Hello, Summer! The temperatures are rising, the humidity is climbing, and everything is green, Green, GREEN! I hope this newsletter finds everyone well and content. A lot is happening at Beaver Ridge these days: Teddy Bear Picnics, Camp in the Community, Youth events… I’ll just update you on what I know about. Read the rest of the newsletter for details on the myriad of other planned events and feel free to contact someone and get involved!

 

Fourteen hardy souls (7 adults, 5 youth, and 2 mature children) traveled to Marion, VA in June for our annual Hands-On Mission Trip to Project Crossroads under Joe Dooley’s leadership, June 7-10. Judy Graham was gracious (and muchly appreciated!) as our head cook and meal planner. This year’s project was centered around a primary task of rebuilding a donated house that had groundwater intrusion to the foundation (requiring a trench and drainage system to be created, as well as replacing a significant number of old floor joists) and a secondary task of splitting and stacking the remaining wood at the Project House in preparation for the winter firewood demand. Joe, Mark Graham, Randy Creswell, Tim Brown, Dean and Leslie Little were the other adults. A hard-working group of youth/young adults included Logan Housewright, Aiden Spencer, Emma Creswell, Ellyanna Davidson, and Haley Sherrod. Troy and Lily Graham were especially appreciated for their positive attitudes and hard work in pulling out nails and knocking down walls, as well as being willing to help in anything asked of them. A good time was had by all, and (as usual) more work was accomplished than anticipated. Great job, team! An interesting sidebar to the work performed happened when Joe went fishing in the creek near the Project House on two consecutive evenings. The first evening, he was treated to see a group of otters playing in the stream across the creek from him. The second evening, there was an adult beaver swimming upstream about 6 feet away! Now, how cool was that! The weekend before, the Hands-On Mission saw some of our same folks traveling to Marion, VA to participate in the primary fundraiser for Project Crossroads: their annual golf tournament. Led by Joe Dooley, Randy Creswell, Daniel Dooley, and David Ingram formed a team. Reports say that they played well and had a good time doing so. BRUMC Missions also sponsored a hole. Thanks, guys, for supporting Project Crossroads.

 

In other news, the Food Pantry has been so successful in providing food and toiletries to our neighbors in need that we had issues with keeping the shelves stocked adequately. Thankfully, Teresa Gillenwaters and Teresa Bryant have each volunteered to be the primary Second Harvest shoppers for the Pantry! We also updated our list of people who will shop the local stores to supplement those items that are not available at Second Harvest. In addition, gleaning at the Knoxville downtown Market Square has come back into season, and we have fresh produce coming in every month. It takes a village…and I am personally thankful to be a member of the Beaver Ridge village.

 

July needs for the Food Pantry are canned beans, spaghetti sauce, cake mixes and frosting. Other suggestions for donations: boxed cereals, pasta noodles (other than spaghetti).

 

Blessings to all,

Leslie Little, Missions Chair 865-804-6642