Flint, Michigan. What do you think about when you hear those two words? Do you think about the water problem they are having? Do you think about how that would be a horrible situation if that had happened to you? Do you think about how you can help? Do you think about the almost 100,000 people of Flint that have to go through this situation every single day?
You might answer yes to all of these questions, but do you move forward with your thoughts? If you answered yes to all of the questions, then you thought about how you can help. But what do you actually do to help? What can you do? There are lots of ways that everyone can help.
On the weekend of Nov. 11, three Youth Groups from three different churches from three different denominations from the suburbs of Akron came together to carry through with their thoughts. Bethany United Church of Christ, Talmadge Lutheran Church, and Wedgewood United Methodist Church all came together on Friday, Nov. 11 and embarked on a life-changing weekend.
Arriving at Faith Lutheran Church at around 10:30 p.m. on Friday night, we hit the hay ready for an invigorating next day. The mission trip crew consisted of about 35 Youth and six Adults. This was a miraculous mission trip as we had all come from different backgrounds, did not know each other, and had different religious denominations and backgrounds.
Waking up at 6:45 a.m. on Saturday morning, we all dressed, ate breakfast, and then hit the road venturing into the City of Flint (The church we were staying out was right outside of Flint). As we entered the city, we could notice that they were in need of our help. The best thing was that we were all very eager and ready to start helping.
We arrived at Franklin Avenue Mission to be greeted by the personnel that worked there, all very eager to see us. The two women in charge, Marcy and Sue, gave us all a tour of the facility and telling us that this was a safe place for the people of Flint. Stock rooms full of clothing, personal health items, toys for children, and so much more.
But that's why we were there. We split up into about five teams and went to work. Two teams painted two classrooms. Another team went to work on cleaning the windows, doors, and anything else that needed it both inside and out. One team went outside and cleaned everything out of the garage, put up new shelving, and organized everything as they put it back. The last team stayed inside, took everything out of a huge closet, painted the room, and organized everything as well.
The teams had a fun time throwing things into the dumpster that the mission did not need anymore or could not use. We worked from 9-12 in our designated areas while also jamming out to some music. As we worked, there were other people from the nearby community that came over to help us as well as other volunteers at the mission because they care about the prosperity of the mission as well.
These people that we met had very unique backgrounds because each and every one of them had their own story to tell. One man that I met went by the name of Patrick or Pat. He was a veteran from the Air Force. We ended up talking about how he had come to being in Flint, after living in Northeast Ohio for 12 years. He told me that he was always trying to help out at different churches and different mission groups because he said "One thing about Flint that you learn quickly is that everyone helps out."
Vicki, one woman that came a little later in the day, was just a regular volunteer for the mission and she was telling me all about it.Her big heart was seen in everything that she did. We had a lot of fun running around together and trying to find little jobs to do together before we had to depart.
We worked until lunch was ready at noon. As we sat around the tables eating lunch, we discussed other projects that they want us to do. Eventually, lunch was over and it was time to start the second session of working. All of the teams went back to where they were working and finished their projects before they started the next ones.
One of the projects that was started after lunch was going through 21 big plastic containers full of books and organize them, decide which were in good conditions, and then sort them onto shelves. I was at this project and although it took the entire afternoon, it was a lot of fun. Now, every single kid that goes to the mission can go into their library and pick out a book to read.
As we kept working, we kept getting more and more tired. The very last project we helped with was the Sanctuary. Franklin Avenue Mission is placed in an old church. The Sanctuary is where they sort all of the items that are given to them. Clothing, Toiletries, Water, Toys, and so much more. What they needed help with was going through bags and figuring out where they went, then they had to figure out what to keep based on the appearance of the donated items.
There were so many other projects that we completed to help out Franklin Avenue Mission. Water was, of course, a main priority in this mission. Between three churches, we provided over 60 Gallons of water. They were overjoyed when we brought that with us.
Now that we have followed through with our thoughts, will you? There are many ways you can help. You can contact Franklin Avenue Mission by phone at 1-810-285-9598 or visit their website to make a monetary donation at franklinavemission.org
Donations are also accepted if you send them through the mail to:
Franklin Avenue Mission
2210 N. Franklin Avenue
Flint, MI, 48506
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