INDUSTRY – After 45 years, the roof on Muriel Powers’ home needed to be reshingled.

Excessive snow this winter caused ice to form and water to seep in and leave small stains around the edges of her ceilings.

When an application from the Mission of the Eastward appeared in the mailboxes of Industry residents earlier this year, Powers filled hers out describing the work she needed done.

Last week that work was completed plus more by a youth church group from Langhorne, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia.

“It’s so heart uplifting,” Powers said. “I’m extremely pleased. They have gone the extra mile and accomplished not only the roof but took it upon themselves to do more.”

The group also painted the window trims and stained Powers’ deck.

Powers was one of four home-owners in Industry and Starks to benefit from the efforts of the four teams of young people, who with adult instruction undertook everything from porch repair to wainscoting, drywalling and building cabinet doors, said Barb Chase, youth director for Langhorne Presbyterian Church.

“But, the week spent in Maine has a ripple effect. … it’s bigger than the work done on their houses. … it’s a spiritual journey,” Chase said of providing a work camp in other states. This group comes to Maine every other summer and combines with a larger group the opposite summer to minister in other states.

Along with daily sharing of Bible verses, prayer and testimonies, the youth also learn to live in a community, she said. The group lives like a family, staying in the Mallett Dorm at the University of Maine at Farmington. They prepare their meals at Henderson Memorial Baptist Church, she added.

They bring their own cooks, a nurse, some parents and other adults trained in home repair to supervise the work done on homes.

The trip can also open their eyes to their passions and gifts in life, Chase said. Rather than basing career decisions on money and time, the experience can help them choose careers based on those talents.

“They sometimes find they are good with the elderly, or the handicapped or the homeless,” Chase said.

Fun and play are also added into the trip, she said. The group spent a day whitewater rafting and had the use of the UMF Fitness Center.

It also takes work just to get to Maine, Chase said.

The group must raise about $500 per person to cover the costs of food, gas and lodging. That fundraising starts in September and runs until the next summer.

The Mission of the Eastward covers some material costs and homeowners are asked if they can help pay for some materials on the application, Chase said.

About 3,000 applications are sent to people in the community but only about 100 come back, Chase said. Decisions on which houses to work on are then based on financial need or whether they are elderly or single parents, she said.

It’s been a week of interaction between Powers and the teens working on her home, Powers said. Each day Powers has provided home-baked goodies for her crew while the youth have taken time to visit with her.

“The boys tend to pat you on the back but one young girl is a hugger,” Powers said. “It’s been fun and I’m going to miss them.”