MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Ryann Mason, 17, (right) of Bedford paints her 14-year-old sister, Lauren, while working in Shirley Thomas' living room in Pulaski. The girls are volunteers with Project SPY, a missions project for students based at Fieldstone United Methodist Church in Christiansburg. "Thank you is not enough. God bless them," Thomas said of the volunteers.

MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

SPY volunteer Cody Ellis, 11, of Bedford spreads mulch around the flower garden he helped plant in the front yard of Shirley Thomas' Pulaski home.

| Mary Hardbarger

mary.hardbarger@roanoke.com, 381-1679

CHRISTIANSBURG -- Over the next six weeks, 380 sixth- through 12th-graders will pass through the doors of Fieldstone United Methodist Church.

Traveling from all corners of Virginia, they will join together in Christiansburg, hammers in hand, to participate in the church's fourth summer of Project SPY -- Summer Project Youth, a weeklong missions project for middle school and high school students.

Directed by 14 interns, the students travel throughout the community performing home repairs ranging from painting to last year's feat of building a 60-foot bridge.

Each intern is assigned to a different focus area, including food, recreation and construction.

Casey Langley of Nashville, Tenn., is one of the interns helping to head up the project.

"SPY is very relational," Langley said. "We want to build relationships and empowerment in these kids."

Throughout the week, the campers won't just be working, they will be playing, worshipping and learning skills they can carry with them after their stay.

"The goal is for the experience not to end Friday morning [when the campers leave]," Langley said.

Different organizations such as the LOA Area Agency on Aging and Blue Ridge Independent Living Center notify the church of homes in need of repair. Community members that are older or disabled may have trouble keeping up with their homes, and that's where SPY steps in.

"If we can do it, we'll do it," said Tim Dayton, the "mastermind" behind Project SPY.

This year, Dayton hopes to repair 50 homes, double the amount they have averaged in the past. Of those 50 homes, one will be the 100th repaired.

"I haven't kept the best records, so I'm not exactly sure which home that might be," Dayton said. "But we want everyone to be there to participate in it together, so we're just going to say all the homes worked on that day will be considered the 100th."

Last Monday, a group of 68 eager campers arrived in Pulaski County for the first week of the project.

Originally, the campers were to begin repairs at Blacksburg Estates, but because of a lack of building permits, they were unable to proceed.

Dayton realizes that some roadblocks may occur.

"It's all a learning process," Dayton said. "If something doesn't work out, you just have to make a new plan and move on."

Instead, the campers worked on four different houses. Split up into smaller groups, they tackled painting, window washing, gardening and many more tasks despite the gloomy weather.

"Quality is very important to us," Dayton said. "Sometimes we'll leave a site, learn that something wasn't quite right, and then go right back and correct it."

Matt Spurlock of Christiansburg has been participating in Project SPY for two years and plans to keep coming back, hopefully one day as an intern.

"It's a great feeling knowing that I can help the community and the people," Spurlock said.

"You take back so much from the experience," said Sarah Anne Carroll, a camper from Bedford. "You meet so many new people with completely different stories."

At the end of the day, the campers, some covered in paint and some wound up with extra energy, gathered in the kitchen for a well-deserved meal.

Langley led the prayer, and then the ravenous group dug into their chicken and mashed potatoes.

"I'm thrilled ... it's such an incredible responsibility to try to create an environment that's uplifting and inspiring," Langley said. "It's exciting to see kids dream as big as they want."