Connecting to God in West Virginia

I grew up in a small country church in Delaplane, Virginia, about an hour west of DC. As a youth, I attended many mission trips, and an adult from the church always volunteered to take us on these spiritually refilling and physically empowering trips. I learned this past spring that the church wanted to send five teens on a Group Workcamps mission trip to Webster County, WV during the first week of July, but had yet to have an adult step up to allow the trip to happen. It was inconceivable for me to just sit back and watch these teens miss out on such a wonderful growing experience, so I signed up.
Now wait a minute.
Did I just sign up to go to a VERY rural part of West Virginia, spend a week without pay from work and sleep on a school floor with 300 teenagers!? Yes. Yes I did. And I loved every minute of it!

We set out to offer our (somewhat limited) home repair skills and our kindness to a community in need while also working on our own spiritual growth. The week allowed us many opportunities to serve and to be served, and I am so glad I made the decision to attend.

The week began with our beautiful journey to Webster County High School, our home for the week, in a very mountainous, poverty-stricken part of the state. We had a chance to get settled, meet some of the other 20 youth groups from 17 different states, and get ready for our first evening program. My group of youth would be dispersed throughout the camp into one of 46 work crews who would then be assigned separate projects along side other youth and leaders. The variety of projects spanned anywhere from deck replacement to handicap ramp construction to LOTS of interior and exterior painting, but we also knew that our projects would include ministering to our homeowners and getting to know them better.

Every day’s routine was about the same: From waking up, to morning programs, to a full day of work at our different homes, to free time and evening programs every night, the schedule was quite full! My work crew of twelve worked for a couple whose family home had been abandoned for nearly fourteen years. They were desperate to make the home safe and suitable for their children and grandchildren to visit, let alone for their own comfort. Their income made it hard to give priority to painting and replacing several sections of flooring, yet they demonstrated their generosity and appreciation by providing a cookout for the group one afternoon. This outpouring of love for our efforts and our friendship was very meaningful to them and it meant even more to me. It was instances like this that would be shared with the whole camp as “Godsightings,” or ways we saw God in our lives throughout the day.

The trip provided for many opportunities for devotional time and reflection. Around lunchtime and following the evening program, the groups would each discuss an element of the verse that served as our theme for the week. The verse from John 5:15 says: “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” The discussions we had helped us to understand that there are many ways to see God working in our lives, and many opportunities for us to listen and welcome God’s grace and love. We also began to understand that our spiritual “fruit,” like our time serving others, is a way to connect us to one another as the body of Christ, but also to set us apart as one of God’s unique and blessed children.

I have returned refreshed, revitalized, and renewed in my commitment to Christ and to mission. I hope that the Saint Mary’s 20s and 30s community can continue to value our place in the outreach efforts of the church and begin the process of planning our own mission trip adventure! Please comment if there are places or organizations that you would love to work with in the coming year, for day trips or for a long weekend service trip. All ideas are welcome!

-- by Jackie Wright, St. Mary's, Arlington