Mission team returns from Del Rio

By Sam Waller

A mission team from First Baptist Church of Albany returned home Saturday, July 1, after spending a week helping install a bathroom being added to a home in Del Rio.

The six-member team of Sue Brown of Breckenridge and local residents Ricky Davis, Shane Fields, Nan Herrell, John Ross Reames, and Kyle Viertel departed Sunday, June 25 to assist with the project.

“Our task was to tie in the sewer drainage, water, electrical, and insulation,” Viertel said.  “We got the plumbing, electrical, and insulation in. We did several other things, like building a shelf and a table for that room.”

The structure will become the resi-dence of Bondred “Granny B” Derr, who has donated her property to the river ministry. Derr’s main house is now the centerpiece of a small complex. The ministry uses the facility as lodging for mission teams working in the Rio Grande area of Texas and Mexico.

“There are now two bunkhouses, the main house, and a tiny house,” Viertel said. “There’s a kitchen area, a living area, and a meeting area that belongs to River Mission now. Granny B plans on living out her days in the little place we were working on, and then that will become part of the facility.”

FBC members have often traveled to the border as well as to other states and countries on mission trips.

The Albany team worked with a team from Waller, Texas.

“We worshipped with them every morning and every night at our meal and just had a fantastic time,” Viertel said. “They were a great group, and we enjoyed each other’s company greatly.”