Welcomed to Welcome

“Welcomed to Welcome”

Reflections from our Summer Mission Possible Experience in Crisfield, MD

Contributors: Tommy Thompson, Emily Dinda, Winslow Weiss, Matthew Thompson, 

Bo Flint, and Jim Weiss

Tommy Thompson, Minister to Youth & Children:

The Gospel Lesson for the Sunday after a week of “Mission Possible” couldn’t have been more perfect. 

"Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me…whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple-- truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward." 

Could it be that easy? Could it be that all one need to do to welcome God is to welcome a follower of Jesus on love’s mission or one of God’s ‘little ones’ in the simplest of ways!? I mean, if this is true, and I believe it is, our lives should be one grand welcome party!  For, in every welcome of love’s mission, hospitality is offered to God, space is made for God (italics for emphasis) to be in our midst– God, the author of life and salvation! 

That’s an amazing thing to consider! It beckons us to model for the world what we’ve experienced in God’s life.  As God makes room for us to abide in His rich life of love, so we are invited to both go and make room for others and accept the invitation others give for us to be welcomed through their own offerings of loving hospitality. 

Welcome or “making room for the other” is at the very center of our faith because it reveals the very heart of our God.  God is the God of hospitable and welcoming space. So he sends his disciples on a mission to extend God’s welcome and each time the welcome is reciprocated, God is welcomed, and where room is made for God, room is made for wholeness and newness of life that literally transforms the world.

This summer the St. Thomas’ Whitemarsh senior high youth group made like those first disciples and were commissioned to share the good news of God’s love in word and deed with our friends in Crisfield, MD. And we have good news to share – we were welcomed with open arms!  And this means God was welcomed with open arms. And when God is welcomed with open arms, newness begins to spring into existence.

Here are the reflections of a few members of our Mission Possible team which highlight ways room was made for God through the welcome of so many people in so many different places.

Emily Dinda, 10^th Grade:

This year was my first mission trip with the Youth Group at Saint Thomas.  We took two vans down to Crisfield, Maryland, and right from the start, the snacks were flowing and the music was popping.  I knew in that moment that we were all going to have an awesome experience together. Being new to the entity of the mission trip scene I was a little reluctant on attending.  As a first timer it can be nerve racking knowing multiple people you have surrounded yourself with have some unforgettable memories together already. But quickly my uneasy senses were swept away from my mindset. The welcome I felt from my group members, and our chaperones was unreal. I was especially grateful for the chaperones who designated a week of their own summer vacation to spend time with a bunch of smelly teenage kids. 

When we arrived at the church in Crisfield, one of our key objectives was to recollect on our welcoming moments at the end of each day. While building a brand new house for a seventy year old woman named Lucy, who lost everything during Super Storm Sandy, we were blessed enough to meet two wonderful supervisors; Chip and Ray.  Ray was the man in charge and let me tell you, he was bossy and grouchy. By the end of the mission experience, we were able to get his hard exterior to crack. Chip on the other hand was shy at first, but then later opened up to us, proving he had an overarching sense of humor and total generosity, such as when he offered me his already half eaten peach.

As a smaller group we all became really close with one another and were able to assign some comical nicknames. For example: our chaperone Maddy Fell was known as El Chappo, Kat was Kat “Shotgun” Deragon, Mike was “Master” was zippity-doo-da, Alec was Captain Headband, and I was Speed Racer. No need to question where those babies came from. Anyway, our supervisors Chip and Ray were glad to contribute to these nicknames along with teaching us valuable skills that are necessary to build a brand new home. Hours of time were spent putting up scaffolding, building a deck, sheathing the roof, and hammering nails on the top of the house to post paper to prevent water damage. In ninety degree weather with long pants on, the work was pretty back breaking and sweaty.  But through the welcoming attitudes of Chip and Ray, and the expression of unity between all of the mission trippers, it made teamwork possible.  By the end of each night we were all able to share a welcoming moment we felt that day, because when God introduces new people into our lives, we are accepting his grace by accepting them.

Winslow Weiss, 9^th Grade:

The Mission Possible 2014 trip to Crisfield, Maryland was my first mission trip. Crisfield, Maryland is a small town, and it was somewhat overlooked when Hurricane Sandy hit, but even so, I was skeptical when I heard that we would be going to provide relief from a storm that struck in October of 2012. Now, some did work on building a new house because the old one was severely damaged by Sandy, but the rest of us didn’t always directly work on Sandy related projects. I spray-painted a swing, trimmed hedges, and looked for an important document at the local Library, but all of these activities did not address any direct results of Hurricane Sandy. However, many people were devastated by Sandy, and although much of the damage had already been done, and many people had already received help, the fact that someone still cared enough to assist Sandy victims in a town as small as Crisfield helped them psychologically. I may not have done much physical labor to counteract the effects of Sandy, but my presence, along with the work I did do, helped the Sandy victims recover psychically and emotionally. The physical damage of the storm caused emotional turmoil, and because we offered our time, we may have helped ease this intangible damage. We offered our presence. Sometimes just showing up can be very powerful.

           

Matthew Thompson, 9^th Grade:

Going to Crisfield, Maryland was the first mission trip I embarked on. Being one of the few newcomers, it took some time to feel welcome. I was extremely quiet at first because I felt intimidated by high school students, but eventually, I became comfortable enough to call them my friends. Meeting these new people was just like a campfire with the wood as the stories and jokes we shared and the flame as the relationship we built. You start off with burning kindling and gradually add more and more wood to build a nice, steady fire. Even when the fire burns out, you are still left with the blazing embers that seem to burn on for a lifetime. When we helped the people of Crisfield, Maryland, we welcomed them into this flame of friendship.

Since I am under the age of 16, I was unable to work on the construction site. One of the jobs I was given was to work at Bibi’s house. Me and a group of others split up the work and we did jobs such as painting benches, patios, barns, and chicken coupes that were in dire need to get attention. We fixed her fence that had been broken due to Sandy and other wear and tear. We pruned bushes, fixed scattered brickwork, and many other things. Bibi and her son are super busy people who work hard to support themselves. They hardly have enough time to work on their house to get it ready as a Bed and Breakfast. We were welcome to Bibi’s house right away as we stepped on her property. She gave us a complete tour of her house, she made us delicious iced tea, and she offered us anything else we needed. She did this all to strangers that she only just met and we returned her warmth by welcoming her to stand around the fire with us in the hands of God.

Bo Flint, 11^th Grade:

When I think back to our mission trip, three words come to my mind. They are fellowship, commitment, and graciousness. We started our trip with a hug and goodbye from our loving families followed by a near three hour car ride to Crisfield MD. From then on out our group began to create inseparable bonds that may last a lifetime. This was caused by the fellowship that occurred between us. On a couple occasions, after work, our group would visit a dock in the town on the Chesapeake Bay. We swam, crabbed, hung out, and shared many laughs. Following this we took crabs back to the kitchen at the church in which we stayed in. After cooking with the steam team, I sat down at the table over a hot plate of blue claw crabs. As I sat down I noticed a very touching sight; I looked around and every one was satisfied. The art of fellowship through a trip and meal from the Chesapeake Bay truly bonded us on this youth trip.

Our commitment in the work we preformed shined through even in the toughest of times. The hottest days, the humid climate, and the onerous tasks we pushed through with commitment. This was the case for many of us working high up on scaffolding in ninety degree temperatures with a humid touch, in reality it felt a mere hundred degrees. Our teams divided and conquered on several much-needed projects to prosper in our handiwork.

            Our graciousness prevailed in such a way to be an imperative quality to our trip. One such example was how up until the last working hour of the last working day, it was hot and humid. The last day some would think of it as torrential down pour, we would call it liquid sunshine. The streets of Crisfield were partially flooded, and the crew of mission possible enjoyed every minute of this event by either making waves in the van driving through the streets with Tommy Thompson or stomping through puddles. The appreciation to the much needed rain was cherished through out our group through a laugh and a smile. We are grateful for our St. Thomas family for the love, time, and support provided and the burning fire of this community.

   

Jim Weiss, Youth Chaperone:

My name is Jim Weiss. I am a vestry member and I work at the barn where every second Saturday we hold a Barn Sale to raise funds for Outreach---including Mission Possible.  Outreach---helping those less fortunate---is one of the reasons that I love this church. This is my fourth Mission Possible trip.  I've taken youth groups to Miami, West Virginia, and Maine.

I had never been to Crisfield, MD before, so when I signed on as a chaperone, I didn't know exactly what to expect. To go to Crisfield now one might not notice evidence of the storm damage. The people there are known for their fierce independence.  So, after the storm, many residents were reluctant to ask for the help that they needed.  Enter Ben Botti, who runs the Methodist relief effort in Crisfield.  Ben spent his life working as an engineer.  I asked him about his work with Hurricane Sandy relief over the past two years in Crisfield, and his face lit up with a smile, and he said: "This is the best job I've ever had."

I met a man named Allen who runs the ferry that took us out to Smith Island where the total population is about 228.  I asked him about Smith Islanders and he said with a deep gravely voice: "Oh, people out here are just the same as everywhere----only different."

We met June Wharton, who is 93.  June greeted us at her small house with her wispy white hair perfectly coifed and invited us in. She told us that as the storm approached she told her sister that she'd be fine. But when the flood waters rose outside her door, and when her power went out, she tried to call her sister back, but now the line was dead.  And she doesn't own a cell phone.  Imagine how terrifying that would be.  She sat there in the dark and rode out the storm.  She was finally rescued by a neighbor the next day.  June was brought to tears when she heard that our young people were coming to work in her yard. The psychic damage of the storm remains, and the people like June were glad to know that they were not forgotten.

I am reminded of the passage in Matt 7:25:

            “And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”

Tommy Thompson:

Words cannot express how proud I am of our team of sixteen missioners.  They were truly the hands and feet of Christ this summer in Crisfield, MD. I’d like to give you an idea of how hard our youth worked this summer.  Here’s a typical day in the life of our missioners.

530am – adults wake up for a little QUIET time! 

6:30am – Youth missioners are up getting ready for the day.

7:00am – Breakfast (Prepared by the missioners)

7:30am – Morning Prayer (led by the missioners)

8:00am – Work day begins

12:00pm – Lunch (prepared by the missioners)

1:00pm – Back to work!

4:00pm – work day is over

4:15pm – Holy Eucharist led by Fr. Rob Laws (St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Somerset Parish)

5:00pm – Missioners split up grocery list for dinner to divide and conquer in the grocery store.

5:30pm – Missioners prepare dinner together.

6:15pm – Dinner time.

7:00-10:00pm – Showers and Free Time (included crabbing / steaming and eating the crabs we caught, swimming in the bay, enjoying a campfire and more!)

10:00pm – Debriefing (Highs and Lows from the day and sermon preparation for Sunday)

11:00pm – Lights out!

In closing, here are a couple quotes from the week that really give you an idea of the impact our team made in Crisfield, MD.  The first is from Miss June (93 years old).  She came outside to find us taking a break in (not under but IN) her magnolia tree.  We came down from the tree to a grateful face.  She said, “I want you all to know that you have made my whole summer.  My place needed this attention so badly and you made it look so beautiful!” 

This one comes from Mr. Joe Pinto, director of Relief and Recovery for the Episcopal Diocese of Easton, MD.  While we were on the ferry to Smith Island, I was standing beside Joe at the front of the boat with most of our youth.  Joe was silent for a moment and then looked at me and said, “You know, Tommy, when I watch the way these kids work and interact with each other and others, I know that the future of this country is in good hands.” 

 
Thanks be to God.  Amen.