At 8 a.m. Thursday, two white passenger vans rolled into the parking lot of Mo's Landing in Gulf Shores. The crew of 20, clad in red T-shirts, unloaded and waited for instructions from the project lead, Gulf Shores resident Chris Litton.

While many come to the area to vacation and enjoy our beaches, this group was here to serve the community. Youth and adult members of the New Life Church in Arkansas came to Baldwin County for a week of service to others.

Youth pastors Micah Gay and Michael Durossette wanted to find a church to connect with for service opportunities. Naturally, they did a Google search and found Island Church in Orange Beach. The group was originally scheduled to help with landscaping around the church and lend a hand at Island Thrift Shop.

Litton, a long-time member of Island Church, heard the group was coming to town and knew of a greater need.

"I heard there was a group coming down for a mission trip and that they were going to be serving at the Island Church. We knew that Pam Vines had recently passed and that Rick needed help," Litton said. "I approached the church staff and asked if it would be OK to divert them over to help here. They said absolutely that this was a greater need."

Rick and Pamela Vines have been Litton's neighbors for many years, but their history goes back almost 35 years. Rick and Litton worked together at Gulf State Park until Hurricane Ivan took away their place of employment, literally. Pamela was known around the island as "the bird lady" due to the Vines' exotic bird breeding business.

She died July 25 after a long battle with primary lateral sclerosis. For the last four years, Rick was her sole caregiver, which left him little time to worry about the property's maintenance.

"I had come by and visited with Pam and Rick while she was ill and knew the property was in need of some assistance," Little said. "I thought it would be a nice gesture if we could come in and give him a jump start on taking care of things."

Taking care of things is what the youth from New Life Church did despite the July heat. After a safety brief, Litton led the crew to the Vines property where he already had shovels, rakes and hedge clippers lined up at the ready. The crew got straight to work hauling out branches and wood poles and raking up leaves.

Hannah Cousins and Tyler Glasscock were two of the 20 working in the July heat. One is a leader and the other a youth, but both are on their first mission trip.

"I am the Little Life director at our church, but I felt a call to our youth group because I see our little babies and I like to see where they end up as teenagers," Cousins said. "I have never been on a mission trip so when I found the opportunity to support our youth and teach them how to live on mission and serve other people, I took the opportunity."

Glasscock just graduated from high school and is getting ready to head off to the University of Arkansas.

"Originally I wasn't going to go, but I felt extremely called to go on this mission trip," Glasscock said. "This is my first mission trip, so I was really excited to see what it was all about and how we were able to come down here and impact everyone's lives."

Impact lives they did.

When asked what it meant to have the youth group lend a helping hand, Vines said, "It meant everything. It was great, and it didn't take them two hours to just level everything. It is all out by the road waiting to be picked up."

After speaking with Vines, it was clear the impact the New Life Church youth group had on his life was deeper than yard work. Vines was born in Arkansas, and his mother's family is from Van Buren, Arkansas.

"When they were through working, and it was past time they should have quit working because it was so hot, we got around in a circle and did some praying. I was thanking them and shaking hands and asked where they were from and they said Arkansas," Vines said.

Some of the members of the group were from Van Buren and some were from the Fort Smith area where Vines was born. They knew where his mother's family home was and let Vines know the Dairy Freeze his grandfather used to take him to is still there.

"Of all the places for those children could have come from, and they come from where I was born and spent my first year or two of life," he said. "Someone shows up to help me, and they are from where I am from; it kind of blew me away."

Cleaning up the Vines' yard wasn't the only place the group impacted during their week of service. Each day of the week, a different organization: Prodisee Pantry, Mary's Shelter, Central Baldwin Thrift and Summit Church.