Reflecting back upon my chance to serve the Christian Appalachian Project with my co-workers this past June is a humbling opportunity that will not be forgotten. Before even beginning the 10 hour journey to Kentucky, I did a little research to know what to expect about the area we would be traveling to. I came to find that it one of the most economically depressed areas in the United States. Many of the residents of the surrounding Appalachian communities suffer from various health problems, rarely complete a high school level education, and usually live below the level of poverty. In order to survive, help from the government, volunteer workers (for example, from the CAP program that BBD served), and donations from the public are vital.
The trip began early on a Sunday morning as I made my way along Interstate 64 with my fellow co-worker, Cristi Tilden, and her husband, Pete. I will admit that the scenery was extremely rural, but also very refreshing. On the way down, we were hit with a huge surprise when we came by a mall in Charleston, West Virginia that housed a Starbucks coffee shop. After we left, it was back to the rural hilly views until we arrived at the CAP house in Salyersville, Kentucky on Sunday night. It was there that we met Anita, the volunteer that would be cooking dinner for us that week. My expectations were not set high, but she blew them out of the water with some of her homemade recipes.
On Monday morning we got to work. One of the full time CAP volunteers, Bob, had been working on a house for a needy couple since March. This couple had been living in an extremely run down home with a leaky roof, boarded up windows, and no electricity. They clearly did not have the means to make a better situation for themselves, and I was thrilled to be able to help them. By the end of the week, our BBD team was able to complete a substantial amount of work on the house including the outdoor siding, a handicap ramp to the front door, and a prime and paint job to all of the interior walls. The couple who we were building the house for personally thanked us throughout each day to let us know how much of a blessing we were to them.
On the way home, I was extremely thankful that I was afforded that opportunity. Not only was I able to help others, but I also felt like it was an eye opening experience to appreciate how fortunate I am in my own life. Everyday it is taken for granted when I have the electricity to flip a light switch on, the clean, running water to take a shower, and the means necessary for groceries in a refrigerator. I never knew that there were so many people in this country without the necessities that most of us would find it so difficult to live without. For these reasons, I look forward to the BBD service trip next year, and hopefully we will be able to have the same impact that we did this past year.