Images taken by my daughter Brooke from her recent Mission Trip to Joplin, Missouri the week of August 7th thru the 13th. Her, my niece Anna Marie and several members of the Old Union Presbyterian Church in Mars, PA and College Hill Presbyterian Church in Beaver Falls made the 14+ hour trip to assist in the clean up and rebuilding of this wonderful community that was devastated by a EF-5 Tornado on May 22, 2011. These images represent only a small sample of the devastation throughout the that region and also show this wonderful group of individuals who unselfishly gave of their time to do God's work in helping others in their time of need. To paraphrase our friend Randy Pavlinich who went on this trip as well...."After going on this trip and seeing the number of people pitching in to help, it is very clear that the goodness in people's hearts is still very much alive in this country". Personally, I couldn't agree more. In this day and age of "looking out for #1", it is a true joy and blessing to see how our family, friends and people we've never met, come together for one common purpose and that is to carry out God's work by helping others. Here are the statistics from the trip as provided by Pastor Peter DeVries: TRIP TO JOPLIN BY THE NUMBERS: * 14 volunteers * 1975 miles * 6 school buildings set up * 7 tractor trailer truckloads of new furniture unloaded, assembled, and set up * 4 roll-off dumpsters filled with cardboard packing * 2000 backpacks stuffed with laptops and material * Half a day's worth of debris picked up * 3 rooms' worth of donations sorted and organized * 1 city ready for its schools to open Wednesday on schedule! May God Bless you volunteers who went on this trip and the people of Joplin, Missouri who've had to endure this tragic event. By having faith and working together, you will rebuild your wonderful city and you will come out on top...stronger than ever! GALLERY NOTE: This is your gallery so please add comments and share your memories or kind words with others. It can be a great way to share your thoughts and reflect upon your experience.