Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Texas mission group helps out in Prescott

Imagine spending part of a summer vacation roofing someone else's house, painting for someone else or building ramps for others.

And, imagine doing this for nothing. Or, rather, raising the money so those who received help paid nothing.

This is exactly what 107 high school students from Plano, Texas, did recently.

Working with the First United Methodist Church, these students spent a week in Prescott making repairs for those who were unable to make them themselves.

The students were all members of Christ United Methodist Church in Plano, where Abe Smith is the youth director.

Students in grades 9-12 worked to raise $25,000 for their summer mission work, then split into 11 teams as they came to Prescott.

Prescott was selected because Jim Lenderman was the youth director in Hot Springs when Smith attended church there.

The mission group used the money to purchase the materiels needed for the different jobs locally when possible, then went to work.

Smith was involved in the mission program during his time in the youth group 10 years ago. He said those who participate build lifelong friendships and relationships with others.

The group brought three cooks with them, using the cafeteria at Prescott Elementary School to do the cooking. The students spent the night in the Prescott Sports Arena, where, after working from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m., they played basketball with students from Prescott High School.

The jobs were set up by FUMC in Prescott, with the students given directions on how to find the homes.

Lenderman said Smith called and asked if the group from Plano could come to Prescott and do the work. The offer was met with a resounding yes.

"They normally do work for the poor, elderly and handicapped," Lenderman said. "They also work through the Hamilton-Blakely Senior Adult Center and churches. The idea is to make sure and help those in need."

FUMC, he said, worked out the details with the Prescott School District on making sure the students had a place to stay and eat while they were in town.

Ten sites in Prescott were selected for the students to work on.

At one site, the students were putting a new roof on a house in the Sherwood addition.

To a person, each one said they enjoyed doing this mission work and planned to be involved in the mission program next year. The seniors, though, won't be allowed to participate as the program is for high school students.

For Cherie Zimmerman, this was her fourth mission. "When I was a freshman," she said, "the seniors said this was contagious. They're right."

Zimmerman passed up going on a camping trip to come and do the mission work. "This is fun and rewarding," she said. "I've done painting, built ramps and got to meet new people. Roofing is a big job, but it's more rewarding than anything else."

Nancy Sowards was one of the counselors along for the trip. She said they were used to the hot weather and everyone they'd worked for had been wonderful.

She said the mission workers enjoyed spending time and playing basketball with the young people of Prescott.

Church groups, she said, had been especially friendly, and the entire group was fed a Mexican dinner at the Prescott Country Club.

Adam Paul, a senior mission worker, said people had came by bringing Gatorade for them to drink.

Paul was also in his fourth year of mission work. His "resume" showed three roofs and three ramps. He preferred the roofs.

Adam Mann, another counselor, said all work done is done to meet local and state specifications and codes.

This was Mann's eighth mission trip. He did four as a student and four as a counselor. "I got hooked as a youth," he said.

This was the 25th year for the church's mission program. It began with workers going to the Appalachian Mountains doing work for the needy in Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee and West Virginia. The program grew too large for the Appalachians, but maintained the name APA Mission Project.

Christ United Methodist has more than 5,000 members. The students sold "APA Shares" to the members for $25 each to raise money for this year's trip and projects.