Here's The Situation on the Jersey Shore...

I got to do some PDA on the Jersey Shore with Molly and Dan!  Look at my previous post if any of that sounds unusual.

Two years ago just two days before Halloween, hurricane Sandy met with a noreaster and took an unexpected turn west slamming into the barrier islands on the Jersey Shore.  The northern winds and storm surge literally cut through a barrier island and caused flooding on the shore and in the inlets and pretty far up some of the rivers.  The floods damaged thousands of homes in Ocean and Monmouth Counties.

Salt water permanently damaged cars, houses, businesses, roads, beaches like never before.  Flood water sent debris, sand, boats and everything far from its origins.  Thirty four people died in New Jersey, 117 total died in the US, and 69 in Canada and the Carribbean.  The flooding was so drastic officials re-structured the flood zones. It was almost as bad as Hurricaine Katrina in New Orleans in 2005.  In fact Sandy was larger in size than Katrina. Here is a little more about the storm.

PDA sent a national response team to Point Pleasant immediately after the storm.  FEMA, the Red Cross, and dozens of aid groups showed up to help.  In fact, truck loads of supplies were being shipped from across the country even before the storm touched ground.

Picture from CNN
 (http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/13/world/americas/hurricane-sandy-fast-facts/)

Just over a month after the storm, Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church opened the top floor of their annex building above the preschool to a scraggly group of do-gooders from central Pennsylvania who call themselves "Lend a Hand."  This group had sent volunteers and teams to rebuild from floods in Iowa, and to Katrina multiple times.   As the story goes (as I heard it)  Lend A Hand not only helped clean up several homes, but they gave the church lots of advice on how to host mission teams for this work.  For a few months early into 2013, Pt. Pleasant Pres. Church coordinated, hosted, and found work for dozens of other PDA mission teams in their "Volunteer Village."  They converted their great hall into a village by putting bunk beds in their 3 Sunday School classrooms and eventually building showers on the stage.  In spring of 2013 the PDA call center here at Ferncliff took over scheduling work teams and Point Pleasant focused their goal on hosting the volunteers.  Church volunteers helped coordinate work for visiting volunteers and established partnerships with Jersey Cares, and A Future With Hope (a United Methodist program much like PDA).  There are also 15 other hosting sites including churches and other facilities welcoming volunteer help and finding them work.  Watch this video for more info on the storm and the Church's response.

If you have a home damaged in new Jersey and you need assistance rebuilding. visit the Jersey Cares, or A Future with Hope website linked above or contact the Ocean County Long Term Recovery group:  http://oceancountyltrg.org/  (732) 569-3484, info@oceancityLTRG.org.  They will get you started to recover.  

Jumping ahead two years, On October 13, 2014 myself Dan and Molly walked into Point Pleasant Pres as volunteers eager to do some rebuilding.  PDA regional leader David Rauer drove us from Philidelphia and gave us the low down on the storm damage.  One big thing now is homeowners are being forced to raise their houses on pilings, stilts, or cinderblock to avoid higher insurance costs.  It's kind of crazy, one tiny double-wide was on 18ft of wooden stilts! Crazy!   Pastor Carl showed us around, as another volunteer team showed up.  We got to meet this group, Lend A Hand, and the lovely ladies of the church cooked us dinner.

The three of us YAVs just tagged along with Lend A Hand for the week.  I can't say we lended them a hand because they knew what they were doing.  PDA sent us up to Long Branch to help A Future With Hope finish a house for Russ and April.

Lend A Hand and YAV team with Russ and April front and Center
(picture from A Future With Hope Facebook)

Their house collapsed on 3 sides from the impact of the storm surge.  April was a first responder out helping people during the storm. Russ was at home.  When his generator went out he went to the basement to fix it.  Unsuccessful, he walked out of the basement to the outside as flood water rushed down the steps.  Within a few minutes of when he got out of the basement the house collapsed.  He barely missed being inside when it happened.  He grabbed his dogs and a backpack for him and his wife and swam to his car.  Russ and April along with family demolished the house in a week with 5 dumpster loads on their own, and have rebuilt from the ground up.  They have been living in a tiny RV outside their new construction for 2 years as volunteers have added to it a piece at a time.  The plan was for our group to finish it up and get Russ and April moved in.  That's the story.  They are great people, working alongside and around us the whole time.  Very grateful.  Very eager to get out of that RV as I could imagine.

I worked with Ron trimming windows.  It required more detail than I imagined, lots of measuring, re-measuring, cutting, measuring again.  Several times when I cut it twice and it was still too short.  We got creative and used some flooring pieces for the window sill to match the floor.

On the first day Dan and Molly helped Nelson install floor and pipe insulation in the crawlspace,  Bob the ice cream man ran the saw for everyone.  Leroy got his team putting in cement board and drywall in the bathroom.  Deb led a mudding crew in the back bathroom, while Bill, and Ken laid bamboo floor.  Jim was the foreman.  I didn't mention Denise, Pete, Doris, and Steve.  They were helping all over the place as needed.  These jobs changed as the week went on.  Some moved to hanging kitchen cabinets and appliances, installing a toilet, finishing doors and trim, and pouring cement for the front porch.

Everyone acting like we're working for the picture.
(picture from Lend A Hand facebook)

Molly finishing up Russ and April's kitchen
picture from Lend A Hand

We got so much done at that house they sent a team of five of us up to another house to sand and mud some dry wall.

Complete paint job after lots of sanding
and mudding at the other house

Pete sanding at the other house

Then on Friday they sent Bob, and me with Frank from Point Pleasant to help a lady whose floor had collapsed in a trailer.

Brief side note.  This lady was living with her 2 year old grandaughter in a trailer.  She used to live with her mother in a house that was completely destroyed by the storm.  Her mom got some money and bought this trailer to temporaily house her and the little kid.  She told us all about how hard it's been living there.  They had opossums take residence underneath the home and invade quite frequently.  She's spent over $600 a month on propane to heat the place, and she ran out of money last winter, stopped paying for heat and all the pipes froze and broke below.  We were there replacing a floor that had gotten wet in the girls room because of a leak off one of the hot water heaters.  That floor soaked up water like a sponge, got soft, and collapsed.  Bob, in between angry mumbles about how terrible the construction of a trailer is cut out the soggy floor, got a list of supplies together and sent Frank to the store.  We replaced it with plywood.  (that floor was held together by 1x2 boards.  The garden beds we made at Ferncliff, and even my make shift clothesline are more sturdy).  Before we left she told us all about the struggle with that trailer.  Frank is working on getting some church volunteers down to help her out, but PDA and the long term recovery group can't really do much because they are working with FEMA money which is strictly tied to storm-related damage.  Since that was a hot water heater leak it doesn't count.  That made me a little angry at the volunteer leader who told me that, help is help and I hope she gets it.  Please pray for Tracy.

We didn't get to see Russ and April move in but we got them pretty close.  I'm guessing they got in before the 2 year anniversary of the storm this week which would be awesome.

Other highlights of the week included gobs of cake (some for Dan's birthday, some not) Bob's homemade ice cream.  Digging past the Chinaman's house with Nelson, lunch on the beach, digging up an old glass medicine bottle I gave to Russ and April, watching Russ and April's expressions warm as such noticeable progress was made, watching April try so hard not to look inside until the supervisor got back, and hearing old stories from all the Lend A Hand folks.

This marked the 19th time Lend A Hand had sent a group to Point Pleasant since the storm.  They've almost been there every month the church was open.  I saw construction talent like I had never before.  It was like being on a professional crew, no tolerating mistakes, and only doing the tough detailed jobs.  These guys and ladies were great to work with and stay with.  How great it was.  Thank you Lend A Hand for babysitting me and the other YAVs in New Jersey!

Point Pleasant is closing for the winter, but will be back up and running in 2015.  Interested in helping make a difference by volunteering?  Call the PDA call center and sign up to visit and help today (866) 732-6121 callcenter@pcusa.org.  Eden and Cameron here at Ferncliff will answer and get you set up just like they did for us.  This site lists all Presbyterian churches hosting groups in New Jersey and New York just like Point Pleasant.  Lots of work still to do and they could use your help.  The Jersey Cares and A Future With Hope websites will have more opportunities to help.  People like Tracey, Russ, and April need your help.  And you should visit the Jersey Shore!!

That's what we did in between trips to the beach, walking on the boardwalk and buying pizza at Jenkins'.

That's the Situation on the Jersey Shore.

Dan's photo from lunch on his birthday on the Jersey Shore

Presbyterians love their PDA!

"No PDA" is something people have been saying since middle school.  It has something to do with refraining from groping with your significant other in front of everyone, but what's wrong with Public Displays of Affection?  Christians are supposed to show love in public, right?

Ok, so this article is not about PDA as far as kissing and holding hands, but another kind of PDA.  PDA is one thing the Presbyterians can  be proud of.  PDA may involve sleeping in a room with someone who snores.  PDA has blue "sweat-shop-free" T-shirts.   PDA values ministry of presence, self care, and personal narrative.   PDA is pretty darn awesome.

PDA is Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.

Image from PDA on Facebook

Image from Southern Comfort Mission and Ministry Team Facebook

What does that mean?  Well you may be familiar with "Presbyterian Disaster" at least if you've seen my friend Marcus and I together...

Presbyterian Disaster ASSISTANCE is providing care, love, and support to areas going through disasters.  This could be tornadoes, like those in northern and central Arkansas earlier this year, floods or hurricanes like Sandy, Katrina, Ike, etc. It may be other disastrous situations like all the migrant children crossing our boarder right now, or the Ebola virus outbreak. They are an area where Presbyterians are doing good in the world.  And it's sort of a Public Display of Affection.........well maybe more a public display of God's Love. The emphasis is on helping people through the struggle.  Not going in and preaching, or telling them "it's part of God's plan," but listening and holding their hand through it all in between acts of kindness such as cleaning up or rebuilding.

PDA volunteers set up shop in disaster areas alongside FEMA, American Red Cross, World Cares, the Salvation Army, and dozens of other relief organizations.  PDA organizes churches to host volunteer teams and connect them with work to be done rebuilding lives after disasters.  In most cases PDA stays longer than other groups because of the stable funding by the denomination.  We can be proud to say that PDA is still cleaning up from Hurricane Sandy among many others even though most aid organizations have moved elsewhere. But we can be angry, sad, and aware that our brothers and sisters are still suffering from damage from nearly ten years ago. Angry that PDA still needs to be there. Angry that there is injustice in recovery.  Angry that those who cannot afford insurance have a harder time recovering physically and emotionally.  Angry that race, economics, and social barriers unequally hinder people from recovering.

As of October 27, 2014 PDA is currently responding to disaster in the following states.
Arizona      (border crisis and helping migrants in distress in the desert),
Arkansas (tornadoes in spring 2014) and Ferncliff Disaster Assistance Center
Washington state      (mudsilde March 2014), Colorado (flood Sept. 2013),  Also working on training Presbyterian Camps and Conference centers to respond to school violence across the nation.
California      (earthquake),
North Dakota      (Spirit Lake Sioux Reservation),
Illinois and Oklahoma      (tornadoes),
Missouri      (Joplin tornado May 2011 and Ferguson shooting),
Louisiana      (helping 2005 hurricane survivors rebuild and return home),
Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Alabama      (various wildfires, hail, floods and tornadoes),
New York, New Jersey, Coinnecticut, and West Virginia,      (Superstorm Sandy, Oct. 2012),
South Carolina      (Feb. 2014 ice storm)
Tennessee      (home repair 2010 flood)
Mississippi      (April 2014 tornadoes and June 2014 hail, flood, wildfire damage)
Florida      (spring 2014 flooding in panhandle and June 2014 hail, flood, wildfires)
West Virginia, (flood recovery and other projects)
Maryland      (home repairs with NAILS ministry)

There is also PDA going on in the Philippines (Typhoon Haiyan), South Sudan, Afghanistan, Gaza, Iraq, , Ebola Crisis,  China (Earthquake August 2014),and  Syria (refugees of violence).  And given current events PDA is even working on Voilence across the US, and the Unaccompanied children and the border crisis, Visit pda.pcusa.org to learn more about each situation.

Here are pictures of a college spring break group I joined in Nashville that did some PDA a year after the 2010 flood in Nashville. (you may have forgotten the flood which was swallowed in the press by the BP oil debacle in the Gulf soon after).  Three nostalgic cheers  to Goo Goo Clusters, and the good times with Alicia, Tedd, Danielle, Michelle, Kathleen and Pastor Kerry!

My good buddy Tedd and I trimming bushes in a field full of flood debris

This deck was washed from the house into a guy's yard during flooding.
Several PDA teams--30 people total-- picked it up and put it back in place.

JMU Campus Ministry PDA team helping Mr. Glenn clean up
his outdoor cookhouse from flood damage a year after the flood.

JMU Spring break volunteers cooking supper for PDA volunteers

Sound like a good idea? Maybe you want to get involved with your church, your family, your bridge club, your college club, or neighborhood group.  Check out this page for ways to get involved.  You can make an impact for so many, and you can see some places you may not otherwise.  Pray, stay informed, assemble kits, volunteer, or give money.

Outside of sending volunteers, PDA works with Church World Service to get volunteers to buy and donate kits or care packages to send to disaster areas, or even school kits, baby kits, and hygiene kits to send overseas regardless of natural disasters.  You, your church, your garden club, your sports team, or whoever can make and send kits to disasters.  Mail them to us at camp Ferncliff in Arkansas or to Church World Service in Maryland where they are stored in warehouses.  If you send it here my fellow YAV Dan will make sure it gets stored properly and sent out when needed.  They will be sent out whenever disaster strikes or there is need.  Follow these links for information on what supplies to buy and where to send them. http://pda.pcusa.org/page/kits/ and  http://pda.pcusa.org/page/act/

 

Photo of disaster kits by Kathy Broyard, PDA NRT.
Retrieved from pda.pcusa.org/page/kits.

Dan (at end of the table) helping the youth group at Second Pres. Little Rock inspect and prepare for shipping kits made and shipped here to Ferncliff by churches and community groups across the US. Photo from Second Pres LR Facebook page

I recently did some PDA with Dan and Molly on the Jersey Shore and New York City.  I will post more on the work and journey there in the coming days.   Please stay tuned.

Have you done PDA or other disaster response?  When, where, why? Please comment below.

Solar School

Solar Under the Sun trains people how to install solar electric systems to power lights, water filtration and basic needs in developing countries.

I first learned about Solar Under the Sun or SUTS at General Assembly in Detroit just a few months ago.  They had a booth there giving out flyers and brochures.  I asked them about it because it's a curious name.

Solar Under the Sun Director Chris McRae (left)
with General Assembly moderator Heath Rada (right)
Picture from SUTS facebook page:  

Named as a ministry of the Synod of the Sun, they spun off of Living Waters for the World (LWW).  LWW has designs for low cost water filtration systems and trains interested missionaries how to coordinate tirps, design and install the systems to bring clean water to places they visit on mission trips.  Their systems use UV lights, reverse osmosis, or ozone injection along with a DC pump.  They are effective and relatively inexpensive, but require electricity.  Some places they wanted to install systems didn't have reliable access to the electric grid and looked for alternative electricity sources.

Thus SUTS was born to provide small scale photovoltaic (solar electric) systems primarily to power LWW water filtration, or it can be more versatile and power lights and computers at a school or cellphone charging stations to serve larger community needs.  They emphasize how important light is for education encouraging kids to keep reading and doing their homework after dark.  Consider this story about kids in Guinea flocking to public parking lots to read because that's where the light is.  What if Christians put lights in churches so kids could flock to churches to read?  see the idea?

Young Guineans, without access to electricity, study under carpark lights at G'bessi airport in Conakry, Guinea. Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP.  Image retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/mar/07/energy-poverty-deprives-billion-adequate-healthcare. 

It's really quite impressive.  They started in Haiti a year before the earthquake and have since installed over 50 solar operating stations there and have built several in Hondourus, Kenya, El Salvador, and a few others.  Trips are sponsored by different Churches and non-profits in the US who send funds and volunteers.  Some funding churches have maintained close relationships over the years, others haven't.  They have a story of one place in Haiti that the night they finished the system the power went out in the village, but the church they'd just wired had battery power and turned on the lights in the church.  It was a beacon on a hilltop and the people came from all around to be in the light at the church.

Solar School is the training for mission teams to build SUTS power systems.  Solar School is done at Camp Ferncliff where I live so I got to take it for free.  Thank you YAV, SUTS, Ferncliff, and Jesus.

They offer two courses;  Solar 1 which is most important as it teaches the theme of the work and Solar 2 that teaches all the technical intricacies on how to actually wire the system correctly.  Both are important, but Solar 1 is essential if you ask me.  Solar 1 graduates learn how to organize a survey trip, establish long term relationships with people in villages, truly understand the need for electricity and determine if solar is appropriate.  They look for places to buy electronic equipment in the country where the build will take place and coordinate with the partners there to set up long term plans for maintaining the system.  Solar 2 folks oversee the wiring, battery installation and maintenance so that it works without explosions or fires.

Click here to learn more about the next Solar School to take place in May 2015 here at Ferncliff.

I really enjoyed taking Solar 2 it took me back to Mr. Jenkin's 11th grade electric shop learning the different wire sizes, grounding practices, panel boxes, it was great, but I wish I could take Solar 1 to get more of the context and cultural appropriateness.

Participants of the 11th Solar School (I'm in the back left corner)

The big idea here is to teach you not to just come in for a week, put up solar panels take a picture with some native smiling children, and fly back home to your high energy air-conditioned home to feel good about yourself.  That's not the point.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS.  That's the point.  You want to grow in faith and in partnership with other people in the world.  You want to sit with them. Talk with them.  Understand on the deepest level possible what life is like for them in their world and society.  And then help in whatever way you can if that means installing a solar array and battery storage then good thing you went to Solar School.  If they need clean drinking water hopefully you took LWW's Clean Water University.  If that means just coming home and telling people what life is like there do that.  If it means changing some spending habits do that.  If it means bringing a friend to visit them next year do that.

Don't go in with a solution and force it on another culture, country, village, or family until you know them.

I think SUTS could emphasize that a little more honestly, but I am impressed with them putting relationships first.  Solar panels won't solve all our problems, but they can solve a few. I come from the engineering background that has me wanting to build something to help people, and I met a lot of folks this week who just want to go somewhere and put in panels.  I've been learning for a long time and especially this week how much more sustainable, and loving it is to pay attention to that personal relationship and build that up.

Jesus didn't give us a solution to Sin until he lived with us, and shared in our joys and pains for a little while perhaps we can bring a little more empathy and compassion along on our mission trips.  And through Solar School we can bring solar energy as well.

Challenge:  this week focus on building a relationship with someone you know.

Video retrieved from www.solarunderthesun.org 

Solar Under the Sun Promo from Claire Sparks onVimeo.

What do we do at Ferncliff?

The last week of August I moved to Ferncliff.  I live with Dan and Molly in a beautiful house on the southern end of Ferncliff's campus.  Ferncliff is located about 6 miles west of Little Rock in the woods. 

Dan, Molly, and I (The Little Rock YAVs)

We are definitely in the woods.  There are lots of tress: sweet gum, black gum, pin oak, other oaks, mimosa, maples.  Lots of insects, insects that bite. Chiggers, ticks, mosquitoes-all have already bitten me in places I wish they hadn't.  I need to watch out for the snakes and spiders. There are several venomous varieties I'm not familiar with.

This camp does a lot.  Where should I start?  The beginning of this webinar explains a lot about Ferncliff in their emphasis on caring for God's creation and God's people.

Lets start with summer camp at Ferncliff: 

During the summer they do all kinds of theme camps for kids in late elementary to high school including family camp (kids bring their parents to avoid homesickness), Night owl, yoga camp, weird science, forest and stream, day camps and much more.  They have training camps for kids seeking to be councelors.  Here's a video from last summer.

In the adventure section of camp there are tree houses and log cabins for folks to sleep in if they are too scared to camp outside.  There is a working vegetable garden with goats, and chickens.  Molly's Job is to get the garden scaled up.  The largest straw bale-insulated building in the country is also there-I'll be working with some energy projects there.  I imagine kids get an amazing experience trekking through that side of camp. I know I did!

Tree Houses with a fire pole exit

The Eco-Center (my main workplace for the year)

Ferncliff offers transportation to the day camps and "Camp to you" where staff visits your church or school for a day of camp activities.  Learn more about specific camps at http://www.ferncliff.org/programs/summer-camp/. 

My favorite are Ferncliff's special outreach camps:

Camp Alex- for children and youth affected by suicide.  (Given my hesitancy to do another YAV year because I wanted some time to be with family after Gus' suicide I felt it a sign from above this camp shared my name.) 
Aim-Hi- for hearing impaired youth
Our House- day programs for youth participating in Our House summer programs
Camp Noah-for children affected by recent tornadoes
Family Matters- for siblings separated by foster care (in partnership with First Pres Ft. Smith, DHS and Ferncliff)

They also host school groups affected by voilence and school shootings.  The Labyrinth in front of the chapel was built by students from Jonesboro Westside, Columbine, Paducah, Bosnia and several other sites affected by school violence.  There are rocks from all these places.  It is powerful being in that space.

   A lot of healing happens here.

One small part of the year is for the three of us to explore how camp can be used as a tool for churches to engage the world in mission.  From what I see just moving in, Ferncliff does an excellent job reaching out to kids if it's exposing them to nature for the first time, being the first place they can pet a goat, and pick fresh mint, or see a straw bale house.  Or maybe it's providing a scenic environment surrounded by other kids suffering from a similar hardship as they are and fostering a sacred space for healing.  I ask myself how can I serve the world with what I have, and I think I will learn a lot from this place this year.

What camps did you go to as a kid?  What is one adventure or healing moment you had? leave a comment below.

May all the camps we visit bring adventure, healing, and the Love of God to all who enter. 



Thanks for reading about my YAV year.  Please consider supporting me this year by praying for me, sharing this blog with others, or sending money to support the program to cover my living expenses.  I still need to raise about $2,000.  A gift of any size, large or small will be greatly appreciated.  If you'd like to give, please make checks payable to Ferncliff with "YAV Alex" in the memo line and mail to:

Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center
1720 Ferncliff Road
Little Rock, AR 72223

This is also my mailing address for the year. 

I Found Ferncliff

Hello, you lovely individual!

I'm Alex Haney of Millboro, Virginia.

At the end of August 2014 I will begin a year of service with the Presbyterian Church's Young Adult Volunteer Program at Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center in Little Rock, Arkansas.  I don't fully know all the work and projects I'll have yet, but they all will involve ministry, some also with solar energy, camp food, straw bale buildings, farm animals, and sustainability.

On this blog you can read about my adventures at Ferncliff for sustainability in a Christian context.  I hope to further understand the relationship between Jesus Christ and sustainability and share my insights here. I welcome your thoughts in the conversation. Feel free to post questions, comments, notes of support or whatever here on this site.

I am currently (before August 2014) serving as a Young Adult Volunteer in Boston working on food justice with the Presbyterian Church in Burlington and the Boston Faith & Justice Network.  I'm learning a lot, connecting local farms to churches, and helping Christians understand the impacts of their economic choices on our neighbors and the environment.  I teach church kids about local food and simple living for the sake of generosity.  Please read about this work and adventures in Boston on my Boston blog.

In college I studied Energy, Environmental Management, and Mathematics, with a side love affair with Botany/Plantcraft and ever since a mission trip to Mexico when I was 16 I've been trying to connect my love of math, science, and nature with my faith.  My time in Boston has really shown me through the discipline of simplicity, economic discipleship, and food justice, these things easily fit with God's desire for justice in the world.  God wants us to care about the earth and the people on it.  I'm surprised I didn't see it before.

Please pray for me and my other YAV companions.    If you feel so inclined, I need to raise over $3,000 to feed myself this year at Ferncliff and I'd appreciate your support.  If you send a donation I will send you a personal thank you note, and either a homemade bar of soap or I'll teach you a soapmaking lesson.

Make checks payable to Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center with "Alex Haney YAV" in the memo line (or you could send it for Molly or David my fellow Ferncliff-ers) and mail to

Ferncliff Camp and Conference Center
1720 Ferncliff Road
Little Rock Arkansas 72223

You may also give to the Little Rock YAV program online at http://www.presbyterianmission.org/donate/E051479/.

I look forward to another year of partnership with you in God's mission. Thanks for your support! Thanks for reading--that's a world of support already!

Blessings,
Alex