Recently, we had a Pig Roast to celebrate Father’s Day. But sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words. How would you caption this photo?

Two people from our community here at Messiah Village, Mel Miller (Construction Services) and Carl Ginder (VP of Planning) spend some time away from work volunteering with LightShine Ministries. Over the past couple of years they have been going to Alaska to do some of their work. Their work has been highlighted in the Mount Joy – Elizabethtown Merchandiser. Below is the article or you can check it out here.

Organization’s Efforts Shine To Alaska And Minnesota

By Krista Hurley July 28th 2010

Each year, LightShine Ministries provides a number of volunteer opportunities to individuals of various ages and skill levels. The organization, which is based in Mount Joy, focuses on meeting a host of different needs in Alaskan towns while also working, at times, with ministries in the contiguous states.

Recently, four teams of volunteers did their parts to make a difference in the areas of Eagle, Seldovia, and Globe Creek Camp in Alaska. Volunteers also offered their services at a retreat center in Minnesota. All who take part in LightShine’s trips are responsible for funding their own trip, and recent trip participants noted that they are thankful for the generous support they received.

Larry Newell helped to lead a five-member team as it worked in Eagle as a follow-up to last year’s disaster relief team. In four days, they helped to construct a church by building the walls and setting the roof trusses. “It was great,” Newell recalled. “We worked our tails off, but we had a great time.”

A six-member team, led by Mel Miller, traveled to Globe Creek Camp to provide their services. “It’s a Christian camp that’s being built for summer and winter camp activity,” Miller explained. Three years ago, the only structure at the camp was a partially finished lodge. Since then, teams from LightShine and other ministries have helped to build two cabins, finish the lodge, and more. The recent team met its goal of constructing a utility building, complete with fresh water tanks, water heaters, a generator, and a furnace.

Mel and Carl in Alaska - Photo by Krista Hurley

The Globe Creek and Eagle teams then united for the final week of their respective trips, during which they helped out at a retreat center in Seldovia. Last year, a team had started to construct a lodge. This year, the group continued this work by finishing the roof, building a loft and a stairway, closing the gable ends, and more.

With the number of trips that LightShine plans to Alaska each year, it is no secret that the teams make a difference in the towns in which they work. While the organization was able to make a difference without a van of its own, director Tom Denlinger knew that a vehicle would be helpful for the transportation of teams and materials.

Recently, Lancaster County resident George Calder donated a van, and a local repair shop performed maintenance on the vehicle. A team from LCBC volunteered to drive the van, a trailer, and a donated sound system from Lancaster County to Alaska. According to team member Bob Bender, the nearly 5,000-mile trip spanned four days filled with spectacular sights. “My favorite part was probably going through British Columbia through the Rockies,” Bender said. “We saw nine black bear in British Columbia. We saw elk, caribou, moose, (and) mountain sheep,” he recalled.

The fourth team stayed a bit closer to home, working at a retreat center in Minnesota. According to team member Jerry Polizzi, the center will eventually be available to host pastoral retreats. Last year, LightShine’s father-son team cleared land on the property, and this year’s four-man team built a chapel at the retreat center.

“There are still a few more trips coming up this year,” Polizzi noted, explaining that anyone who is willing to work, regardless of age or skill level, is welcome to sign up. He explained that participants do more than physical labor, as they also build relationships with residents of Alaska by encouraging them, listening to their stories, and more.

More information about the upcoming trips or about LightShine Ministries may be found at www.lightshineministries.org.

Photo By Krista Hurley

WordNerd's cherry pie

Residents of Messiah Village may recognize this picture from our in-house TV channel 78. This is a photo of a sour cherry pie I made earlier this summer. People who know me well know that I come from a long line of uninterested cooks. When my mother passed away, she left, not a recipe book, but an address book full of caterers’ and bakers’ phone numbers. So, when I am occasionally inspired to do something in my kitchen other than walk through it to the backyard, I take photos.

My love of sour cherries goes way back. When I lived in Maryland, a friend and I spent every summer Saturday in a pick-your-own field at Larriland Farms. We would pick buckets and buckets of sour cherries, and my friend would make containers of sour cherry jam.

Longing for that flavor again when I moved to PA, I tried the less labor intensive endeavor of pie making, made even less labor intensive with two invaluable tools: the chef’s grade cherry pitter and Pillsbury pre-made pie crusts. The cherry pitter lay to rest an earlier monstrously tedious process of poking pits out of cherries with a shortened drinking straw. The Pillsbury pie crusts made the whole thing possible because, in the words of fellow blogger, KBiz, “I can’t be bothered” making pie crusts from scratch.

The pie in the photo represents two recent upgrades to my pie making process. This is the first pie made with the new pie plate my husband got me for my birthday. The golden sheen on the crust? You can thank my mother. A few years ago, we were having one of those lazy Sunday morning phone conversations. I told her I was making a pie and needed to remember to separate an egg so I could brush the crust with egg whites. “You should use the whole egg on the crust,” she corrected. “Because that’s how you did your pies?” I snarked to the backseat pie maker on the other end of the phone. “Food Network. Paula Deen. I saw it on TV,” she replied. And she was right. It did look better.

Have you surprised anyone with your culinary prowess lately? Consider showcasing your talents at the Messiah Village Chili Cookoff on Friday, September 10! Or, if you view cooking as a spectator sport, stay tuned for more information on Messiah Village’s Chef Face-Off, happening this fall.

I was out taking pictures the other day for an upcoming article in Village Life and I happened upon the most peaceful deer I had ever seen. I asked the deer if i could take a picture with him. He said yes.

If we used this picture in Village Life, how would you caption it???

This deer hangs around the gardens quite a bit. Have you seen him? Have you ever had you picture taken with this deer?

Recently, I enjoyed spending an hour walking through our vegetable gardens with a few of our resident gardeners. Mary Klaus, a reporter from the Patriot News, was here to write a story on community gardening. It was fun to interact with a few of the 25+ vegetable gardeners we have on campus. I enjoyed seeing each person share what they had grown with the reporter as she snapped pictures of each person on a very hot and humid afternoon. There were zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, parsnips, cucumbers, and much more! A few of the gardeners even had grown flowers to help beautify the area for all to enjoy.

 Jerry and Carolyn Rutherford who head up the Garden Committee, invited the group into their home after the tour for some cold water and to continue the conversation. The gardeners told the reporter about the composting that is done and picked up by the grounds crew and how the water that is used to water the gardens is collected from Spring Run into a cistern. We talked about canning, freezing, and storing vegetables to last all winter and even into the next spring. It was obvious from the conversation that each person has enjoyed gardening for most of their life. After moving to Messiah Village they were able to continue that tradition with a little help from the grounds crew who till the ground each fall and spring. The planting, weeding, and watering are the responsibility of each gardener who is given a plot of the garden each spring from the Garden Committee.

 It was really nice to hear about the generosity of our gardeners who share the produce they have grown with other residents. One gardener has a table outside of his apartment that is a “free” table for anyone who passes by. It doesn’t take long for his vegetables to be snatched up by other residents who live in his hallway.

 I have grown in my appreciation for the work and joy of gardening from my husband who has grown a vegetable garden the last three summers. He loves it and enjoys spending many hours caring for it. I can see how it would be hard to give up gardening once it is in your blood. I’m so thankful that at Messiah Village residents do not need to give up gardening of vegetables or flowers after they move-in and make Messiah Village their home!

Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity.  ~Lindley Karstens