A Presbytery of Geneva Disaster Assistance Team (PDAT) composed of 18 volunteers representing the First Presbyterian Church of Williamson, Oaks Corners Presbyterian Church, Park Presbyterian Church of Newark, First Presbyterian Church of Geneva, Federated Church of Ovid, First Presbyterian church of Hornell, First Presbyterian Church of Pittsford, Jasper Methodist Church and First Presbyterian Church of Asheboro NC traveled to Kopperston, WV by car on Sunday, September 13th, and returned on Saturday, September 19th after a week of hard work. Team members included Fritz Aude – Geneva ; Charlie King- Stanley Maines, Oaks Corners; Ernie Day – Clifton Springs; Natalie Lemmon, Fran Guchone, Paul Salisbury – Newark; Jimmie and James Johnston, Jim Johnston Sr – Williamson; ; Bill Smith – Pittsford; Bill & Phyllis eterson – Hornell; Janet Lynch – Ovid; Garvin Button – Jasper; Sue Kirby / Pokey Harris – Ashboro, North Carolina. The team was housed in the church Christian Education Building provided by the First Presbyterian Church of Kopperston WV. Participants prepared their meals in the church kitchen located adjacent to the CE Building. The team’s mission work involved site clean-up and building a new home for 83 yr-old Emma Burks located in Lester, WV.

Trip Coordinator, Paul Salisbury, stated that Emma was staying with her two daughters while her new home was torn down and rebuilt. Emma daughters brought her each day to watch the work progress on her new home. Emma’s excitement grew each day as she saw her vision for a new home become real. Salisbury reported that the Mission Team was able to complete exterior walls, roofing, siding, electrical-water-sewer hook-ups, installation of windows and doors as well as completing all of the interior partitions. Additional volunteer mission teams are scheduled to completed work on Emma’s home. Harry Drake, site supervisor, indicated that Emma would be moving into her new home in the last week of October.

The Presbytery of Geneva has scheduled its next WV mission trip for April, 2010. PDAT assists people and churches in need as identified by The West Virginia Ministry of Advocacy and Workcamps (WVMAW), a Christian ministry supported in part by the Presbyterian Church (USA) and The Presbytery of WV. Salisbury, stated that the work trip provides the opportunity for discipleship by partnering with those in need whose lives have been devastated by natural disasters or by poverty in areas of West Virginia. Current statistics indicate that 31.9% of the WV population are below the poverty level.

Click here to download the PowerPoint from the Disaster Assistance/Mission Team.