The Mission Trip to Avondale

Mason F.NHS

January 2010

Community Service and Leadership Description

• My community service project will be in the town of Avondale, Colorado serving the migrant farming community

• I will be working with the youth group from Our Lady of the Pines church

• My specific skills will be in the area of construction

• We will complete this project in one week by staying in Avondale and sleeping on the floor in the church

Supervisor Description

• We will be taking a group of youth from Our Lady of the Pines Catholic Church to serve the community of Avondale, Colorado over one week.

• The youth will have various tasks including bible study, games, science experiments, arts and crafts, and the work crew.

• Mason Fitts will be working on the work crew. The tasks will include repainting and leveling the play set, repainting and sealing the bathroom, fixing insulation on the ceiling, and fixing a leak on the roof.

• Cathy Kusman was our supervisor. She is the youth director at Our Lady of the Pines and has led this week long mission trip for several years.

Avondale, Colorado

• Avondale is located south and east of Pueblo Colorado

• The town is mainly Spanish speaking migrant farm workers

Our First Project

• The kids of the community needed their play structure leveled and painted

• The entire structure needed to be trued up (re-nailed and screwed) to make it safer for the kids.

Leveling and Cleaning

• This picture is some of the work crew. From left to right Jeff B., Brendan, Daniel, and Jeff S.

• We are starting to level the ground for the structure and cleaning out weeds.

The Finished Play set

• It’s all done!• We feel good

that the kids can safely play now without worry of it falling apart or tipping over

Repairing the Ceiling

• That is me on top of the ladder. Brendan is spotting me.

• I am fixing the insulation on the ceiling. It was a mess with gaps, holes and falling apart.

• The tape I am using is insulation tape that holds the insulation together so there are no gaps.

Up Close

• My arms and neck got tired fixing the ceiling.

• I was up on the ladder for several hours doing the repairs

• It was pretty nasty seeing all the bugs stuck in the insulation

My Buddy

• This is my buddy Jesus.• When we took a break to play games with the kids, Jesus was my

buddy.• He is 7 or 8 years old and speaks good English, although he really

doesn’t talk much.

The Bathroom

• The bathroom in the “center” was in major need of repair.

• We repainted and resealed around the shower and tub.

• The center is where families can come to get services, such as used clothing, food, baby items, and to just hang out.

The Kids

• This is a group of kids from the community that we helped for the week

• The picture is in the local church.• This was taken during mass when the kids performed a song they had

practiced all week.

Taking a Break

• This is the work crew: from left to right Brendan, Jeff S., Daniel, me, John. Missing is Jeff B.

Our Youth Group

• This is the entire youth group that participated for the week.• Everyone had a job to do during the days but we were able to have

fun with each other in the evening

Conclusion

• This was the second time I volunteered for the week long mission in Avondale. The first year I taught the kids science experiments. This year I was on the work crew.

• We worked hard but it was very rewarding. Our work crew put in about 50 hours total.

• I plan to go back again as a junior counselor next June to work on the work crew again.