Youth missions team helps local residents

Kokomo Tribune - Saturday, July 23, 2011

Kokomo — The work crew arrived at Chris Vance’s house just before 9 a.m., ready for a full day of roofing work, on a day when temperatures were expected to near 100 degrees.

Despite the heat, the crew was happy to be on the job, saying they are showing God’s love by reroofing the house at no cost to Vance.

They are volunteers, part of Mission Possible, a ministry of Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer.

Kathy Tucker, project coordinator, said about 64 teens from around the Midwest and 16 adults are working on small and large construction jobs on Kokomo homes this week.

She said the local project is one of 200 similar events throughout the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Tucker worked with Cheryl Graham from the United Way of Howard County, the Area Five Agency on Aging and Samaritan Caregivers to find people who needed work done on their homes this week.

The volunteers are building seven wheelchair ramps, roofing two homes and painting at least one home this week.

Tucker said church members and other sponsors donated money to buy the supplies, so the work is being done at no cost to the homeowners. Church members also are hosting the out-of-state volunteers in their homes. She said about 200 families from the church are actively involved in Mission Possible.

Graham said many of the projects wouldn’t happen without the volunteers.

“She took three or four wheelchair ramps from me. It was doubtful I would be able to get them done by the end of the year if it wasn’t for them. I have a limited number of volunteer crews. I wouldn’t have enough funding to complete these.”

Graham said volunteers from Youthworks, which has been based out of First Evangelical Presbyterian Church and Morning Star Church, have also worked in the community and helped with wheelchair ramp projects.

At Vance’s home, crew leader Becki Lowden, who is from Kokomo, said they had to take five layers of shingles off the roof earlier in the week. They are replacing those with a single set on the new roof.

She said church members have provided plenty of cold water for the volunteers to help them cope with the heat. They also keep towels in coolers of ice water, to help keep everyone as comfortable as possible.

“The kids keep working right through it. They want to get it done,” she said.

Lowden said they are inspired by Vance, who is mentally challenged but has worked two part-time jobs and saved enough money to buy his house. He could not afford the much-needed new roof, and they’re glad to provide it for him, she said.

“We’re serving God. It’s a great way to get the message out.”

Amanda Myers, 17, from St. Louis, said she enjoys being able to help and to “share God’s love with people.”

She helped remove an old fence from Vance’s property, along with some shrubs and weeds. She also helped scrape paint and wash the house.

Kylie Berning, 16, from Cincinnati, said the old roof was in bad shape, and she is happy to help give Vance a new one.

“It was going to cave in anytime. It’s one less thing for him to worry about,’ she said, adding that the service is helping her grow in her faith in God.

She’s also enjoying meeting other teens from around the Midwest, and she hopes to continue their friendships after they’ve gone home.

Rachel McCullar, from Sherman, Ill., worked earlier in the week painting a home on South Delphos Street. She said the homeowner recently lost her husband and couldn’t afford to have her house painted.

“It was nice to know we finished it. It looks so much better now than before.”

Andrew Denta, a student at Kokomo’s Western High School, said it was eye-opening for him to see the needs of people in his own hometown.

He was impressed with Vance’s work to save the money to buy a house, and was glad to help him improve it. He said the work was hard in the heat, but “at the end of the day, you could look back and feel like you accomplished something.”

Tucker said her hope is that all the people who participate will continue to serve in their communities.

“Our theme for this year is ‘Live to Serve.’ That’s what we’re trying to teach our participants, that this is not a one-week event, this is a lifestyle. God put us on this earth to serve others.”