-Jessica Phillips

Kelly Norris, rising Senior
My week so far has been crazy awesome! I meant to do a blog yesterday night, as that was one fantastic day. But, by the time I got around to that, it was almost midnight, so I didn’t have time. So now, I’m finally blogging! This year, instead of normal small group, I am participating in the Jeremiah Project. It’s a new and different experience mainly because all of the members of this group spend a lot of time participating in worship. This will be my fourth year at Montreat, but I don’t think I’ve ever realized how much effort and teamwork is poured into every single keynote and worship service. Now I have had a taste of it. Since Monday, I have been in a keynote skit, talked about spiritual practices in keynote, read a liturgy, and been in a worship processional and a body prayer of confession. Yesterday, I got to sit on the front and center row at worship. The sermon was even better from up there. (It was great already.) Tonight I was sitting in the very back. I have to show up early for worship and keynote. Everything is somewhat hectic, but it’s so new and so interesting. And today is only Wednesday….crazy. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the week brings!

-Kelly Norris

Sam cooper rising junior
Whats up clemmons??!! I am here at the beautiful and very humid montreat!! Everything is got off to a great start and we are reallly starting to get into the theme. Todays topic in keynote was temptation. We talked about its meaning and how it can be good and bad. Our keynoter is extremely good and everyone seems to like him. Another plus to this years conference is small groups. Everyone seems to have a really strong and close small group. While i sit here typing my blog my new friend also jays nephew allister is keeping me company. Gooth loves when he visits because we claim this hyper 5 year old our little “gooth pet”. He keeps us full of laughs and energy. Our time here is helping us grow stronger as christians and also as a family. Teller cooking is better than ever and it seems the rain is wanting to stay at montreat just as much as we do. Well as usual craziness ensues the house and i must go see,
See you all when we return!!! Much love
Sam. P.s…..HEY DADDY!!!

Rachael weber & catherine hardy both rising seniors
Catherine here… many if you probably don’t know me, but I’ve heard sarah hoyle and rachael raving about Montreat for two years now, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Let me just say, Montreat has exceeded my expectations! The atmosphere has been wonderful, and I love my small group. Oh, and the food has been AMAZING. Being new to “Teller food”, I had no idea of the deliciousness in store. I can’t wait to see what the rest of the week has in store.

Hello all, rachael speaking now. This is my fourth year at Montreat and its just as good this year as it has been before. I’m absolutely loving doing the energizers at keynote in the mornings. This has been quite a shock to everyone here with me because i used to dread that part of the day. Teller food has been delicious as always. Ive still been able to enjoy it fully even though I’ve recently made the choice to be a vegetarian. Last night we made pudding pops! We took candy and pudding and put it in a dixie cup then put a pretzel in as the stick then froze them. They were freakin delicious! Today i decided i wanted another one and I was really enjoying it but i dropped it on the porch that was definitely the low of my week. I am having bunches and bunches of fun and cant wait for the rest of the week!!!

love,
Sara morris

Sam Bennett, rising freshman
This is my first time at Montreat and it has been a blast. My small group is really cool. There are allot of people and my leader is awesome. The food is the bomb. The Tellers are amazing cooks and I am glad they came. The group of youth that are here are a amazing group of people. I could not of asked for a better group of people to come with. The campus is allot of fun. There is so much stuff to do I don’t know if i will be able to do it all. This week is going to be a great week

Sam Bennett

Sarah Hoyle, rising senior
Heyyyy CPC! Sarah hoyle here and im having wayyyyyyy much fun here at montreat. This is my fourth trip to montreat and i have to say its probably the best. The keynote speaker and worship preacher are very awesome and my small group already connecting after just the first day. I think my favorite part though is just seeing friends from past conferences and retreats everywhere i look. It just makes me love being presbyterian! Of course, there has been some RAAAIINN but we have fun and make it work- i mean how can you not have fun at montreat? HOYLE OUT.
Loooove,
Sarah Hoyle

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.503511225368.1163.305700031&l=48509d3705

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.503513914978.1164.305700031&l=8a2a789d24

Gooth – if you have albums to share, please post the public URL as a comment. thanks!

As well as the two worksites, a few of us are working at the sunset gap building. We have painted the front porch, the steps, and the back of the building. This week, I have become a painting machine, as have we all!

There is so much to tell, but I better wrap this up. People are giving me that get-off-the-computer-now look. So, in essence, we have had a wonderful time serving God and our fellow humans. Thank you to all shareholders and all the families back at home. Also thanks to whoever makes the biscuits at breakfast.

Grace

Madison Hines rising 8th grader

Today we had another great day of mission work. This morning started off good with no house-shaking thunderstorms we got to have a wonderful pancake breakfast to start off our busy, hot day. Boy was it hot when we got to the worksites!! Still, it didn’t stop us from getting the job done at our worksites!! We got a lot done at both of the houses and they are looking better and better each day. One of our houses got their back porch built and it looks wonderful! The siding is getting put up at both of the houses now. We enjoyed having a yummy lunch together with our friends and adults (as well as some of our furry friends ). After lunch some of the group went to the Sunset Gap community center and scraped off the old paint on the stairs. Tomorrow we are hoping to get them repainted. Tonight, we had another great meal and had some cake and ice cream for dessert. Now we are getting ready to write our Shareholders letters (thank you to all of the Shareholders who are reading this now) and then it will be off to bed for some much needed rest. We are looking forward to our last day of work tomorrow and hope to get a lot done and finish our project. Well you’ll get to hear about our last day tomorrow. Until then, goodnight.

Drew Kloha Rising 8th Grader

Hello again. Today we we went to our worksites and went straight to work. Sadly there wasn’t much for me to do at my assigned worksite so me and a few other guys moved to the other worksite. Even then there wasn’t much for me to do. So then me, the guys from before and a few other people moved to Sunset Gap to scrape paint off of the stairs… The 50 wasps kept us company though. We still have so much to do there and at both worksites that it’s hard to keep up with it all.. Either way we have all had a lot of fun. Especially me. Well i have to go write shareholder letters now. So goodnight from Tennessee.

(P.S everyone says hi)

Kelly Norris, rising senior
Normally I would never find myself blogging two days in a row on a GOOTH trip, but so much awesome work has been going on! Mr. McElwee, Sam, Rachael, Sarah Morris, and Kate were helping rebuild the back deck. It’s going to be finished tomorrow, and it looks incredible. I was on the team that was laying OSB board. We were the blue team, except for Mrs. Maclin, who was wearing pink. I had another learning experience today-I learned how to use a circular saw. I helped cut the board, and later siding for another side of the house. We finished that side, and it looks so much better. Even though the sawdust hasn’t exactly made me feel too great (I probably should find a new task tomorrow) I was very pleased that I learned a new skill and was able to use that to help make someone’s home a better place to live in.

kelley sherwood, rising 8th grade

Ive had a great time at my first mission trip this year! Its been pretty interesting but a great experience! Im so glad i could be able to come and help these people. At one of the worksites we met three new friends. Peanut butter, nails, and jelly(: a dog and two cats. And while working ruined a pair of clothes that i hope comes out&& Going to ice cream tonight(:

–kelley sherwood

Nathan Chatham, rising freshman
This mission trip was my third since I joined this church. The ride to Tennessee was a lot of fun because the van I rode in was full of my friends. On the first day we just ate dinner, learned to be “Flexible” and went to bed. The next day we went to work! We split off to two teams and went to our work sites. My work site was a house that was practically naked with Lowe’s symbols all over the walls. First we had to remove the under-paneling and nails. Then we spent a day and a half painting wall panels and window liners. By the time I began typing this blog, we had finished the putting up the walls in the front of the house, and lined two of the windows. All that’s left to do in the front of the house is to repaint the walls and line the windows.

Erin Welty, rising sophomore
I’m back because i didn’t get to finish my post from Day 1! Today started with a nice mountain rain storm. At like 4 in the morning very loud thunder woke us up and then we lost power and water, but luckily it returned before we had to get up and get ready. After a yummy breakfast of eggs and biscuits and gravy and other delicious breakfasty foods, we had to hurry up and wait for the rain to pass before we went out to our work sites. Once we got there, our group worked on painting, cutting, and putting up siding. At lunch time, we went to Walmart to eat our lunch in the parking lot because our sandwiches were in a car that wasn’t at our work site. So that was pretty fun. After lunch, the clouds went away, leaving us roasting in the sun once again. I mostly helped our site manager, Randall, cut big sheets of metal to put around the bottom of the house. I had to wear safety goggles, which led to the nicknames Miss Goggles, Goggle Girl, and then just GG. We worked hard until 5, and then went straight to dinner! Meatloaf and mashed potatoes never tasted so good. Now we’re about to head out to get ice cream once everyone finishes showering (working all day in the sun does not make one smell very good). Overall this mission trip has been FANTASTIC so far and i can’t wait for tomorrow! We love all of y’all and appreciate your thoughts and prayers! It’s ice cream time. Peace.

Madison Hines rising 8th grader
I guess the beginning of our exciting day started this morning with the big thunderstorm that rolled through. Thankfully though, the rain receded and we got to have another fabulous day at our worksites. It is so exciting to be able to help these people repair their homes with our fellow Gooth friends and adults. The people we are helping are very nice and appreciative of our help. We have already made some new friends and plenty if wonderful memories. We have also been able to have new experiences at our sites that we might not have been able to have before. We also have come to realize how lucky we really are to be able to live in a sturdy, safe house back home.

All in all, we all are having a wonderful time with each other doing God’s work for us by helping others.

Drew Kloha, rising 8th
Hello… It’s Tuesday afternoon and everyone is tired as usual… We got a lot done at our work site today. We had a couple of transfers from the other work site though. And of course we are still trying to BE FLEXIBLE! But that could change. We were drilling, hammering, priming, cutting and framing today. It’s hard work but it’s worth it. Anyways goodnight.

Kelly Norris, rising senior
Hi guys! Today we did a lot of hard work. Everything started a little slow in the morning, but things gradually picked up and everyone soon had something to do. We were painting, moving boards, and nailing black paper to protect the sides of the house before we put on siding. We’ve been working on the front and back porch. Mr McGowan and Mr. McElwee brought down the front porch roof today. The back porch is also mostly demolished and tomorrow we’re going to start rebuilding them. The elderly lady who lives in the house is so excited about having a new back porch. A lot of interesting things happened today too. Our worksite is by a railroad track, and today, 3 trains passed by. Aside from the Amtrak station, I have never been that close to a train, let alone 3 in one day. It was super cool. I also went to an open landfill for the first time. We were dumping some of the old siding we pulled off yesterday. It was super muddy and we had to stand on some of the boards to avoid getting stuck. I’m beginning to feel very accomplished and enriched (yes, going to the landfill was enriching.) I hope that this week continues to bring about such unique experiences, and I hope that we can continue using all of our positive energy to spread God’s love through our actions.

All the best,
Kelly

Erin Welty, rising sophomore
Well here we are in the lovely east Tennessee mountains! Today was great, but very hot and humid. Our work site painted a lot of siding to put on the house of a sweet elderly lady and her son. She got us sodas and water and she is adorable. We had quite a blast singing Veggie Tales songs while we painted, and lots of work got done! Now we’re back at our house/cabin place which is called Wa Floy…not sure what that means, but whatevs.

Sam Cooper, rising junior
Hello clemmons presbyterian peeps!!! Im here with gooth in lovely east Tennessee. Lots of mountains and cows. So far we have done lots of driving. The main buildings for sunset gap is 25 mins away. And yes that means for breakfast and dinner we have a 25 min drive. Lets just say we have a pre meal snack on the way!! Today was our first work day. Mother nature decided to make sure we didn’t get cold by providing MORE THAN ENOUGH heat… Translated… It was 100 degrees. The house that my group is working on is definitely in need of our help. Today was mostly demolition. We tore up the back deck and the siding on all sides of the house. On the front porch they are replacing the beams and roof. On the back deck the supports to the house are rotting away so we also must replace those. Now to the most exciting part of my day… When we arrived on our sight we had some friends waiting to play… A baby kitten that can fit in the palm of my hand. And a puppy who fits perfectly in my arms. The puppy and i instantly became friends when i shared some peanut butter crackers with him… Earning him the name “peanut butter”. The baby kitty was constantly in the way of our feet and i was fearful of it being stepped on…my solution to this? I put it in my nail pouch on my tool belt. It stayed there most of the day while i worked…earning it the name “nails”. Jay wont let me take either one of them home….this is why i plan on putting them in my bookbag and sneaking them home!!! Sorry mom and dad!!!! Well our home Wa Floy is becoming loud so i must go see why…see you all when I return from this adventure!! Lots of love to ya!!!!!

Janeth Garcia, rising junior
So far so fun! Day one was relatively chill. The food is great, the work has been surprisingly satisfying, the heat is bearable but the humidity is killing us! H2O has been very necessary. Today we did LOTS of painting. I’ve never seen so much white in my life. Tomorrow we’ll probably be putting up some sidings. I hope we get to see our project from what we started to its finish. I love my group! We all get along as of now. Hopefully as the the week progresses we will remain patient with each other. Well pretty soon we’ll be headed off to sleep in our graffitied rooms. All the words and notes tell so many stories. Hmm, still gotta be flexible but that could change!

Ryan Spach, rising senior.
It was William Shakespeare that wrote “love all, trust a few, do harm to none”
I say this because as a member of Gooth we are called to help those in need. Love all. I believe you should show the upmost kindness to any you may encounter until they give you reason to do otherwise. It’s only my third mission trip but no matter how many i may be a part of in future years, I will always enjoy the thrill of having this opportunity to express my sympathy and respect to my neighbors. Trust a few… There isn’t a person a person in this room that i wouldn’t trust with my life. Well actually… Haha lets put it this way – i love these people with every fiber of my being. It will never get old. I am of course referring to the feeling of excitement when i first climb in the car to depart to where we are staying, or working, or eating especially. Everything I do on worksites or otherwise has a lasting effect on me as an individual. Two years ago i left for the south carolina mission trip unsure and barely motivated, and above all else shy. Since then i have felt a calling not only from God but from myself and my peers. Everything about this feels like we are meant to be here.
Maybe Im talking a lot but its what I’m known to occasionally do so I’m going to speak my mind. Do harm to none. As I think about this i feel like doing nothing for those in need is the same as doing harm. It’s like the bystander effect, everybody stands around waiting for that another soul to step up and act. Well i cant stand that feeling. Its time to act on every moment we are blessed with. I feel called to do something, anything for these people. Since i began learning under the eye of mr Randy McElwee, i often get the feeling that i should be doing something more than what i am. Maybe because i got in the rhythm of learning while working, but i feel its more than that. That’s another thing- I must thank mr mcelwee for letting me learn from him because skills i learn during my apprenticeship under him have progressed to learning even more and utilizing all of my potential as a high school youth volunteer, having been given that head start. Now that i am under the watchful eye of another role model of mine, tony Stovall, i have the chance to show what i have learned and what i can do when left to my own devices, with the right tools of course.
And if i may, i would like to say the woman at our site is incredibly kind and extremely grateful. She was informed quite recently that we were coming. But somehow the short notice overwhelmed her, and she told us, she was overcome with joy. She did everything she could to help us, when it was there to help her. She got us drinks, put out a fan for a nice breeze. Shes just the sweetest little lady.
I look forward to the week ahead, and pray that the lord may do his work through me. Amen.

Reva Manikas, college
Hello from Cosby, Tennessee! Wa-Floy Retreat to be exact. We arrived yesterday not knowing where we were staying or what work we were going to be doing.. but our motto is BE FLEXIBLE We ended up 25 minutes away from where we thought we would be staying and having a work site change. Everything can change and we have to learn to accept that and BE FLEXIBLE !! I am very excited to be here again. Especially being away at college, it is great to come home and attend these trips to see new and old faces. God has brought each and every one of us back to Gooth year after year, and you can really see God working through us to bring new faces into Gooth. This is my 7th mission trip and each year seems to be better than the last. Today was our first day at our work sites. I am in group #1 with the one, the only, the marine, Tony Stovall! Our house that we will be working on this week is in need of siding. Today alone we painted, cut and put up the siding on the half of the front side. The heat was excruciating but in the end we stay hydrated and positive to look at what we accomplished at the end of each day. It is a good feeling to see how thankful the owners are with just a little each day. Today was successful and I am looking forward to the challenges and memories this week has yet to bring us as a youth group.

Sara Morris, rising junior
Hi everyone! Today was a great first day in Tennessee. Along with the “be flexible” motto, another saying that has come up a lot this week is “…….but that could change.” I was in group 2, and we named ourselves Team Jandy. A combo of our leaders Joe/Randy. We think it has a nice ring to it. We were excited to be greeted by two kittens and a puppy at our worksite that kept us company throughout the day. The scariest part of the day was when Kate and I were ripping the ceiling off of a front porch and Mr. McElwee told us, “now be careful, I’m not sure what may come down from there.” There were a lot of wasps everywhere so often we were armed with a can of bugspray in one hand and a hammer in the other. I’m so glad that we can all be here this week and I really look forward to the rest of the week.

Love,
Sara Morris

Sarah Hoyle
I am blogging! BLOG BLOG BLOG! Yesterday we worked! WORK WORK WORK! Last night we slept! SLEEP SLEEP…. Oh wait. We didnt really sleep at all last night because at around 4:30 in the morning a HUGE storm blew through! Many of the other girls and I were sleeping in a big room at the end of this big wooden house with one whole wall of big windows. The wind howled, the house groaned, but we all actually had a pretty fun time. Although we were all fine, every person was praying for the families of the houses that we tore the siding off of yesterday. I hope our work is not delayed or damaged too much because these houses are in desperate need of repair! Im having a great time so far! The mountains are gorgeous, the gooth are fantastical and God is good! HOYLE OUT!

Peace and love and pancakes,
Sarah Hoyle