheville and have a lock in at the church. Love you mom and dad, good luck with work.

Adam: Today we finished the work at Cindy’s. She was all misty eyed as we said our goodbyes. I think that she was as thankful for our companionship as she was for the work we did. Afterwards we ate lunch at an all you can eat restaurant and then toured downtown Asheville. The town is a cross between Nashville, Ann Arbor and Royal Oak.
I miss you and love you Lisa and Hannah. See you in 48 hours.

Sarah: Today was a miracle. Our site wasn’t supposed to be finished until tomorrow noon at the earliest, but we did the whole thing today. In the house we had to put down carpet in Rachael’s living room and hallway, finish sealing the roof, and rebuild the landing and stairs for the deck to the front door (among other little things). I got a beautiful tan while I finished the roof, although it’s more like a slight burn. We pulled up two guys, Beau (MN) and Steven (MN), to work on the deck landing. The morning was very frustrating, because it poured. The house crew stayed in Rachael’s trailer during the storm and used the time to be productive and install carpet. It was actually Mike’s first time installing carpet by himself, and he was with three teenage girls who didn’t know anything about the subject, but it turned out pretty well. When I finished with the sealing of the roof (sorry that this journal entry is so unorganized), I hung out by the old septic tank with Meg (OH), Ryan (NC), Chloe (DE), and Kelsey (DE). Ryan had to go into the old tank because they were filling it up with gravel, as it is unusable; it was so funny seeing Ryan get in there, because he had to use his legs and a rake to push the gravel to the back of the tank. Seth went up to him and sniffed and said, “You smell like poop.” It was so funny. And right before we all left site one, Rachael came out to thank us. She and her family were so thankful for everything that we did, but I really feel that I’m the one who benefited. But she pulled me aside to talk to me privately in her kitchen and told me her story of how she got to her present state. It was really touching to know that she trusts me that much and wanted me to know private details about her life. We ended up leaving the site around 4:30, an hour after we usually leave; this meant that our group got back to the church from the YWCA about dinner time. Hartland had kitchen duty, and then the rest of the night passed as usual. PK (MN) really instilled in us the fact that ASE is just about over. It’s kind of depressing, because this is the end for me. I am so grateful that I’ve been able to experience the past three years down here. But now it’s time for bed, so I will hand the computer over to Rachael.

Rachael: Words cannot even describe what a great day today was. I have met people here that I know I will be friends with for a lifetime. It is amazing how closely you can grow with people in such a short time. On Sunday some of the other youth here gave testimonies up at the altar in front of Emmanuel Lutheran Church and a few words that really stuck with me were “I have made better friends here than I have in my whole life back at home” which is hard to imagine but it is so true. This trip is truly an amazing experience and I wish that I could go back again next year, but unfortunately since this is my second year and I have to give some other youth participants at my church a chance to experience the awesomeness of the Appalachian Servant Event. Tonight is the last night I will ever journal for this event, which to me is sort of sad in a way. I wish you all a blessed summer. Goodnight

Sunday

2010-07-19T00:26:00.000-04:00

Adam: Today was our day of worship and rest. Kids from various groups spoke at each service and gave their “testimonies”. Also, it is very important that we remember all the kindness the Emanuel Lutheran Church has shown us here in North Carolina. They have fed us and housed us and have made this event possible. Their charity to us allows us to show charity to North Carolina.
Lisa and Hannah… I will be home soon. I have been praying for you both and our families back home have been in our prayers.

Seth: Today we got the opportunity to go to church. It was especially nice because we got to sing, now, one of my favorite songs God is Mighty to save and listen to testimonials from our group. We also received letters of encouragement from one another which was nice. Unfortunately Nick broke his ankle on the slip and slide. It is a good day of worship and rest. Love you mom and dad, good luck with work.

Rachael: We just ate dinner, we had a barbeque. It was amazinggg, hamburgers hotdogs and lots of yummy sides. I love the food here. It is so awesome that all the food we eat was either donated or someone was kind enough to pitch in and buy all 60 of us breakfast lunch and dinner for 10 days. It’s incredible. Tonight we are doing community life (playing games with everyone) and then spiritual life (pretty self explanatory). Tuesday we would usually go into Ashville and eat at the oh so famous Mellow Mushroom. But I am pretty sure that we won’t be able to this year because the family we are working for wants us to be there on Tuesday so that they can thank us.  which is a blessing in itself. Well I am off to visit people!! Bye

Luke: Today was interesting. Got up early for church and ate breakfast and went to early service. After that service we had a bible study in the cafeteria and then sang for both the traditional and the contemporary service. We also got to listen to all the testimonials from different ASE members. It was pretty cool seeing friends go up there and talk about ASE and what it means to them. After all the church services we took pictures and then had a bunch of free time to do whatever we want. So of course we set up a slip and slide. Unfortunately someone broke their ankle after about thirty minutes in so we had to stop. It was pretty epic because the kid didn’t cry. He just sat there and took it and asked me for his Nintendo DS so he had something to do at the hospital. Tomorrow should be fun. Our group is splitting up and about six of us will be going to a little plumbing site while the rest stay to finish up around the church. We’ll finish the church early, so we’re planning on spending the rest of the day at Ashville AKA mellow mushroom. So hopefully it will be a lot of fun.

Mark; Well today we had church. We went to the early service and also the late praise and also traditional service. We sang at both of the later. After church we built a custom slip and slide! Which was a lot of fun. But during all the fun we unfortunately had someone break their ankle which required a hospital visit. Fortunately he is back at the church and spending the night here! That is all for tonight because I am really tired as it has been a long week! Goodnight everyone!

Sarah: This morning we went to the 8:30 service for church, and we wore our ASE t-shirts. There were also testimonies, and I was someone who gave one of these; I spoke at the 11:00 traditional service. I have been blessed with the opportunity to talk about the difference that ASE has made in my life for the past 2 years, and I’m really glad that I got to do it this year too. Heather was my speaking buddy. For lunch we had pizza, which was incredible, and after that we took pictures in our matching shirts, first as a whole group, and then as individual state groups. The rest of the day was ours to spend as we wished. One of our wishes was to make a slip ‘n’ slide with a giant tarp, but that ended as soon as Nick (Monroe, MI) broke his ankle and had to be taken to the hospital via ambulance. He was a trooper though, and he didn’t cry or whine or anything. In fact, what he really wanted was his Nintendo DS. Afterward, all of the girls who went on the slip ‘n’ slide took showers, because we were covered in grass and mud. Then I fell asleep on one of the couches. When I woke up, Zach (Northville) was sitting next to me, and he took Kelsey’s (DE) camera and just took random pictures and videos for awhile, so we had some fun doing that. Then we played with Meg’s (OH) Icy Hot, which was an adventure. Dinner was good, and Rachel (NC) from last year’s ASE was there again, so it was great to see her. Our routine after dinner was the same: state groups, community life, spiritual life, and chapel. I just love chapel. That’s all for tonight.

Nikki: I forgot to mention in yesterday’s journal that the man I spoke to at Marshall worked at the River Rouge factory for a time in his younger days. It is not uncommon here, when talking with older men, to find when you tell them you are from Michigan that at some point they lived in Michigan and worked in one of the factories. I also met a man at Marshall that worked at the GM factory on Bristol Road. Sometimes it is amazing to realize how small our world is.

Today was a relatively laid back day, with the exception of the broken ankle and hospital visit already mentioned by the others. Adam did his journal early in the day today, before this happened. The youth who broke his ankle was the only from his church, along with one adult leader. They rode down with MI Northville, so did not have a vehicle. Adam volunteered to take the counselor to the hospital and stayed with them, so he was there for about seven hours today.

Spiritual Life was very interesting tonight. Since our topic this year is questions people have about Christianity, and there are so many pastors here (5 in all) we had the opportunity to submit questions for a panel discussion on the questions we have. There was quite a variety, ranging from “Is kissing considered pre-marital sex?” to “What happens to babies who die before they are baptized?” to “Will we recognize each other in Heaven?” Overall, we had good discussion. Occasionally the responses got over the kids head, but they were quick to follow up with an additional question. I pray that the youth all were able to take something from the evening

Saturday

2010-07-18T08:03:00.001-04:00

Adam: Today we went white water rafting. It was a nice trip. We went down the French Broad river and it was cool. There were some challenging spots and one raft flipped and another got stuck. It was fun to be had by all. Afterward, the kids went to Sonic for ice cream.

Seth: Today we got to sleep in for a little bit and then went white water rafting. It was fun; a lot of people fell into the water. After raftin’ I ate ice cream at Sonic, and I am stuffed and really full. Love you mom and dad, good luck with work.

Luke: We got to sleep in today. 8:30 am… although come to think of it that’s about four hours earlier than I usually wake up in the summer. Rafting was today. This year the water was flowing at 1000 cubic feet per second, which was much faster than last year. It was really cool because right in the middle there was a heavy rain and the surface of the water looked amazing. I went in a raft with five other people from servant event instead of the individual ducky and that was a lot of fun. At one point we were in a calmer part of the river and played “king of the raft” and kept throwing each other off. After we got back from rafting we had snacks in the parking lot of the rafting center. I have poison ivy on my wrist and it’s really gross, I’ve been wrapping it up in athletic tape to keep it from itching and that seems to be working pretty well, but it’s annoying still. Tomorrow is church and then the ASE 2010 barbeque. I’m going to see if we can set up a slip n slide on the hill. Should be fun!

Sarah: Whitewater rafting was the order of the day today. I was in a raft with Kelsey (DE), Joey (MD), Sarah Frusti (Northville, MI), Chloe (DE), and Mark. It was a good time, even though our guide was kind of a party pooper. Jumping off the cliff into the deep part of the river was fantastic; we raft on the French Broad, just so that everyone knows. The water was much deeper this year than it’s been any other year that I’ve gone rafting here, so the rapids were much bigger and faster. There was even a bunch of rain, and we could hear thunder in the distance. I did not fall out of the raft, although I got close once or twice. The rest of today was a free day until community life; Nikki took us to Sonic, which was fun. For community life, we drew pictures on the sidewalk with chalk, and we were supposed to depict the meaning of servant event. In spiritual life, we continued to discuss questions that non-Christians ask of Christians. We always have very interesting discussions in our small groups. Also, we got our t-shirts tonight that we will wear tomorrow for church; I am doing a testimony for the third year in a row, and I am really looking forward to it. Plus, Heather (OH) will be doing hers at the same service, so I have a buddy when I get nervous. Now it’s time for bed.

Rachael: Today was definitely my tired zombie day. It was hard to function because of the sleepiness. We went white water rafting today and it was a blast!! Tuesday is the big day, we go into town and shop and then later that night is the talent show and then the all nighter. My night officially just got better because my dear friend Sarah Frusti just got me Dorito’s. I would say that is a good ending to today’s journal. Night all

Nikki: Since I didn’t journal yesterday, I will share a little about my experience at Marshall. I spent awhile talking to an 84 year old local gentleman. After finding out a little about me and our group, he shared with me the wisdom of his years – take exercise, be good to your woman, refrain from drinking, etc. We had a very nice visit, which included us singing “You are My Sunshine” together. I also spent some time on the dance floor, both ‘slow’ dancing and clogging. Some of their slow songs are not exactly slow, but neither are they the fast paced songs of clogging, so they call them slow songs and couple dance accordingly.

Today was a pretty laid back day. We went rafting and I was in a boat for the first time instead of a ducky (inflatable kayak). I decided that I am just a ducky person and should probably stick to that in the future. We did get to hear some history of the area and the river in the boat, but I didn’t care for the amount of time we spent going backwards or sideways. At least now I can say I’ve tried it. We had every kind of wheather on the trip - overcast, pouring rain, drizzle, and then sunshine.

Mark: Whitewater rafting was the main part of the day today! It was so much fun and Sarah has already told you who was in our raft I wont bother renaming the people. When we first got put into the water we could not paddle together at all! I thought we were not even going to be able to complete the rapids! After some instruction however our guide told us that by the end he could have us ready for class 5 rapids. (we were on class 2 and 3) …I think he lied to us though. By the end we weren’t ready for class 5 rapids but we definitely had gotten a lot better and learned to row together! As it turned out we were one of the best groups that were going down the river that trip! After rafting we came back to Emmanuel and had some free time which some of us went to Sonic and some just laid back and relaxed. (I choose to go to Sonic) (We definitely need more of them in Michigan!!!) It is time for my departure from the computer now though so bye all!

Friday

2010-07-17T09:22:00.001-04:00

Adam: We worked at covering trenches today and knocked off early and toured a local town. I bought and quickly ate a jar of homemade dill pickles. Also, Pastor Chris took the crew out for ice cream. In the course of a week the site #2 group has really grown. They are not only working as a team better but I think they are really considering some of the spiritual questions that are being asked of them. One boy in the group had mentioned that he was discerning a call to the ministry.
Please keep my wife Lisa and daughter in your prayers. While I am here they are serving by letting me go.
Hugs Lisa. Hugs Hannah.

Sarah: My chaperone Mr. Adam is the best. This morning Sarah (MD) and I finished working on the main bathroom with its new linoleum. If I ever put down linoleum again, it’s going to be in a very long time. I am sick of it. It’s okay as long as you can just put down entire squares, but when you have to start measuring small corners and cutting the pieces to fit around pipes, it becomes a pain in the butt. I also got to seal the roof of Rachael’s trailer, which was neat. Rachael Asher was my spotter, since she was sick of digging, and when I finished for the day, she put two handprints of sealer on me. Even with a longer shower, I was unable to get it all off. The problem with sealing the roof is that it’s a trailer. I can’t go towards the middle by more than a yard from the edge, so I have two brushes of different lengths. The benefit of this job is that I should get a nice tan; I haven’t seen much sun action all week. Around 7:00 pm we left for the Marshall dance hall, which was great. I love going to Marshall so much; it is all bluegrass music sung by local musicians, and all of the people there love seeing us ASE kids when we come. Mark really impressed me with his dancing skills. Seth really made my day though, because when he and I danced together, he randomly said, “So did you hear about the cookies we get after the dance?” And I was really confused and said, “I’ve never had cookies here before in my life.” Then he was confused and said that someone had told him that we got cookies. It was just fantastic, partly because it was kind of ridiculous and partly because it was so random. Tonight was a good night, and I am exhausted, so I am going to hit the hay.

Seth: Today we put the septic system in, filled in the trenches, and put the pipes in the new trenches at the worksite. After we got back, we went to Marshall and danced. It was a lot of fun. I get to stay up to twelve, after chapel. Love you mom and dad.

Luke: Today we worked at the church since we finished our worksite. We got to landscape a better drainage system and some stairs and that project took most of the day. It also involved cement, and before it dried we wrote ASE 2010 in the wet concrete. I thought that was really cool as this is probably the last ASE I’m ever going to attend and it makes me feel good that I left my mark at the place I’ve spent my summer at for the last three years. We went to Marshall again today for the hoedown. That was really fun and I was pumped about it for a while afterward… so much so that Seth and I freestyled in the car on the way home. Until tomorrow.

Mark: Since we finished work at our site yesterday we worked on the church grounds today and fixed up some of their pipes. Somehow that took the whole day! We managed to finish up though and we might get a partial project site to work on for next Monday. Today after dinner we all went to the little town of Marshall again. This time however we went to their old train depot which they turned into a little country song and dance station. That was so much fun! However it is midnight and that is the curfew for tonight. So goodnight to all and to all a very good night!

Rachael: Today was a very exhausting day. I have to admit I was really lazy at the worksite. Instead of digging I decided to go work on the house so I assisted in putting in some linolium floors, and I spotted Sarah when she climbed the ladder to the top of the house. It was probably the easiest job ever and I loved it. Today was also marshall dance. That was great, I clogged a little. I don’t think I did it right though. It’s getting late though, it is 12:17am. But the good part is that I get to sleep in till 8:30am tomorrow:D We have white water rafting tomorrow and I am so excited!! Last years was a blast well I am pretty tired. Goodnight.

Getting 'er done

2010-07-16T00:10:00.000-04:00

Adam: Today things started pulling together at site #2. We laid the tile pipe in the French drain, added gravel, and even had two runs covered by the time we knocked off for the day. Hopefully, Ms. Cindy’s basement and yard are improved by the work we are doing. We got to know more about Cindy as well. She has a chronic disease that causes her veins and arteries to curl. We looked it up online and apparently many people have their hands/feet amputated as a result of the disease. She is also the survivor of domestic violence. She had a previous boyfriend stab her and break her neck. Cindy definitely needs our help and our prayers.
Last night in spiritual life we discussed why God allows some to suffer. It was a very emotional conversation and many of the kids and adults were moved to tears. The pastor leading the discussion is definitely challenging the kids with the “big questions” of faith.
Hannah and Lisa, I am missing you more and more.

Mark: Well we finished the work at the site today! So we decided to head into a small town called Marshall I don’t think they even have one stoplight in the town!!! While we were there we walked up and down the streets and went into 2 stores. The first being a little store that had a bunch of candy bars and drinks and it was basically a 2 aisle Meijer! The second was a coffee shop where our leaders rewarded us for working so hard with a drink! It was so nice of them! Today is laundry day! So we are at Coin Laundry doing our loads! I think mine is done, and I unfortunately don’t have anything else to write about. So goodnight and bye!!!

Sarah: Today at the work site, I worked a lot in the bathroom of the main house. First, Nancy (Northville, MI) and I had to go in and make sure that there were no nails sticking up, because nail heads that are not flat with the floor will cause the linoleum to be uneven. The floor had terrible dry rot, so the already substantial holes were made even bigger as we got rid of the loose debris in them so that the putty would stick. We swept it multiple times, and then we put putty in the holes to make them flat. After they were dry, Mike put me in charge of sanding the floor to make everything smooth. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that he thought the sanding had been done quite well. Then Sarah Mullen (MD) and I started laying the linoleum. Also, Mike picked up a handicapped toilet last night at Lowe’s, so we will install that tomorrow after Sarah and I finish the floor. We started installing the carpet in Rachael’s house too, and tomorrow we will finish that. All of the stuff for the septic system arrived today, so two of the trenches are finished, I think. The Rices are so grateful and happy to have a new septic system and for Rachael’s house to get fixed up. Besides the carpet, we also installed a new door for her trailer. At the moment, we are at Fiesta Laundries as we clean our clothes. Our state group went to the Family Dollar as our clothes washed and bought some stuff for our Secret Servants. Overall, today has been an excellent day, and I cannot wait for tonight’s spiritual life and chapel afterwards.

Luke: We tried tricking all the other groups into thinking we had a lot more work to do still by saying that our septic tank exploded. However, they didn’t buy it and now everyone knows that the group from site three is completely done with their worksite. BTW they didn’t let me help out with site one like I had asked. Instead, we got there late today because we needed gas, and then got finished in the first hour. Then we got to hang out at Marshall. Don’t get me wrong… messing around at Marshall was no picnic (actually we kinda did have a picnic at the park), but I couldn’t sit back and relax because the people in our group were caught up in a giant nerf gun war. The Marshall park was an epic battlefield. After that we wandered around the town and then met up for some coffee at the local coffee place. I was really tired so I got something with a lot of espresso in it, but it only made me more exhausted. When we had gotten back from the Y I passed out on my cot and slept til dinner, and now I’m sitting waiting for my clothes to get out of the dryer. Busy days at ASE. Looking forward to slacking off some more tomorrow.

Seth: Today we woke up, and finished the extra twenty feet of the trenches. Then the truck arrived and we unloaded the whole septic system and put some of it in. At the end of the day we filled in the trenches and went home. We did laundry today; I am excited for tomorrow. Love you mom and dad, good luck with work.

Rachael: It gets harder to do work at the work site every day. But yet we got 95% done with the septic stuff!!!! :D this week has been so amazing. I’m so sad that this is the last year I can go on this trip. There is just so much you learn that you can’t learn any other way than experiencing it. The people we work for are amazing. And to see how thankful they are is such a great feeling. Now one girl named Rachel might come to church Sunday which is soooo awesome!!! I hope she does. But my laundry is now done so I have to go fold! Bye

Nikki: I have very mixed emotions about the work being finished at our site so early. We had some great fellowship time hanging out in Marshal today, but I can’t help feeling that I should still be working on a project. Tomorrow our group will be working here at the church on a few landscaping things, but it doesn’t sound like there is a full days work. There is still Monday and typically a half day of Tuesday for work days too. I hate the thought of frittering them away when we have all come here to serve. On the plus side, I feel like I am connecting a lot more with the kids this year than I have in the past. Maybe it is because James is approaching this age and I have learned to have fun with him and his class. I hope that he will want to come to ASE next year. This event is a great fit for his personality and skills.

Wednesday

2010-07-15T00:04:00.001-04:00

Sarah: Today was yet another day working on the house. It is kind of slow, because it’s all repair work, so we can’t just go in and do something. Whatever we are fixing must be examined, taken apart, fixed, and then if it goes smoothly, we can put it back together. Many times, there is something else wrong for which we must compensate, such as the house not being plumb or things not being measured or cut correctly. Sometimes we have to go get extra parts to finish what we’ve started. It can be a long process. Today we finished Rachael’s windows; we put in the last part, since they’re storm windows. We also finished her kitchen floor, which was neat. We laid the rest of the plywood and paper, and then we got to work laying the linoleum squares. I had to measure and cut many of the squares that needed to go in places where a 1’ by 1’ piece wouldn’t fit. PK started working on putting in a new window in Rachael’s bathroom. Her original window was the same size as the rest of the windows, but her shower covered up most of it; besides that, it was in bad shape. So he took that out and replaced much of the area where the window had been with wood; this means that we need to get some metal to replace the side of the house that now does not have a window. We’ll be using the extra linoleum flooring to redo the bathroom floor of the main house. We did not get a handicapped toilet today, and I have no idea when it will be coming. I feel like I am not helping much, though, because there is so much time in between jobs on this house, and not enough shovels for me to go down to the trenches and dig. An inspector came today and brought us some unpleasant news. Since the trenches were being dug around the water line, the digging crew had to cover up the twenty feet on the side where the pipe was and re-dig another twenty feet on the other side of the trenches. Everyone was so angry, especially PD (DE). He is very intense about his site, which is basically always a septic site. Usually more on the site is finished at this point in time than what we have done. But we did have a pleasant surprise for lunch. The Rice family bought us about eight Hot ‘n’ Ready pizzas, and we were so excited and happy. Then we had a massage train going, which felt wonderful. To break in her new kitchen floor, Rachael taught those of us who are working on her site how to salsa. It was so much fun, and Chloe (DE) filmed the whole thing on my camera. She and I had so much fun together, and I sang “A Whole New World” from the movie Aladdin to her. It was fantastic. We have done a lot of bonding since ASE began, even though we didn’t talk that much last year. And Mike put me in charge of the linoleum process, which was super neat. I think that it’s really cool that he trusts me that much to be in charge of a huge part of our job site. And then we came home and I hung out with Heather (OH), who is the coolest person in the world! We are best ASE buddies. That’s basically it for tonight. Off to state meetings.

Luke: Wednesday… its getting harder and harder to get up in the morning and I’m getting more and more sore. We really didn’t have all that much to do today but it turned out that we didn’t have all the materials we needed so Nikki ran back and forth from Lowes like fifty times while Jamie and I sunbathed on the roof of the house we’re working at. I got a little burnt around the shoulders. Tomorrow I’m seeing if I and a couple other people can transfer over to site one to do some heavy digging. Site three is basically done… and if we go there tomorrow we’ll just finish in the first hour and sit around doing nothing until we go back. I finally got around to playing basketball on my free time today. Either other stuff that I wanna do is going on or something else is being held in the gym, but I finally got in there and taught everybody how to play one bounce. Servant Event is going great and I can’t wait until tomorrow.

Adam: Sorry I forgot to journal yesterday, I was swept up with the business of servant event. Today went well at site 2. We moved rock, dug, burned a huge brush pile all morning, and even went water moccasin hunting with Ms. Cindy. She has a couple of ponds and sells her coy fish on craigslist. She said the water snake was hurting business. In the end, Cindy won and the snake sleeps with the fishes.
The kids at my site are awesome. They are good kids, hardworking, etc…we have some interesting conversations in the trenches. The girls at the site dance and sing in the van on the way back and the boys, or most of them sleep… Moral of the story: the girls are tougher.
Love you Lisa. Love you Hannah.

Rachael: Today was an adventure. We figured out that where we tried to dig our trenches was over the main water line and that is “against code” so we had to close in the trench over 30 feet!!! And rebuild it it was not good news but we did it and had fun! I have so much fun with everybody here, I’m dreading leaving!! I was so incredibly sore today when I woke up. I just hope tomorrow is better. I am looking forward to this weekend going to Marshall and white water rafting. But I have to go now! Buhbye

Mark: Well I have to hurry up because I only have about 6 minutes but today was really good! I know I said that we should get all our work done easily by today but we had a couple setbacks and we have to go back tomorrow to finish it up! I went under a crawlspace while we had to do some plumbing work. We are moving along really well and this time we should be done by the morning. I have to go now though so bye.

Seth: Today was fun. We started the day off by doing the same thing, digging. Unfortunately, we learned that we had to dig an extra twenty feet on each ditch because of a waterline. Today, everyone was more talkative and we had a good time. Love you mom and dad, good luck with work.

Nikki: I had a new experience today – I spent some time in the crawl space of the house we are working on assisting for some plumbing repair. The home is a double wide on a crawlspace, so there was not a lot of room down there. The project was hooking the line for the gray water (washing machine) into the main line to through the septic system. It was previously just piped out to the top of the hill behind the house. One of the youth on our site actually works in plumbing and he did the actual repair. This was maybe a half hour of my day, but was memorable. I am not sure when the last time is that I army crawled…probably when the boys were little.

The rest of my work day was spent running back and forth to Lowe’s for supplies. It is about a 15 minute trip from our site one-way. By the time you get there, find what you need and check out, then return, it takes anywhere form 45 minutes to 1 hour per trip, and I made four today.

Spiritual life tonight was excellent again. The main question was “If there is a god, why do people suffer?” I really like the theme this year, which is questions Christians are asked y the world. I wasn’t sure that I would in the beginning. It seemed like these big questions might cause more doubt and questioning for the youth, but it has sparked some excellent conversation, sharing, and prayer time. I have been in groups where a youth has said “I don’t really have an answer for that question, because I wonder that myself.” The good thing is that they are in an environment where they can share those musings without fear of ridicule and they receive good support and input. This answer has been the exception and not the rule though. I think that it is good to openly discuss some of these really philosophical questions that we all have struggled with or wondered about at some time or another in our life.

In one week we will be home. It doesn't seem like we have been here long enough yet for htat to be the case.

Sunshine!

2010-07-14T06:23:00.000-04:00

Nikki: We are experiencing multiple technical difficulties. I am posting what we have so you can hear from us and will work to resolve these issues this afternoon. More on work, etc at that time.

Mark: Well today we had our first full work day! We got so much done! It’s so much fun working with so many different people talking to them and getting to know where they come from and how they live. Today I jumped over a kid who is over six feet tall!! ….he was standing in a 2-3 foot ditch. We have so much fun on the worksites its amazing how much we are able to accomplish though when are minds are set to do it! Well that is all for today! So talk to you all tomorrow and I hope everything is going very well back home!

Luke: Have I mentioned yet that the food here is enough reason to go by itself? I wouldn’t mind being locked in an isolation cell for a week as long as they let me eat the food. But we get to dig, which is an added bonus. Speaking of digging… we’re done. I thought I’d set the record last year with three days, but we got this site done in 1 and a half. I have no clue what we are going to do for the rest of the week. Probably even more local service projects, like cleaning up old people’s lawns or something. Whatever happens I’m sure it will be worth it.

Sarah: Today I worked in the houses. We needed to shore up the floor underneath the toilet in the main house on the Rice’s property, so we had to take their toilet out. Therefore, they have no toilet. PK and I worked on that, and Bethany (DE), Lindsay (WI), and Mike (DE) worked on replacing the windows in the trailer. Ironically, the name of the lady that owns the trailer is named Rachael, just like Rachael Asher. After replacing her windows, we worked on her floor. In her kitchen, we are laying tiles, and in her living room, we are laying carpet. We got as far as laying paper and thin plywood in her kitchen, and tomorrow we will finish that and move on to other things- probably her carpet. Later this week, we need to do some hardcore work on her bathroom wall and put a new window of a different size in there. Also, tomorrow we will be putting a handicapped toilet in the main house. I thought it was really neat that the three of us kids who stayed back to work on the house were all on the same site last year. The digging crew continued working on the trenches and started on the pit for the tank, but they had a rough day. They found out that they need to add another foot to the side of every trench, and the third trench is still in rough condition. (Maybe that’s because I was working on that trench.) And the pit crew started digging, but they ran into a giant boulder that needed to be removed; and after they removed that, they discovered that they had been digging right over the old, dead septic trenches. Thus, they could not continue digging and must move somewhere else. Bernard was working on the site, and he is 77 years old. He did just as much work on the pit as the other three boys (who are all huge, I might add). I spent a lot of time talking to the Rices, especially Rachael. She told us a lot about her life; she loves to dance and is a competitive ballroom dancer! She makes all of her own dresses, and she told us about her dance steps and showed us her pictures… Rachael is so nice and sweet, and I can tell that she is super excited to have a nicer home and have people to talk to who aren’t her family. She loves her independence, but she lives on the same property as her parents; on the other side of the main house is her sister Rebecca, and on the other side of Rebecca is her brother Ivan. And down the street is where her sister Sheila lives with her husband. Of course, the parents aren’t in the greatest condition. Mr. Rice had a stroke this past winter and needs help taking care of himself; he is around 80 years old. Mrs. Rice isn’t as bad, I think, but she needs a bedside commode and isn’t well enough to be able to take care of herself and her husband without help. They love having us to talk to and are so grateful that we are there to work on their property and help them, and they have learned to trust us so quickly. It truly is a blessing to work here at the servant event for such incredible people.

Rachael: 12:09am Today….wow I feel like today was four days. When I woke up this morning seems like so long ago. So much has happened. Tonight was really rough though for a friend I met when we got here. It is so hard to know what to say to someone who is going through a rough time. But hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. I had a good time at the worksite today. It didn’t rain - all sun!!! hopefully the rest of the days will be like that. Well I have to say that my eyes are heavy while writing this and I cant stand it anymore. It is very late. I hope everyone is having a great month of july, miss you mom and dad.. tell ryan and emily I love them - goodnight

Rain, rain, go away

2010-07-12T23:39:00.001-04:00

Adam: Today we started work and I was the only person from our group at site 2. Site 2 is occupied by a woman Cindy and her cute little black poodle. The problem is that the rain runs down the hill/mountain and moves into her house and through her basement. Well, we worked through the rain all day working on trenches to divert the water away from the house. When we left, our work was doing too well because the trenches had diverted all the water into a single spot across her driveway. We will be adding a culvert later this week but during the rain the runoff had already dug a trench across the drive.
The kids I worked with were a nice and hardworking group. One boy, Nick, split his pants while swinging his pick but otherwise we had no problems.
Lisa, I love you. Hannah…you too.

Rachael: Today has been a blast so far, it was the first worksite day and it went wonderfully, even though it poured rain for 9/10ths of the time. I just took my shower about 30 mins ago and I’d have to say it was probably the best shower ever because I felt sooo dirty from the site. Like I am sitting here trying to think of a way to express how filthy we all were but there are no words in the English dictionary that can properly describe it. But now that I am clean, I can just look back and say, “that was so fun!”. Now we are awaiting dinner. It is pretty exciting because the food here is so amazing. Well im not sure what else to say because we still have half the day left it seems like. So Buhbyeee!

Mark: Well today was the first work day it was a lot of fun! I never thought I would have so much fun digging trenches and cutting roots in the rain. However we had to end early today because the rain was a cold downpour. So we decided that when we got back after working and cleaning up we would take a Kmart stop. While there, 4 of the guys decided to buy Nerf guns. I can only wait to see how that will end up late at night lol. While it is almost dinnertime and I am really hungry so I am going to wrap it up. Even though I am having a SO much fun here I still miss home a little bit. Well that is all for today. Hope everyone had a good day and I will write to you all again tomorrow.

Sarah: Today I remembered how horrible it is to get up early, because someone’s alarm went off at 5:30. I just laid in bed until 6 because I didn’t have the motivation to get up and start getting ready- not that there’s much to do to get ready. So I finally got up and got dressed and brushed my teeth and ate breakfast, and that was it. We departed to our sites around 7 am, and my van played loud music the whole time while singing and dancing. It was a good time. Then we actually had to get to work. I haven’t done anything physically exerting since golf ended in October, so I have like no muscles anymore. We are digging three trenches for the septic system, and we found out that we also need to dig a pit for a tank to go with it, since the old one from the original system is no longer functioning. We got most of the first trench finished and about half of the other two; by tomorrow all three should be completed. Also, tomorrow we begin work on the houses. We are working for the Rice family, and the parents and their daughter live on the same property, although the daughter lives a few yards away in her own tiny mobile trailer home. On the parents’ house, a carpentry crew will be going underneath the house to put supports underneath the toilet, since it is starting to sag through the floor. Mike said that PK (WI) and I would probably be on that job tomorrow. Mike told me today that he was basically training me in carpentry because he wanted to prepare me to be a leader for more servant events, especially this one. I thought that that was really neat, and I really hope that I can come back to ASE in the future as an adult leader. On the trailer house, we need to work on the deck and work on the floors.

Luke: Its only Monday but it feels like I’ve been here a whole week. As a guy from ASE 2008 said “Our group is really Gel-in’” Today we started working at the site, and the buzz word was torrential downpour. We were soaking wet and caked with mud by lunchtime. Our group leaders were afraid hypothermia was setting in so we got to go to the Y right after we ate. It was pretty cool though, although we finished early we got almost half the site done. Can’t wait for tomorrow.

Nikki: In the journals that we do here as part of community life, we had the question, “What really surprised you today?” I probably could have come up with several answers, but the first one that came to mind – sliding down the hill in a mud slick! It was raining when we got up this morning, and while it did let up briefly, it never really stopped until about 3:30 – or after the work day. Two of the work sites stopped early today. I am on the same site as Mark & Luke, and it was getting extremely messy, people were shivering (July in NC?) and slipping all over the place. More rain is forecast for the week. Hopefully it will blow through quickly, but they are in need of it here. They have had a dry summer so far. I pray that rain would come AFTER 3:00 for the rest of the week.
In spiritual life this year we are exploring some of the questions that we as Christians sometimes have to answer, either because we have been asked or we have asked ourselves. Tonight's questions was “How do you know that God answers prayer?” I already have many examples in my life of answered prayer, but tonight I received another one. The end part of our spiritual life is pairing off into prayer partners, sharing something we would like prayer about, and then praying for each other. As is often the case when we are sharing, I shared a prayer concern, but one that is really only 'the tip of the iceberg' as they say. My prayer partner prayed not only for what I asked prayer for, but also what I did not. She did not necessarily pray what I might have asked, but she certainly prayed for the situation, and without my requesting it. Like He so often does, God provided what He knew I needed.

Seth- Today we finally got to do some work. Unfortunately, it rained the whole day, but I still liked digging. I got really dirty, and I don't think I'll be able to wear those clothes tomorrow. I had a turkey sandwich and I played a bit of basketball today. Love you mom and dad, hope you had a good day of work today, good luck.

Photo Album up

2010-07-12T17:42:00.002-04:00

We now have a link to our photo album to the right. Currently all pictures are from the trip down and the first night, but we hope to start adding new pictures regularly. Check back for more!

Sunday

2010-07-12T00:20:00.001-04:00

Afternoon

Adam: We had a nice day today. After church, Bible study, and lunch, we went to survey the work sites. The first one seemed the roughest to me. It needs a whole new septic system, the bathroom floor needs to be shored up, and the trailer next door needs work too. The second site has runoff from the mountain rains washing into her basement so we are going to be digging “French drains”. The last site needs a septic field put into a wooded area that is a black diamond ski slope where we come from. More than the jobs, we also got to meet the people who live there. All the people seem excited to have us come and enter their lives in such intimate ways. Here are some additional tidbits to entertain you:
A kid from another group fell into a 2 foot deep sewer puddle… He threw away the shoes.
North Carolina has no shortage of bugs or poison ivy.
All three sights have pitches that are intimidating. Two are built on 40% grades and the other is in a beautiful valley.

Love you Lisa and Hannah. Keep the fort and if there are any problems don’t hesitate to call Al.

Seth: Today was nice; I got the privilege to go to church. After lunch we got to visit our work sites. On the car ride to the sites I met even more new people. I'm excited to visit the new work sites tomorrow. Love you mom and dad, good luck with work.

Mark: So we visited the work sites today. There are three of them I hope I am getting the third one! Which would be putting a septic field in for an elderly woman. The other two are putting french drains in one and another septic in the other. I am excited to finally start work tomorrow! Hopefully I get some people I know but also some I don't so I can make even more friends than I have already. I just want to say thank you to the people of Hartland for letting me go on this trip and for everyone to have a goodnight!

Evening

Luke: I felt so special this morning cause I was one of the select few that 1. knew about the showers and 2. were able to get up early enough to shower before church. Which meant I got up at six. I made up for it napping in the car on our site tour. Good news is I got the site that I wanted. Site number three involves not only digging, but clearing out the whole forest where the trench needs to be. There must have been trees at least a foot thick on our trench path. It also means that the ground is going to be filled with roots, making the task even more epic. So naturally I was assigned to it. Don't know why that North kid is on the same site though... I don't know if he can handle it...

Rachael: Today was so great!! we had a prayer thing at the end of the day where we get together with one person and talk about your troubles and pray about them. I usually find this activity a wee bit awkward but tonight I really liked it. It is amazing how much two peoples experiences relate and how much you can help each other with your past experiences. I really like a lot of the games and things we do here! They are fun, interesting and you learn a lot from them. That is why you come back home with so much more than you left with. Today we had our first state group, on the oh so famous hill that I attempted to roll down after state group. But lets just say it didn't work. We found out our sites today and we will be off to work in the morning!!!! Goodnight.

Sarah: As today is Sunday, we all went to the 8:30 service this morning. I asked Nikki to wake me up when she got up so that I could wash my hair. PK preached at the service today, which was neat, because I always love hearing the different pastors from all over preach. Afterward, we had a Bible study on the Gospel for today, and after that, we ate lunch. I was really happy today because I got to see some NC friends from last year's ASE: Rachel and Sydney. Later, we went to visit the sites; there are three. Site number one requires both carpentry work and a new septic system. The second site needs French drains in order to drain water out of the lady's basement, so that also will need digging. And the third site needs a new septic system because the old one is completely shot. It's to the point that the ground caved in and the hole is filled with septic water. I felt so bad for Zach (Northville), because he slipped and his entire left ankle went into the hole. The new septic system is supposed to go in on a hill that is covered in trees and poison ivy- quite an adventure. We also made a Kmart run today, and I had to buy a new camera card, since I left my 4 GB card at home. Dinner was delicious, and then we had our state meetings, which we always love. After community life and spiritual life, we participated in my favorite part of the day, the 20 minute chapel. Directly afterward, we all had the chance to check the site assignments, which is always super exciting. I am on site number one, which is very cool. I get to work with Mike (DE) for the third year in a row, and I am with a ton of other people that I already know. But now I must pack my shower bag and hit the sack, so goodnight.

Nikki: Well, since all the sites are digging sites, I am obviously on a digging site again. Every site has it's own challenges. I drew the one with the trees and poison ivy covering the area where we are putting the drain field. At this point, we are supposed to dig one 30” deep and 6' wide trench (not sure about the length) which we are supposed to fill the old fashioned way – with wheel barrows full of gravel. I believe the organizers are intending to propose a double layer of easy fill, but we will see what tomorrow brings.

For those of you reading this who might remember, either from being here or from the Youth in Missions dinner, three years ago we worked on finishing the inside of a house for a woman who was wheelchair bound due to physical abuse. We are back at her place this year. It is the one that will be getting a french drain due to mold and mildew problems in her basement from the mountain run-off. Her back yard is a little on the spongy side and the water has no where to go. The french drain should help draw the water away from the house. I am excited that we have the opportunity to return and serve again for someone we have served before. The best part is that she has made some progress is now able to walk on her own. She is very dark from spending a lot of time out tending her yard. Once we get the OK for cameras, I will be sure to get someone on that site to get a good site photo for me so those of you who worked here before can see how the place is doing, and hopefully one of Miss Cynthia too.

God's blessings all!

We're Here!

2010-07-10T23:52:00.004-04:00

Rachael: So, today was so absolutely wonderful. I wish I could go on this trip every year of my life!! im not gonna give a play by play of my day today, I am just gonna say a few words. THIS TRIP IS DA BOMBBB!!! I already feel like I am at “home” as Sarah would say. Everyone is so caring, and I am already meeting people who are inspiring me!! I cannot wait for the upcoming 2 weeks. :) < that is a smiley face for every parent who isn't very tech savy okay well goodnight

Sarah: Today we woke up pretty early, but I should get used to that, as I will be getting up at 6 every other morning. We did some sightseeing before we actually arrived in Asheville, and the mountains were just as beautiful, although the view was slightly different than last year. There was a ton of fog on the mountains, and the sun was hidden behind the clouds. But after that, we drove straight through to Asheville. Words cannot describe how happy I am to be back. It really feels like I have come home; the smells of the mountain air and the church are some of the best ever. Most of the other state groups made it here in a decent amount of time, but just like last year, it took Delaware until dinner to get here. But our time has been wonderful. I have already met a ton of great people. I am in a room with Ohio and Northville, which is super awesome, because I already know all but one of them, and the other one is really easy to get to know. I have to go now, since it's time for bed, but I will write more tomorrow. I am so excited!

Nikki: Servant Event is different every year, but the feeling of openness and acceptance is always here. The false pretenses and agendas of everyday life are gone for the time being. The kids are different when they are here, and so am I. It is something that is hard to describe.

The kids haven't heard about the work sites, but the adults did. I don't know all of the details yet, but we are back out at Miss Cynthia's where Paul Caswell, Darcy Spangler and Kristina Biddix worked in 2007. I am excited to get out there and see her again. I will be sure to share more tomorrow, but I hear that she is walking now!

Mark: Today we finally made it to Asheville! I was nervous and excited at the same time. First off I did not know what to expect from the adults that would be here and the kids that I would meet. The first thing we did was go to Sonic! That was really excited because there are no Sonics close to us. I have already met some people that I think I will be friends with for along time! Well I am really tired so goodnight to all and to all a goodnight!

Adam: We made it to the servant event. The students are really excited. We played some cool games, had a good fellowship meal, and said some special prayer. Tomorrow is focused on worship, seeing the job sites, and devotionals. Love you Lisa. Love you Hannah.

Luq: Fantastic day. Took us about three and a half hours to get to the church but it felt longer. We stopped off at exactly the same places as last year, and Mark and Seth fell in the stream. They didn’t have mountain stream rock jumping XP like the rest of us. Anyway we made it to Emmanuel Lutheran a little past one. What was real cool was seeing all the people from last year show up to this ASE. It was great seeing old friends plus making some new ones, and I have a feeling that this year is gunna be one of the best yet. Oh, and I’ve heard rumors of three digging sites this year… excellent.

Seth: After a scenic drive through the mountains we finally got to Ashville. At the church I learned some cool new games, ate tacos, met a lot of new people, and prayed. I like the church; everyone is very nice. Love you mom and dad, good luck with work.

Travel

2010-07-10T00:32:00.004-04:00

Adam: Well, the trip is started in transit... We traveled all day. There were no flat tires, the kids had a nice cd of christian/country music for the ride, and all went well. I am quite impressed with this group of kids. They are all very serious about what they are doing here but not afraid to be silly either. Lisa and Hannah, I miss you both. Be good and don't forget to water the garden.

Mark: Well today was quite an adventure. We drove all the way from Hartland MI. to Pigeon Forge TN. The drive itself was very fun. We played some cards games. One of the games being euchre and the other was a new game I learned called mau. Very hard to pick it up but I think I got the hang of it even though I lost all 5 or 6 games we played. The whole ride was very fun except for the last hour or so when everyone had to use a restroom but we were all so excited to get there they we did not stop! Well that is all for tonight have a goodnight everyone and cant wait to get to Asheville tomorrow and start to work!

Seth: Today was a long day. In the beginning of our long journey we played a card game called mau. It was fun, but I only won one of the games. Then I think just about all of us took a nap, except for Uncle Adam and Mrs. Spangler. After we woke up we had lunch at Friendlies and then continued our long road trip. We spent the rest of our journey playing euchre, playing some Bible trivia, and squirming in our seats while waiting to go to the bathroom. Now, we're finally in the hotel with empty bladders. I can't wait to get to North Carolina, get out of the car, stretch, meet new people, and work. Love you, Mom and Dad, good luck with work!

Sarah: It's always a joy going down to ASE. We left the church around 9:30 and traveled non-stop until we reached southern Ohio, where we had lunch. One of our favorite landmarks is Big Butter Jesus, which recently burned down, much to our disappointment. We only saw the metal frame that was left. For a while we played cards and just talked and got comfortable with each other, which wasn't hard to do. It was definitely exciting when we started getting into more hilly country, and before we knew it, our ears started popping as we arrived in the Smoky Mountains. It poured today, which is weather that we've never had before while driving down; but the mountains still looked gorgeous underneath the cloudy sky. Just like last year, we stopped in Pigeon Forge, TN, and had dinner at Shoney's, which was delicious. They make the best corn that I have ever eaten. Currently, Luke, Uncle Adam, and Nikki are teaching Seth how to play euchre, and apparently I just gave away his hand when he asked for advice... I just feel so blessed that I am able to attend Appalachian Servant Event once again, although I know that this really is my last year. I am so psyched for tomorrow to see all of the kids from last year and all of the newbies. Something about this whole experience is very surreal. Maybe it's because ASE is something that words cannot describe. However, I shall do my best to record it all to give anyone who reads this a little taste of my time here.

Luke: I got up too early today. It was really hot and humid outside. There was traffic. It is really cold in this hotel room. Those were bad things that happened today... otherwise it was pretty successful. For instance I ate three meals today. Two of them were really unhealthy: Success. I taught people the game of mau, which I won 5 out of 6 times because I rock: Success. I got Sarah to listen to Coheed & Cambria: Success. I defeated Mark in both a gun and lightsaber battle: Epic Success. I got to teach Seth how to play Euchre: Minor Failure... but that's his fault. However, I am very interested in tomorrow's activities and will not write in this journal any longer: Success.

Rachael: soooo..... today was pretty uneventful. We rode a bunch of hours in the car. And impressively we only made 2 stops. Once for lunch and once for gas. It was really fun, usually I don't like long car rides that much but these people make it...interesting. Haha we played lots of games including mau and bible trivia and euchre and lots of ipod games. And not to mention I was light sabered to death and Sarah caught it on video tape!!! maybe we can get it up on this site somehow. I don't know. But the light sabers came from the ipods, so don't worry parents who are anxiously reading this. No blood was shed. Then we went to the oh so famous Shoney's.... the food was wonderful, I ate a ton. I think the waitress thought we were starving people or something because we were up at the buffet bar before she could even take our orders haha. Then I had a very nice visit with a friend who lives down here in TN. He actually has the same cancer that I HAD.. and he isn't doing so well so I really wanted to say hi to him. Please keep him in your prayers, his name is Bradley Brock. He is the same age as me too. Andddd his cancer originated in the same spot mine did too. How ironic. Anyways, I am very sleepy so I am going start saying goodnight. Night

Nikki: Since you have heard all about our travel day, I'll share our adventure in getting our travel day. I called around and reserved a 15 passenger van back in January, knowing that they are a high demand item at this time of year. About 3pm on Wednesday, I received a call from Enterprise inquiring if I still needed a 15 passenger van for tomorrow. YES! Well, they didn't have one to give me and offered me a mini-van instead. Yikes! Our group is only seven, so technically there would be enough seats, but we all have luggage, bedding, cots, etc. How would it all fit? I called around from Saginaw to Detroit to Lansing to Grand Rapids looking for a large van, with no success. I decided it was time to stop my search and tell them I'd take the mini-van – there was still much to do to get ready. Trying to get in the servant event frame mind, I was going to leave this in God's hands. If he provided a mini-van, it would be sufficient. By no means my ideal, but it would do. I e-mailed the group to inform of this sad change in our travel pans. Thursday morning Mrs. Asher called to see if I had found a van, then told me her sister had just bought a new (to her – 50,000 miles) 12 passenger van but hadn't sold the old one yet and she was willing to let us use the new one for our trip. What a relief! We would have comfortable travel, we would be able to use our vehicle for a work van, and we could still take a cooler. This is not the first time that just getting on the road to servant event was an adventure in itself. Servant Event is always a good reminder that what God ordains is always good. And any of us can be used by God to fulfill His purpose. (P.S. Thanks for the van Cassie – we are taking good care of it!)

ASE Line-up

2010-07-06T16:38:00.005-04:00

ASE is about to go underway in less than 72 hours and the whole gang is really excited. In case you were wondering, here's a short bio on each of our ASE 2010 participants:

Nikki "Rambo" Spangler

The leader of the group, Nikki has been attending Servant Event for years now. An unassuming secretary and mom most of the year... but when it comes to digging trenches watch out! Once she puts on her red headband there's nothing that can get in her way.

Adam "Squirrel Man" Kerschenheiter

A Chaperone easily identifiable by the squirrel rubberband around his wrist, "Squirrel Man" Kerschenheiter is a new face to the ASE program and uncle of ASE participant Rachael Asher. The rubber band was given to him by his daughter, who knows his love for squirrel hunting.

Seth "The Hulk" Whitehouse

The brawn of the group... Seth is another newcomer to the ASE mission trip. When he's not busting rocks with his bare hands Seth enjoys playing basketball with friends. Seth is a Junior at Lutheran High School Westland.

Mark "North" Calder

Dispite going to the inferior Lutheran High School... Mark is the final newbie to the ASE program and shows some promise... for a North guy. However, he has graduated and will be attending Central Michigan University this fall.

Rachael "Pizza-in-nose" Asher

A girl with mean shovel skillz and a huge grudge, this is Rachael's second time going on the ASE mission trip. She will be attended Central as well, where she will finally stop bugging "somebody" about a minor mishap that managed to misplace a bit of BBQ chicken pizza up her nostril...

Sarah Foradori (Sista Fo-Do)
Half aspiring editor, half house builder, half gangster... and dont press the issue about three halves. This is Sarah's third time on the ASE mission trip and she will be attending school at Concordia Wisconsin. And she went to the "Greater" LHNW.

Captain/Maestro Luke "Dolla Slice" Nichols

A three time ASE veteran, LHNW graduate, future University of Dayton attendee, and just about the most awsome person in existance according to Google, Luke Nichols is the final member of the ASE 2010 group. If you're lucky, you may find out what Dolla Slice means in the ASE 2010 talent show... no promises.

Anticipation

2010-06-30T22:52:00.000-04:00

Nikki – 11:00pm

I am really looking forward to ASE this year. It is my opportunity to recenter every year. Preparations have begun in earnest - including a test blog. Our Savior Hartland will be on the road to Asheville in 202.5 hours.

Test Post

2010-06-27T21:12:00.000-04:00

This is a Test Post:
Luke Nichols
Today I made a blog that can be used to post our journals to the internet while we are out on the Appalachian Servant Event. After I'm finished playing around I'll e-mail the link and the login info to Nikki-the-boss to see if she likes it. I think she will. There's so much that this blog can do that our last journal site couldn't. For instance:

This is a link to the old journals that don't work (and its centered)

And here's a picture from ASE 2008 that I uploaded from my computer:

Anyway I hope she likes it and agrees to use this as our new journal posting site or I will have wasted an hour of my Sunday...