Aulne parishioners refurbish Texas houses
Staff writer
Aulne United Methodist Church welcomed home Sunday nine adults and 10 teenagers who spent a week on a mission trip to Southside Community Center in San Marcos, Texas.
San Marcos is 30 miles southwest of Austin along I-35 and has a population of about 62,000. The center there is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Methodist conference.
The group was the last of several teams that traveled to San Marcos this summer to refurbish seven houses for low-income people.
Despite temperatures above 100 degrees every day, participants worked from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“We went through a lot of water and took small breaks,” coordinator Shawn Entz said.
Some painted and cleaned up houses that also received new bathrooms, kitchens, siding, and shingles.
Others put up siding, façade, and trimming, and painted and sheeted a roof on a storage shed.
“There was not a lot of shade,” Entz said. “Working in sawdust and sweating all day, they were dirty and itchy by evening.”
Workers stayed in air-conditioned cabins at a camp in the hills 12 miles away.
“The drive to and from the camp was very scenic,” Entz said. “There were a lot of cactus.”
The center provided breakfast and lunch every day. The group participated in worship services Wednesday and Thursday evenings.
At the end of each workday, the group did things like floating on inner tubes on the San Marcos River and visiting a mall. They spent Friday at a Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels.
“Everybody got along very well, and the kids had a great time,” Entz said. “It was a great week, and we made a difference, which was why we went.”
Those who went were Carol Hague; Garrett, Will, and Cade Alleven; Becky and Emma Peterson; Kassidy Bliss; Shawn Entz; Dawn and Don Hett, Jeremy, and Alli; Tina and Dan Hague and Emily; Tyler Entz; Tristan Williams; and pastor Jeff Lee and his wife, Dawn.