| INNER CITY ORLANDO MISSION'S TRIP UPDATE
On July 26th, HOPE sent 42 adults and high-school students to minister and serve in Inner City Orlando, Florida. While in Orlando, we are working with Christian Enterprises,
a local organization which serves the needs of local children and families by working in projects such as roofing, working with a local soup kitchen, painting, working with kids, and so much more.
PICTURES
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AND NOW ON TO THE RUNNING BLOG...
Friday, August 1st...
10:44pm by Jen Haskell
We served the Lord and each other so much this week and we all definitely grew so much in our faith. My favorite part was seeing all of the kids at the dream center on Tuesday and more young kids on Friday. God really blessed us this week and I hope that one day you get to have the same experience. <3
5:01pm by Kelsey Crews
We all have been working really, really hard this week. Today, we split into different teams. Being on team 3 most of the week, at Janine's house, today was a pretty big change. The reamining teams headed over to Frontline Outreach. Frontline is a place much like the Dream Center, it is a safe haven for inner city kids.  They promote leadership skills and the Christian faith. When we got there, Jim Green explained more about the ministry. Then the kids entered the room. Jim explained to them what we would be doing this morning. Instantly, a little girl caught my eye, she was small with very pretty little baretts. She had so much energy that she just wanted to tell Jim all about herself. When Jim released us to connect with the kids, I rushed over to her. She introduced herself as Ziaya. From this point on she was attached to my hip. We played loads of games with the kids such as, "Chariot Race" (put the kids on a blanket, have 4 teens take a corner, and PULL!). We all had so so much fun! All through this time Ziaya did not leave my side. Jim sat us all down with the kids and told them a little about God and how much He loves them. The the time came for us to leave. Ziaya gave me huge bear hug and went back to her class. Jim then told us a little about what their lives are really like everyday. They live with murders, rapes, and other acts of violence EVERYDAY! It just blew my mind that they have to deal with things that all the time when we cannot deal with for a week. After being at Frontline, we headed over to Janine's house and I pulled weeds and helped clean up the backyard. Dave then showed up with Sonic... Cherry Limeades. Then the infamous Florida rain started. After lunch we went back to the Dream Center to do some last minute cleaning and I swept water out the door. Well, that's about all we did today. We have all had an AMAZING week!
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Thursday, July 31st...
10:15pm by Bionca Davis
Throughout the week each team has worked really hard. The days got hotter and longer but people didn't stop working. Today teams 1 and 2 worked at the  Christian Service Center to help clean out their garage. A few girls split up to organize a bunch of clothes and the rest of the group stayed working outside to empty the garage and then replace everything in an organized manner. After working for three hours, we went into the Daily Bread, which is a soup kitchen for the homeless. The teams did a great job interacting with these people and put smiles on their faces. It may have been hard to handle because we are not used to seeing this but we hung in there. After they closed the doors for the soup kitchen, we had a chance to eat. Now team members recognized how much just a single meal actually means after seeing all the these people's reactions. Later on we had our prayer meeting we went over questions over the passages we read earlier this morning, sang songs, and gave out beads to people that touched us the most for the day. I gave Dave a red leadership bead tonight because although I couldn't even screw in one bolt in the beginning, he gave me all his patience until I got it right. By the end I was basically a pro at building shelves and he really set a great example for our team. It is almost our last work day and tomorrow is gonna be great to play with the little kids again. I can't wait to see how much more happiness is spread through these children's faces.
10:05pm by Amanda Braddock
Today I worked at Janine's house TRYING to finish the roof before the rain came. It seemed that for the majority of the day we were in the "eye of the storm." As we approached the final section of the roof and began spreading the goopy tar-like substance on the edges of the roof, we felt the first drop of rain and a sense of urgency spread throughout the entire worksite.  The consistant attitude found throughout the worksite was one of "I'm not leaving until this roof is DONE!" We got about a quarter of the way through shingling the last section when Polywog said we had to get off the roof and leave. Everyone was really upset but it was ok because we are going back tomorrow and finishing that roof no matter what it takes. The highlights of my day were that I was a girl using power tools (like the nail gun and the chainsaw =]) and that I was a member of TEAM E.J. Matt, E.J., and I BEASTED the big back part of the roof and finished so much because we got into a rhythm and worked as a super team. Overall, the days have been getting a lot more fun and i am becoming a lot closer with everyone. This mission trip is pretty awesome!
5:44pm by Ally Overton as transcribed by Amanda Roma
 YO what it do! Mad props to Kyle on that intro... i love it! Ally O. here with my girls and we just got back from our worksite at Janine's house. Today "Team Shingle" totally beasted. We shingled almost the ENTIRE roof in about two hours and we would've finished if Polywog (Paul our team leader) and the rain hadn't crashed the party. Team Shingle performed an amazing assembly line and worked like a "well oiled machine". Big Bob and EJ came to help us too thus team EJ began. The only time we stopped was to "shank" the sunroof. Officially the best work day ever! Ally and her girls.....out.
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Wednesday, July 30th...
2:55pm by Kyle Biemiller (with help from Matt Maressa, Parker Hall and Josh Bills)
YO what it do! K Miller here with my crew! Today at our work sites we tore it up! We finished super duper quick and got out of there before the rain got there. Right now we're waiting to get wet and wild AT Wet and Wild!! We actually called wet and wild and talked to one of their great employees about the rides and they have this OUTRAGEOUS ride called "The Black Hole" and it looks pretty intense. It's pitch black and 3-D and you see crazy lights its gonna be righteousssss. This trip has been a-mazing. Last night we had Chick-Fil-A sandwiches and ice cream sundaes and they were absolutely delish if i do say so myself. Also last night we went to the dream center and got to dance with the kids and it was intense we were shreddin' to Baby J "Reppin' JC" all day. Alright were outieee, share the love<3.
Translation by Dave Falcone
Hi! My name is Kyle and I am here with my friends! Today at our work sites, we really worked hard! We finished earlier than expected and left before the rain arrived. Currently, we are waiting to go to Wet and Wild! We called the park to inquire about one of the more recent rides, "the Black Hole". An employee confirmed our suspicions. It is a dark and 3-D ride. It should be quite exhilarating. This trip has been very good. Last night ate Chick-Fil-A sandwiches and ice cream sundaes. They were very tasteful. We spent last evening at the dream center where we danced with the local boys and girls. It was very tiring. We were dancing to a local performer, Baby J, who was singing a song, "Reppin' JC". Alright we are finishing our blog and leaving. We love you all. <3
2:46pm by Julia Koerwer
Heyyyyy. Team Bob (pieces of Teams 1 and 2 who broke off to work on a third work site, lead by the two Bobs in our group) was totally awesome today. We hung dry wall and spackled for this entire office space thing, which we built yesterday. It was exhausting, hot, and messy, but it was cool to see how much we could accomplish in such a short period of time. I got to use a screw gun, which is always fun. (Seriously, if you've never used a screw gun, go buy yourself one right now. It'll provide hours of amusement.) So now we only have two more layers of spackling to do. I'm sure that won't get tedious at all. We've been working with a family from Indiana who is here to help out just like we are, and they have been so useful to have around; the father, Eric, is a carpenter, and he had the answers to all our questions. They are heading out today, but luckily, we still have Big Bob and Lil' Bob to help us out for the rest of the week. That's all for now. Ciao!
2:34pm by Shannon Wilson
Hi everyone! Today was such an awesome day at Janine's house. We started off by securing the tar paper on the house. After we completed that, most of us headed down and started cleaning up around the house. Janine has the cutest garden spaces set up, but unfortunately no flowers were growing because of dry soil and weeds. So as a team we decided to plant some flowers and shrubs in the flower beds as a nice surprise for Janine when she gets home. The end result was so awesome!! The rain chased us out before she got home, so we didn't get to see her reaction, but  we're hoping she loves it just as much as we do! Some members of the team that were working at the Dream Center came over and joined us in the afternoon, so by the time we left, the roof was ready to shingle and the yard looked amazing. I can't wait to head back tomorrow!
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Tuesday, July 29th...
2:59pm by Amanda Roma
 Hey Everyone! Today my team and I roofed at Janine's house. It was hot and tiring but most of all, it was fun. We worked at least twice the pace because by now, we are professionals at the roofing business. We were able to de-shingle the house and clear the roof of all the thousands of nails before the rain. Everyday the rain shows up at almost the exact same time. After being so hot and sweaty and disgusting, the rain feels amazing. Then today, once the rain was coming down, we realized we had only one van. We then crammed into the vans and headed back to the hotel. That was one of the longest, hottest car rides ever. This trip has been so much fun so far and i bet it can only get better.
2:49pm by Caitlin and Bette Maressa (interviewing each other)
Caitlin: Today we roofed at Janine's house and we had a lot of fun. This has been a really fun experience.
Bette: We were at the Dream Center, which is led by Pastor Paul Benjamin who has a great passion for the poorest of the poor in Sanford.
Caitlin: Mom, what did you guys do?
Bette: So glad you asked Cait! We were on a tin roof laying strips of woven polyester and a goopy-sticky substance that sealed the strips (and ourselves). It was HOT and I have NEVER been so sweaty and disgusting in my life. What did you do Cait?
Caitlin: I used a crowbar and hammer to pry out staples and nails in the roof. I nailed down the tar paper. It was a lot of fun... and my first time roofing. Look at my  legs... well you can't really see, but they are pretty disgusting. Did anything unusual happen at your site?
Bette: Guess what your nudge-of-a-brother did today?
Caitlin: What?
Bette: He put his lunch in our cooler (rather than the cooler at his site) and so we ate his lunch.
2:30pm by Mike Mento
Today has been the best day of the trip so far and the day isn't even over yet. Team three and four ripped through the second half of Janine's roof in half the time spent on the first half. Through hard work and plenty of team  work, we tore off the shingles, tore off the felt and ripped up the nails. Before the rain came we were able to re-felt half of what we ripped up today and we finished it off with tarps. The rain poured as we all laid on a huge tarp to hold it down until myself and others threw packs of shingles on top of it to hold it down. God gave me the strength and speed to man-handle the shingles all over the roof. In all honesty, I never new how much strength God has bestowed upon me. On the down side, I never realized how much He could make me sweat, Ii guess you can't win them all. I have been blessed with the ability to work with numerous members of the youth team who I previously didn't have a relationship with and who I now find to be great friends. Such as Matt Maressa who is now with me, the "Twig Tacklers" for bundling up tree branches and get them to the curb. Amanda Roma, an upcoming freshman in high school, proved to be a huge help and teammate while her and I tore up a huge part of the shingles and felt today. I look forward to tonight and the rest of the trip in which I can grow closer to God and my teammates all while serving the Lord.
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Monday, July 28th...
4:45pm by Rob Hand
Wow, so much happened today. Where to start? This morning teams three and four went to Janine's (a local) house to rip off and put on brand new  shingles on her roof. We knew it was hard work, but we had no idea what we were in for. Right off the bat, we set the ladders and carried the tools up on to the roof. A carpenter named Paul told us what needed to be done and how to do it. I had no clue how easy of a job it was to pull off the old ones...who am i kidding? It took most of the morning to rip off the old ones and scrape off the tar paper. It was so hot up there. Sweat poured off of us. Jackie Falcone put Ally Overton in charge of bugging us to take a drink. She was very good at it... almost as if it was a natural talent. We pulled out all the nails and staples by 1:30 and then had to repair the roof and nail down the boards because the old nails were in bad shape. I had the chance to operate the nail gun. From there the rest of the group had to wait until I finished so we could put down the new tar sheet. As soon as we put down the first two sheets, the sky opened up. It was then a mad scramble to cover up the rest of the roof before it warped. We finished just as the storm hit its hardest. We carried everything down and hid in the garage and under the porch. Jim Spindler told the girls to get in the vans and head back while the guys finished up. We were soaked to the bone. A new pair of clothes sounded very nice. Well we have a lot planned for the night so I better get going.
4:33pm by Megan Mento
 Hi everybody!! Well today we went to the Dream Center, Jim Green describes it as being in the middle of "the hood". That's a pretty good description. There are a lot of run down homes in the area and children with rough lives. The mission's trip this year is a lot more difficult than last year because the children are not as thankful that we are here. For example, a boy about ten years old pulled everything out o f the dumpster that we were filling up and proceeded to throw a brick at me when i told him he had to leave. It was hard for me to be excited about building a recreational center for a child who was so ungrateful. Then it hit me that he acted that way because that's all he knows. Hopefully the Dream Center will provide him a stable place to hang out with good role models that will be able to teach him how to respect people and be kind. I really am thankful that God provided me with good parents and a nice church family.
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Sunday, July 27th... (Happy Birthday Maggie!!!)
6:22pm by Maggie Reilly 
Holaaaa! Today is my birthday and, honestly, I thought I was going to be miserable all day because I already miss New Jersey. I couldn't have been more wrong. The day didn't start out too well, though. I woke up late, had to rush and eat breakfast, and then was five minutes late to the vans (oops). I also forgot the "happy birthday" banner that Tara hung on my hotel room door. As the day went on, however, my smile got bigger. I got a birthday card before breakfast, which was signed by everyone here on the mission trip. I carried it in my pocket all day. :) The first van I rode in was driven by Piotr (we just call him Pete), who made everyone in the van sing happy birthday to me every ten minutes... for two hours. It was awesome! It is very exciting turning seventeen and I'm extremely happy to be sharing such a special day with such amazing people. The van ride might have been long (and not to mention I slept on the floor!), but it was totally worth it. Orlando is beautiful and I am so happy to be here.
6:03pm by Jeremy Spindler
Ok. We stayed up till the wee hours of the last night, hoping we could sleep in the vans. Morning came, we had a great breakfast and for the second day we piled into the vans. We started off doing our QT (quiet time/quality time) for the first 45 minutes. I don't know about other vans, but my van was as quiet as anything. It was so peaceful. Well, quiet time ended and we were free to talk. I had hoped we would be able to "catch up on sleep" from the night before but I didn't have any luck. We stopped for gas, switched up the vans and headed back to the tar. Later, we stopped for lunch at Dave's favorite  place, Cracker Barrel. It was great to get out of the van and actually eat real food. We enjoyed our meal and the amazing Georgia humidity. We piled back into the vans and headed for our destination. We finally got here at about 3:45, got our room assignments, and hit the pool. We had almost our entire group in the pool. After great times in the pool I finally got out and we are now waiting for our amazing dinner of pizza.
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Saturday, July 26th...
5:15pm by Tara Overton
It's really hard to get up a 4:30 in the morning, but even harder to go back to  sleep when you are as excited as I am to go. Of course, everybody fell asleep at some point during the ride, whether they wanted to or not. Back to the vans tomorrow morning, even though some of us are very much sick of riding in them... not literally. But we are all very excited for this week... at least I am.
4:36pm by Dave Falcone
It was 5:30am, yup we met at the church at 5:30am! Hope's Men's Ministry surprised us with donuts, coffee, and juice. They are awesome!!! After some final seat jockeying, we pulled out of the church parking lot at 5:59am, 1 minute behind our projected departure time.
It was a long drive, but we made it. Some highlights... everyone napped in the vans most of the way, we ate slop at McDonalds, and pigged out in the car on some snacks...
We arrived safely in Florence, South Carolina at around 3:30pm, this afternoon. We are planning on eating at Cracker Barrel in about 2 hours. I am really looking forward to some sweet tea and biscuits with sausage gravy!!! Then back to the hotel for a good night sleep.
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