Appalachia 2025 Mission Update # 2

Hello friends and family!

Welcome to this week's episode of, "What Are They Getting Up To On Mission".

As our last update said, we traveled to Elizabethton last Friday, where we would be working with Tender Loving Care (TLC) Community Center for the week.

After our rest day on Saturday, on Sunday we went to Hopwood Memorial Christian Church, where we met Tim Ross, our pastor Ryan Ford’s mentor, and Ryan's old friend Ben Lee, who serves as one of the Senior Co-ministers for Hopwood. Tim also invited us to dinner at his house the next day, where we got yet another taste of the hospitality this region has to offer.

Monday, we began by doing work repairing the cabin we were staying at. The owner of the cabin, Emily Portfield, is a living saint. She has adopted and fostered several children and lets anyone use the cabin free of charge, provided they book it in advance and clean it up after they're done. Once we finished repairing some damage to the cabin from Hurricane Helene, we went to her house to repair some damage and work on a few projects neither she or her girls could do. We then went to Tim's house for dinner, where he made us some amazing barbecue and shared stories of his ministry and his time doing mission work in Kenya.

Tuesday through Thursday, we worked at the TLC Center with Chris and Linda, where one half of us framed walls for their "Tiny Town". When finished, it will be  a miniature replica of downtown Elizabethton, with the goal of helping children with sensory issues get used to downtown so they don't get overwhelmed when their parents take them. The other half of the team folded and sorted clothes for their little shop, where parents can earn fake money that they can use to buy donated clothes, diapers, and essentials for themselves and their children. During this time, we were also overwhelmed by free food. It began when we first got to the cabin, where we were given $300 in gift cards to a local grocery store, then Tim offered to barbecue for us, then, Tuesday, Emily brought us lasagna, and Wednesday, a deacon from Emily's church named Steve brought us barbecue he made. On top of that, Angie's church (Angie is the founder of TLC) brought us lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday. Between all this food, the cabin, and the general goodness surrounding us, the most common phrase that we said this week was, "We are getting so spoiled this week!"

And now, we come to Friday, where we've spent the first half of the day finishing up some tasks at Emily's house and the cabin, and the second half of the day getting ready to drive to Spruce Pine, North Carolina, where we will begin our next round of work, which will mostly be Hurricane Helene relief work.

In short, we've been having a great time and have been encountering God in the lives of the people we're with. Everyone has been so incredibly kind to us, and we're so grateful for the opportunity we’ve been given to be here and be blessed in the ways we have. Please continue to pray for us as we spend time around Spruce Pine, and pray that we can stay safe while we work and continue to be surprised by the Holy Spirit.