Tom's Lessons Learned
The following is from Tom Zeigler on "Lessons Learned" for next time...
This one went extremely well, and we were lucky with accommodations, etc.
A couple things though to consider for next time.
1. Transport less food / snacks / etc. Ask for more cash donations.
2. Consider an equipment trailer. We did OK, but it was tenuous a couple times having to unload trucks to do material runs. And I personally believe we loaded the three vehicles too much for that travel distance.
3. Consider additional onsite vans. Again we did OK, but it was cumbersome a couple times trying to cover different areas, but having to send numbers of people to fill available van space.
4. I think the tools / equipment worked out well. It's good we didn't take anymore than we did. That is really critical, not just from a transportation standpoint but also for on-site management. So we did well there. I think I could have done a better job
at delegating individuals to be responsible for gathering the tools required for the next day's work sites, and assigning vehicles in advance. And I think we could have done a better job of planning material purchases at night for the next day's work.
5. The thing that is very difficult is the time. I'm torn between having one or two individuals making executive decisions and having more people involved. The community time is essential, but honestly I think the majority of the people are exhausted by the end of the day, and really want no part of any planning for the next day. Clearly there needs to be one person taking the brunt of it, but it might he helpful for two or three additional people to work with the lead person, that could assist in #4 above.
Obviously these comments are based upon this particular experience. Depending upon the location, they may not be valid. I think the trigger factors would be:1. One work site or multiple work sites
2. Requirements for purchasing and / or transporting building materials. Once we figured out MS vs. PA, the Lowe's arrangement was great. And of course we may not be able to set that up everywhere.
3. Availability / extent of cooking facilities. We could sometime be in a place where we are cooking outside. That would mean a dining fly, grills and / or propane stoves, etc.
The other thing we should consider is a "mission team" tool chest, if we believe we want to continue this. I know that we bought some miscellaneous tools to do various jobs and they should be gathered up. I good large lockable FRP tool trunk can be bought at Lowe's for about $50. We could ask the congregation to donate old tools to add to this and / or gradually purchase tools to fill it. Just a thought.
posted by John Macdonald at 10:37 AM
3 Comments:
My comments on Tom's suggestions:
- For Seeker's workcamp, we rent a 5x9 or 6x10 uHaul trailer. It adds about $130 for the week, but it is very worthwhile.
- We could also have more people driving to our destination in the first place. Of course, this is not always feasible, and if we go international, it's a non-starter.
- With seeker's workcamps, we share the worksite planning a bit more that we did in Mississippi, and I think it works well. Bill Campbell plays the role of Tom and coordinates all of the work to be done with the agency or group that we are serving. Then on a nightly basis the "site leaders" sit together with Bill and coordinate their next day's worth of work, including who and how many workers, and the tools required. This has worked well, but may be a bit dependant upon the individuals and personalities of the people involved.
When there is a large group, it makes sense that more than one person supervise the work. Seems like we could have one Lead person who scopes out the work and does the planning for the "big picture" and then assign "foremen" to handle various jobsites. The site supervisor and the overall construction manager could make work crew assignements each day as the work progressed.
I didn't have any trouble taking orders...I just felt there were more people better qualified than I was to handle the details. Too many cooks in the kitchen...you know.
Speaking of cooks....Another thought is the lunch thing. I know this is the way it is done on youth work camps, but I have gone on hiking vacations with adults where we all just got up in the morning and packed our own lunch. It was then our responsibility to carry it. We could do the same thing and just send a cooler to each site. When we got to our assigned site, we could each put our own lunch in the site cooler. Then if we got "reassigned" to another site before lunch, it would be our responsibility to get our lunch and take it along. That way, everybody eats and no wasting time figuring out how many lunches have to go where and we can all eat what we want.
Since fellowship on the sites is a great by product of the work, it's nice to be able to "mix up" the people we work with when it's feasible. It's a great way to get to know more people better. I know that is just one more thing in the planning....but.....
One thing I did notice at the PDA site was a huge supply of tools. If we return to Miss, it may be beneficial to find out if we could borrow some larger tools from PDA instead of taking them along. Especially if we are not sure if we would need them.
I wouldn't worry about having ALL the purchases made the nite before....we will always have to make a "Lowes" run for use of the facilities!!
Dad, as you have said to me often, "We live and learn." Considering it was our first adult mission trip to an unknown territory with unknown existing conditions, we did it great. Next time, we'll do it even better. Sign me up!
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