GAiN USA Warehouse Work Project In-Country Mission Trip

Just a brief update from the 2008 GAiN US Warehouse Work Project (Mount Joy, PA)…

AATW In-Country Mission team was made up of 9 people consisting of Mary L, Connie B., Cookie S., Donita W., Jolie M., Chuck B., Gary S., Sereta M and Judy B. We left on Thursday morning (Oct. 11) at 5:30 am. Gary was gracious enough to drive the twelve hours to Lancaster. Gary and his wing man Chuck B took the group there safely and back. We stayed with Adrienne Hopper’s parents. Tony (Andrienne’s dad) was great. He opened up his home to 9 strangers. It was truly a blessing for us. East Lake donated 181 backpacks for this project.

It’s hard to describe all that goes on with GAiN (Global Aid Network.) They have a huge warehouse in Mount Joy , PA where items of every type are sorted, packed, and shipped overseas in containers to be distributed by various mission teams. These items go to orphanages, nursing homes, prisons, etc. with the intent of being both compassionate aid and sharing of the gospel.

In the two weeks of the project they have over 5000 volunteers of every Christian [denomination] who help with this. It’s amazing to see how people can come together in unity to do something like this. We saw 5 year-olds and people up to 80 years old. We saw people who had handicaps (one guy, Dave, had Parkinson’s disease and he would go around to every group of workers throughout the day and pray for them). Many youth groups were also there. Everything is donated except materials to make the “gospel bracelets” and some of the material for the “gospel aprons.” The lady who took us on our initial tour stated that all the food to feed the volunteers is donated and sometimes they will show up and no food will be there first thing in the morning. But she said by mid-morning, someone always donates food and God has never ceased to provide. There were about 700 people there each day that we worked and they provided lunch and two breaks with food.

During the lunchtime and breaks, we had devotional (imagine 700 people singing “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” complete with kids and hand motions at the same time.) Then they would show pictures of places where the items were sent and the people who had gone on the mission trips to distribute these items would talk. It was very satisfying to see that what we were doing makes a real difference in people’s lives. Many are brought to Christ (even in countries where you cannot openly share the gospel) because someone cared enough to love them.

All of the GAiN staff at the warehouse are volunteers. GAiN owns the warehouse and since almost everything is donated, there is very little overhead. They had everything well organized to make it a positive mission experience.

Global Aid Network will have another Warehouse Work Project in June 2008. This would be a great chance to experience just a “taste” of what international missions is about. I would highly recommend this type of trip to everyone (especially to families).