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| Following a call to serve: church group takes action |
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| News | |||
| Written by Brandon Steinert | |||
| Wednesday, 15 July 2009 07:00 | |||
 Residents of Southeast Kansas are in better situations, thanks to the help of missionaries from the Lighthouse Presbyterian Church in Paola.The church sent a group of members to the Pittsburg area after 100-mile-per-hour winds uprooted trees and damaged property. The group worked around the area from June 25 through June 27 — about six months after the storm, but they found plenty to do with the help of the Kansas United Methodist East Conference Disaster Team, which also housed the small missionary group at a local church. Once they found people in need of help, the missionaries were faced with work that ranged from repairs on roof and siding to chopping up and hauling away downed trees. Associate Pastor Brad Buescher said some members of the congregation had been wanting to go on a mission trip for several months and had plans to visit one of two tornado-stricken towns, Chapman or Greensburg, Kan. They decided to wait for a greater need when they found out that neither town needed much help. Congregation member Mark Peters was one of the leaders who helped organize the trip. He said he was satisfied with the turnout of 18 people. Peters said everybody enjoyed the trip and benefited from being outside their comfort zones. “It’s a real growth time,” Peters said. “It’s a great time for fellowship. It helps you get acquainted with people when you’re working in hard situations like that. It puts people in some awkward situations sometimes, and that’s what can be fun.” Heat was the primary challenge facing the missionaries. “It was nasty,” Peters said. The heat index reached about 110 degrees Fahrenheit, which was relieved by squirting each other with water and swimming when they had a chance. He said the trip was fun and beneficial to the group, but the main beneficiaries were those who received the help. Miller’s Pharmacy owner Steve Miller was part of the group. He said he was pleased with the overall representation of the congregation within the group, which was about one-third men, one-third women and one-third children. Miller helped repair siding on a house owned by a man who just had heart surgery and didn’t have the means to repair it himself or pay to have it repaired. “It was a pleasure to go and do something for somebody who couldn’t do it themselves,” he said. The following Lighthouse Presbyterian Church members went on the trip: Associate Pastor Brad Buescher, Youth Ministry Director Rachel Beth Smith, Mark Peters, Greg Ebeling, Steve Gronemyer, Delores Haines, Dave Dietrich and his daughter, Kelsey, Steve Miller, Becky McDowell, Brad and Kay Phipps and their two daughters, Emma and Sarah, Luke Buescher, Jerry McDowell, Lauren Frederick, Emily Freedock and Kayla Miller.
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