Mission- New Mexico

jeffreaux2 · June 30, 2008

Well, I have just returned from our annual mission trip with our Church's youth group. We did things differently this year, and invited two other church youth groups to go along. This enabled us to take a chartered bus rather than drive in vans and SUV's as we have in the past. Not having to drive was a good thing for us adults that went along. We had a great time, and accomplished quite a bit of work...and made many new friends along the way.

Enjoy!

We spent a good bit of time on the bus. It took us about 20 hours to get there...and again to get home.

Here are some of the kids on our first morning in Carlsbad NM after worship. We stayed at this church working and sleeping from Saturday evening until Tuesday. This church was in need of an exterior paint job, some sheet rock repairs, and some window glass replacement. We were able to complete all but the final touches to the sheet rock repair in the few days we were there. The members of the church saw to it that we were welcomed warmly with food and fun.

Here, my daughter is showing off the adornment she painted on the mailbox...a little something from Louisiana.

One of our adults....yes, we all felt this way!!

We took the time to make a trip to Carlsbad Caverns for a tour inside. It was otherworldly.....and cool....and the bat flight was phenominal...although we werent permitted to photograph them.

This isn't the entire group, but rather only the adults and kids from my church inside the cavern for a goofy group shot. I am in there somewhere....goofy as always.

After Carlsbad, we loaded everything up again and pushed on to Roswell. We stayed in Roswell at the Boys and Girls Club. The folks there were excellent hosts. OUr work included work at a local spanish Methodist church, and work that was done at the Boys and Girls Club.

This wasn't on our work list but.... I had noticed what appeared to be a stunner of a stained glass window that was boarded up. It had been broken, and had a piece of plywood nailed over it to keep rain out of the church. The photo below shows us assesing the situation. We decided to replace the plywood with a thick sheet of plexiglass so that light could pass through the window once again.

Repairing a floor at the club.

A mural in progress.

Yes, more painting.

...and weeding the garden at the B&G club. In addition to weeding, the kids spread a dump truck full of maure from a zoo into the flower beds.

Our kids also helped out the younger kids in the arts and crafts room at the club.

WE also set up a weight room that was in disarray.

Here, their local TV News was on hand to see what all the commotion was about. The local paper also ran a photo on the front page of some of the girls painting at the spanish church.

Of course we had to see what Roswell was really famous for, and so we made a run into town to check out the Alien Museum.

"Take me to your leader!!!"

A boutique owner downtown recognized some of the girls from the newspaper and let each of our young ladies choose a pair of sunglasses for free. Of course, for the time we were there, her shop was the most popular attraction!

OK back to the task at hand!!

This is the piece of plywood that had covered the stained glass. We turned it into an art project, and hung it in their fellowship hall.

And here, we are having worship service in the church in Roswell. We made repairs to the roof, painted the entire interior, reworked the flower beds, and uncovered that beautiful stained glass window.

...and finally we are back aboard the bus...and headed home!

Bassett1976 · June 30, 2008

jeffreaux2 wrote:

Well, I have just returned from our annual mission trip with our Church's youth group. We did things differently this year, and invited two other church youth groups to go along. This enabled us to take a chartered bus rather than drive in vans and SUV's as we have in the past. Not having to drive was a good thing for us adults that went along. We had a great time, and accomplished quite a bit of work...and made many new friends along the way.

Enjoy!

We spent a good bit of time on the bus. It took us about 20 hours to get there...and again to get home.

What a great trip! I'm always excited to see youth groups getting involved to "give back" to the communities. Its always a good thing for them to do a little hard work doing the Lord's work!

qsjewl · June 30, 2008

Jeff,
these pictures were nice to see, brought back memories of when I was doing the exact same thing! they'll enjoy those memories!

Elaine · July 1, 2008

Great documentation of a jam-packed trip! You captured work, joy, personality, fun, friendship, generosity, caring, details...and more, with well composed and processed photos. Thanks for sharing!

jeffreaux2 · July 1, 2008

Bassett1976 wrote:

What a great trip! I'm always excited to see youth groups getting involved to "give back" to the communities. Its always a good thing for them to do a little hard work doing the Lord's work!

...Hard work?....it isn't so bad when you bring enough folks to spread it all around. And as for the giving...well if you have ever done anything of this sort then you already know that you are returned much more than you could possibly give. WE all had a great time. The kids were great, our hosts were awesome, and it was a week worth spending where we spent it, doing the things we did.

jeffreaux2 · July 1, 2008

qsjewl wrote:

Jeff,
these pictures were nice to see, brought back memories of when I was doing the exact same thing! they'll enjoy those memories!

Awesome!!!...I bet there is a group near you that would love it if you were STILL doing this exact same thing!!!...and speaking of memories, you might want to have a look at my latest blog entry about this New Mexico trip!:D

jeffreaux2 · July 1, 2008

Elaine wrote:

Great documentation of a jam-packed trip! You captured work, joy, personality, fun, friendship, generosity, caring, details...and more, with well composed and processed photos. Thanks for sharing!

I would have liked to have captured more of the landscapes and sunsets we saw, but it wasn't in the cards. You can literally see forever in some places out west, and storm watching was a game for us in the evenings. Thanks for commenting Elaine...:D

urbanaries · July 3, 2008

I really like the variety of treatments here, I bet the teens do too! The processing in #4 is my favorite, very vintage without being too overt. Looks like a fun and worthwhile trip. I really like #9 for some reason. Nice composition and very journalistic.

"Take me to your leader" cracks me up, too!!! Great shot!

I read through the window story on your blog. Very touching story. Wow.

Moogle Pepper · July 3, 2008

wAs the mission to help rebuild homes? I think that is awesome!

How bad was the damage to the stained glass window?

jeffreaux2 · July 3, 2008

urbanaries wrote:

I really like the variety of treatments here, I bet the teens do too! The processing in #4 is my favorite, very vintage without being too overt. Looks like a fun and worthwhile trip. I really like #9 for some reason. Nice composition and very journalistic.

"Take me to your leader" cracks me up, too!!! Great shot!

I read through the window story on your blog. Very touching story. Wow.

Thanks Lynne. I see the images from this gallery popping up all over their myspace pages, so yes....they must like the processing also!

It was an enjoyable week.

Congratulations on your spotlight at photography corner!!!
http://www.photographycorner.com/blog/2008/06/smugmug-corner-37-lynne-hulbert

Good to know we aren't the only ones who think you are good at what you do!!!:D

jeffreaux2 · July 3, 2008

Moogle Pepper wrote:

wAs the mission to help rebuild homes? I think that is awesome!

How bad was the damage to the stained glass window?

No....no homes this year. We were trying to rejuvinate two failing churches. With their membership gone, they needed help with overdue maintenance in the hopes that it will attract ne membership. They are both on the brink of losing their status as United Methodist Churches. We also did a good bit of work at the Boys and Girls Club of Roswell NM. You can see the damage to the window in the photo.....maybe better on the shot of it posted on my blog. Either stones or hail had its way with the window somewhere along the way.

Agnieszka · July 7, 2008

boy, boy, boy ... somebody has been busy!!!

Got some cool shots, looks like it was a fun trip!!

idoteech · July 8, 2008

I love the pics Jeff. Great job.

Looks like you guys kept the kids busy! It's great to see youth doing the work of God.

We are in the planning stages of building a home for women struggling with alcohol and drugs behind the church. It's a big vision, but it is the vision of our church. It's going to be called the House of Virtue "Turning the world's crushed into God's crowned."

We have a big fundraiser planned for the weekend of the 18th, so I hope to get some shots.

Thanks for then link to the thread. Tell the kids "Great Job!"

Eva

jeffreaux2 · July 10, 2008

boy, boy, boy ... somebody has been busy!!! <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/eek7.gif" border="0" alt="" > Got some cool shots, looks like it was a fun trip!! <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/thumb.gif" border="0" alt="" >
__________________
Angie

idoteech wrote:

I love the pics Jeff. Great job.

Looks like you guys kept the kids busy! It's great to see youth doing the work of God.

We are in the planning stages of building a home for women struggling with alcohol and drugs behind the church. It's a big vision, but it is the vision of our church. It's going to be called the House of Virtue "Turning the world's crushed into God's crowned."

We have a big fundraiser planned for the weekend of the 18th, so I hope to get some shots.

Thanks for then link to the thread. Tell the kids "Great Job!"<img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/clap.gif" border="0" alt="" >

Eva

Thank you both for having a look and commenting. It was indeed a fun trip. I always come home from these things so exhausted that it takes me a few weeks to get my bearings again. I have put together a slide show on DVD for a presentation this coming Sunday. A pint sized copy is up for viewing on my blog. The kids always seem to amaze me with not only their work, but with their depth and thought processes.

Eva, If you will PM me the info on where and when for the fundraiser, I might drop by if I am free.

Bassett1976 · July 10, 2008

jeffreaux2 wrote:



Thank you both for having a look and commenting. It was indeed a fun trip. I always come home from these things so exhausted that it takes me a few weeks to get my bearings again. I have put together a slide show on DVD for a presentation this coming Sunday. A pint sized copy is up for viewing on my blog. The kids always seem to amaze me with not only their work, but with their depth and thought processes.

Great Video Jeffreaux2, I always love it when we can show videos/pictures of what our church is doing. It's a wonderful way to show your church what happened on your trip! <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/clap.gif" border="0" alt="" >thumb

urbanaries · July 10, 2008

Bassett1976 wrote:

Great Video Jeffreaux2, I always love it when we can show videos/pictures of what our church is doing. It's a wonderful way to show your church what happened on your trip! thumb

I agree, that is a really fine piece of cinema to share with the rest of the congregation!

I've sat thru my share of large-scale slideshow productions at folks' churches and the photography is usually reallly, realllllllly bad. I am sure your peers will be extremely proud of your work and the work of those kids. Not that they wouldn't be without this, but their work deserves such a polished, artistic account.

jziegler · July 11, 2008

You got some great shots here. Looks like you and the kids did some wonderful work here. Great job!

jeffreaux2 · July 11, 2008

urbanaries wrote:

I agree, that is a really fine piece of cinema to share with the rest of the congregation!

I've sat thru my share of large-scale slideshow productions at folks' churches and the photography is usually reallly, realllllllly bad. I am sure your peers will be extremely proud of your work and the work of those kids. Not that they wouldn't be without this, but their work deserves such a polished, artistic account.

I appreciate ALL of the comments, but Lynne, I REALLY appreciate your appraisal. I have been doing presentations like this much longer than I have been shooting photos professionally. Having the RAM and processing power plus software doesn't neccessarily mean you can pull off the emotion that you are trying to convey. The photos really are what I'd describe as educated snapshots, the processing?... maybe a bit more than that, ...but certainly not something I spent agonizing hours over. The tempo and choice of music....the captions....these I did worry over. From the comments on my blog I think I made the right choices. To me this is all really one big photograph. A page in a scapbook. Thanks for the compliment!

Mission- New Mexico

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