MAY 5, 2021
Leslie Pohl has been involved with the Lehigh Presbytery's Helping Hands ministry for many years. She shares this report with an update on their initiatives.
Helping Hands: Building Hope and Homes

By Leslie Pohl

Here we are getting to the end of Covid (I hope). The Helping Hands Care Team is just waiting in the wings to start back to doing what it's good at, fixing houses and helping folks. 

Over the years, volunteers from Lehigh Presbytery have traveled to several other states to repair the damage from storms and other natural disasters, sometimes months after the event. The team travels together to these sites, usually staying for a week to provide helping hands where needed.

They have pulled out moldy drywall and carpeting and replaced it with new; plastered and painted; repaired roofs and installed new kitchen cabinets and plumbing. There is no job these dedicated helpers are not willing to do - and many are 'learning on the job' (below: scraping off the old flooring before installing a new surface).

Typically the trips occur in the spring and fall but before we venture out again there are a couple of challenges to overcome:
Some of us are leaving the team due to life's little changes. So we are looking for some folks to join the group to help facilitate, and moderate our committee. 

You wouldn't have to go on the trips but would be better if you could. There would be help in getting you started on your journey in these positions.

Also due to life's changes and challenges, we also have folks who are aging out. So we are looking for new folks to join us on the trips. 
No skills are required but you will need to try new things and use big person toys. From this you'll be greatly rewarded: a sense of accomplishment and pushing your boundaries. Meeting new friends and seeing other parts of our country are a given. The best part is that you'll be helping the folks who really need it.
We look forward to starting up our trips again, hopefully in the fall (but more realistically, it may be next spring).

Now is the time to plant the seed of contemplation for these two opportunities, so when the time is right it will be easy for you to make the decision to join our group and hop on the caravan.

If this mission activity interests you and you'd like to talk about it, or have any questions, please feel free to leave a message at
610-867-5865 or contact me via info@fpc-bethlehem.org.