Moeller Pastoral Ministry ~ Georgia 2005 Mission Trip Thoughts

Thoughts on the Trip to Dodge County, GA
Summer 2005

Georgia Mission Trip......Incredible experience that will never be forgotten....
One of great service and great friendships. ~Nick Hoog

The Georgia Mission Trip was easily one of the best experiences I
have ever had. Service was performed, friendships were made
and Southern hospitality was thoroughly enjoyed. ~Matt McMasters

I thought that the mission trip was a good time to not only do something good for a community but also a good opportunity to bond with people you normally wouldn't be friends with. ~Mike Imhoff

Rough Outline of the Trip

Day 1: June 26, 2005. The Drive Down. The group of twenty-one Moeller seniors and three moderators met at Moeller at 7:15am. The students were divided into three vans, each driven by one of the three moderators. They departed the Moeller parking lot around 7:30am and headed south on I-75. As the group neared the Kentucky-Tennessee border, it stopped at a rest area for a break. While waiting for all of the members to return to the vans, the students took part in throwing a Frisbee and a football. The group piled back into the vans and continued down I-75. Just before the Tennessee-Georgia border, Bro. Roy was stricken with a severe leg cramp and had to pull off. The group used the stop to get refreshments and a short rest break. After Bro. Roy had relieved his leg cramp, the group got back on the road and traveled until it reached Georgia Route 16. The group stopped for gas at the first exit and then ate dinner at Pizza Hut. After dinner, the group got back on the road and drove until it reached the Dodge County Habitat Building. When the group arrived, it settled into their bunks and listened to the orientation speech delivered by Bro. Tom, the Executive Director of Dodge County Habitat for Humanity. After the orientation speech, the group went outside for some much-needed exercise. Most of the students participated in a game of Ultimate Frisbee, while some played football and others simply relaxed after a long day's journey. The end of the first day came and the group went to bed at around 11:00pm.

Day 2: June 27, 2005. The First Day of Work. The students woke up around 7:30am, ate breakfast and got dressed. At about 8:15am, the group loaded up into the vans and headed off to the work site. The work site was about three minutes away from the Habitat Building and branched off of the main road via a dirt road. The Dodge County Habitat for Humanity subdivision consisted of four houses, one of which was not sided. The subdivision bordered the local government housing on one side. When the students first arrived at the work site, they received their instructions for the day from Bro. Tom. The students divided up into four groups and set out upon their tasks. For the first day, there were four different groups performing four different jobs. One group worked on putting up pickets on the privacy fence located behind the main house. Another group worked on putting up siding on the side and putting the soffets up on the back of the house. One of the groups worked on digging holes for the fence posts and the other group worked on clearing the trees and brush in order to continue with progress on the privacy fence. The students worked until 12:30pm, when they broke for lunch. The students went back to the Habitat Building for lunch. Lunch all week consisted of sandwiches, chips, fruit and Gatorade. After eating lunch, the students went back to the work site and continued to work until 4:00pm. At this time, the students began to collect the tools and supplies and replace them in their appropriate places. The students then traveled back to the Habitat Building to take showers and prepare for dinner. After all of the students and moderators were ready, they departed for dinner. Dinner that night was at the house of one of the Dodge County Habitat for Humanity Board Members. At the house, the students enjoyed the luxury of a swimming pool, a pond and playing with Pit Bull puppies. Dinner was traditional southern food cooked the old-fashioned way. The students stayed at the house until 9:30pm and then headed back to the Habitat Building and went to bed around 11:30pm.

Day 3: June 28, 2005. The Second Day of Work. The second day of work panned out just about the same as the first. However, on the second day, the students changed positions and the jobs changed as well. On the second day, the jobs were as follows. Two groups worked on putting up siding and soffets. One group worked on digging post holes and the last group picketed the privacy fence. Like the previous day, the group returned to the Habitat Building for lunch. After lunch, the students returned to the work site and, again, worked until 4:00pm. The students cleaned up and headed back to the Habitat Building for showers. Dinner was brought to the Habitat Building by the same Board Member who opened up her house the previous night. Dinner consisted of sub sandwiches, chips, salads, fruit and soda. After dinner, the students got some time off to relax. Some of the students played cards. Some played Ultimate Frisbee and others just sat around, talked and enjoyed the break. Plans were made to take the next day in Savannah. However, weather was taken into account and if weather was forecasted to be better on Thursday than Wednesday, the trip would take place on Thursday. The students went to bed at around 12:00.

Day 4: June 29, 2005. The Third Day of Work. The third day of work was almost a carbon copy of the second. The stations and groups were divided the same except for a small group of three students who helped move equipment from a completed house to the house presently being worked on by the Moeller students. The group returned to the Habitat Building for lunch as they did the previous two days. They then returned to the work site and continued working until 4:30pm. The students then cleaned up and returned to the Habitat Building for dinner. After dinner, the students had time to relax before bed. Lights out on Day 4 was at midnight.

Day 5: June 30, 2005. The Day Off in Savannah. The day off began with the students waking up a bit later than the previous days. The trip to Savannah started at about 9:30am with the vans heading east on Route 16. The group arrived in Savannah close to noon and was given a driving tour of historic Savannah. After the driving tour of the city, the group stopped at a park and had lunch. After lunch, the group departed for nearby Tybee Beach-about a 30 minute drive from downtown Savannah. The group arrived at Tybee Beach at around 1:45pm and was given until 5:00pm to explore the beach. At around 5:00pm, the students were rounded up and the group went to dinner at a restaurant called Spanky's. After dinner, the students were given until 7:30pm to browse through the shops near the restaurant. At about 7:30pm, the group met on the main pier and gathered for a group picture. After the picture, the students got back into the vans and started the journey back to the Habitat Building. The group arrived back at the Habitat Building at around 10:00pm and lights out was shortly thereafter.

Day 6: July 1, 2005. The Last Day of Work. The last day of work was the most hectic of all of the days. There were no set groups and stations. The main moderators simply used students from all over trying to accomplish as much as possible in the last day. Lunch was taken, but was cut short, in order to give as much time to work as possible. After the work was completed on the last day, many pictures were taken and the results were tabulated. In all, when considering the privacy fence, the Moeller students put up 461 pickets of eight-foot-high fence! The students also boarded up more than six windows, sided three-and-one-half sides of a house, installed all of the soffets, cleared several hundred feet for further progress on the fence and successfully moved all of the equipment and supplies from the completed house to the house under construction. In all, the trip was extremely successful in terms of production. After work was completed, the students went back to the Habitat Building, had dinner and began to pack their things. Word was given that the group would leave extremely early the next morning.

Day 7: July 2, 2005. The Drive Back. The drive back to Cincinnati started just after 5:00am. Most of the students piled into the vans and immediately fell right back asleep. The group drove all the way until it reached Tennessee. The group stopped at a gas station and used the convenience store to eat breakfast. The group got back on the road and drove until it crossed into Kentucky. After the group stopped for lunch, it got back on the road and drove until it reached the Moeller parking lot. The group arrived back in the parking lot at about 3:00pm happy to be home after a hard week working in Georgia.