Photos and Story from West Virginia Mission Trip

Photos and Story by Christy Blanchard of the Grace Writers Group 

 Tony Haywood and Greg Thomas load up the truck before leaving Southern Pines to head to West Virginia to bless folk with food and some toys. 

 Juan Gomez and his daughter, Madison, make children's bracelets from Duck Tape.

 Christy Blanchard (left) and Juan Gomez and his daughter, Madison, riding the van to W. Virginia. 

 Bradshaw, W. Va., church is shown here.

 Greg Thomas is pictured in front of the Bradshaw, W. Va., church.

 Piano in the Bradshaw, West Virginia church.

 Bradshaw, W. Va., church interior.

 Pictured here is the church in Welch, W. Va.

 This board of on the wall of the Bradshaw, W. Virginia, church shows attendance recorded on the Sunday before the Grace Church visited the church.

 Prayer request box in the Welch, W. Va., church.

 Ken Hadaway (left), missions director for Grace Church in Southern Pines, N.C., stands with Pastor Dean Crane (center) and Tony Haywood of Helping Hands Ministry of Moore County, N.C.

 Stanley Lynn, Juan and Madison Gomez, and Kevin Jones unload the truck.

Kevin Jones, Harmony Hicks and Corey Bittner distribute toy-boxes in Welch, W. Va.

 Christy Blanchard, Harmony Hicks, Melissa Jones, Corey Bittner and Tamara Fore help stock the pantry at the Welch, W. Va., church.

 Stanley Lynn, Josh Blanchard, Corbyn and Ed Farlow unload the truck.

 Julius Fore (left), Greg Thomas (center) and Adam Floyd prepare to cook a meal in W. Va.

 Donna Haywood lays out toys for children.

  Pictured are a Bradshaw church member, William and Pastor Dean Crane.

 Ken Hadaway, Julius Fore, Christy Blanchard and Corey Bittner prepare a meal at the Welch, W. Va., church.

 Pictured is a crowd of people eating lunch at the Welch, W. Virginia, church.

 Josh Blanchard talks with children at the Welch, W. Va., church.

  Pictured is a license plate of a Bradshaw, W. Va., citizen.

 Josh Blanchard (left) pictured with two children at the Bradshaw, West Virginia, church.

 A piece of paper found by Christy Blanchard at the Bradshaw, West Virginia, church.

 Distributing items at the Bradshaw, W. Va., church.

 Kids pictured opening toy boxes at the Bradshaw church.

For the past few months, members of Grace Church of Southern Pines, N.C., worked hard to collect toys to fill shoeboxes. Participants also collected nonperishable food items, blankets, gently used TVs, DVD and tape players, movies, etc.  Some church members volunteered to go on a short mission trip to deliver collected items to two church in West Virginia.  

The group left early on Friday, November 9, 2012, and returned on the afternoon of November 11. The team leader was Ken Hadaway, missions director for Grace Chruch. Team members included Juan and Madison Gomez, Stanley Lynn, Harmony Hicks, Corey and Kimberly Bittner, Julius and Tamara Fore, Josh and Christy Blanchard, Greg and Corbyn Thomas, Tony and Donna Haywood, Adam Floyd, Kevin and Melissa Jones, Doug Stewart, Janelle and Amy Imbriale, Chris and Dalton Leist, Ed Farlow, and Randy Todd. 

The team arrived in Welch, West Virginia, around 6:00 p.m., Friday evening and had dinner and fellowship time at the church. The next morning, the team woke up early and stocked the pantry of the church in Welch with donated food items. The team then prepared a lunch meal of hotdogs, baked beans, chips, coleslaw and lemonade. After lunch, a short church service was held and people who attended the service received tickets that allowed each of them to pick out an item of need, such as a TV or floor heater, as well as a box of food and toys for their children. That afternoon the team arrived in Bradshaw, West Virginia, and prepared a hotdog dinner meal and distributed items in the same way after a short church service was held. At this church, one little girl received toothpaste in her toy box and was so excited that she ran around showing everyone of her new item. 

  Everyone on the team and people who donated items for the trip worked very hard, and our church was able to bless the people of Welch and Bradshaw, just in time for the holiday season.

'The Peacemaker' - Another West Virginia story by Christy Blanchard

  Pictured (from left): an unidentified lady from Bradshaw, W. Va., William (center) and Pastor Dean Crane who ministers in West Virginia. 
 
This past weekend my husband and I went on a mission trip to West Virginia with Grace Church of Southern Pines, N.C. While in West Virginia, we met a man named William. He was older and sometimes talked to himself, but he was very sweet and clearly loved the Lord. He told me that he had survived 22 heart attacks and his doctor finally gave him a “peacemaker” for his heart.

He had some of us sign his Bible and his guitar. He had a lot of signatures in his Bible and even more on his guitar. He said that every time he read his Bible, he prayed for those who had signed it and did the same when he played his guitar. I asked him to play a song for us before he left. I didn’t know what to expect, because he slurred his words a little when he talked, but as soon as he picked up his guitar, he completely changed. He was very skilled at playing the guitar and sounded just like Johnny Cash. I told him that, and he said he had played his music for Johnny Cash in the past. Then he told me he had just played for the governor of West Virginia and pulled out a picture of himself with the governor to prove it.

Before he left, he pulled out two, crisp 2-dollar bills and gave one to me and the other to another woman from Grace Church. He said he just wanted us to have them and wanted to bless us. He ripped his address off of a letter in his pocket and gave it to me, so I could send him a Christmas card. He requested that I get lots of people to sign it, and I told him I would.