Mission Trip Stories from West Virginia

Since our group was rather large and working on a roof, a few of us decided to help our resident with his overgrown yard. We did hours of weed whacking. It was my first time using both a weed wicker and a hatchet. One particularly funny thing that happened to me was that in the midst of weed whacking, I looked down to see a frog chopped up on the ground. I realized quickly, to my horror, that I had decimated a frog with my careless weed whacking. It was an image I will remember forever.
~Annie

What stands out most about this summer's mission trip is that in just one week we, a bunch of high school students, were able to construct a roof for a needy family. But it wasn't the construction that stuck out as much as the homeowners and how much they deserved it. A married Christian couple, unable to have kids of their own, needed to fix up their home in order to adopt. We could see God softening our hearts to the situation as the week progressed and were able to connect on a heartfelt basis with them through prayer and conversation.
~Jake, 11th grade

I was able to do community outreach during my trip to West Virginia. The kids were really excited to be invited to the carnival and the families were grateful that someone was reaching out to their community. When the day of the carnival came, it was so neat to see so many kids enjoying the games, having fun, and above all, praising God.
~ Beth, 10th grade

I was part of a group that worked on a roof and painted a house for an older lady. Although I connected with our resident, the person I connected with most was her grandson. He really enjoyed having people in his house. He followed us around, helping us with the various repair and upkeep projects we were doing. We all grew really attached to him and him to us. It was difficult to leave and he made us promise to visit him again. I am hoping to return next year and have the opportunity to see him again!
~Ethan, 10th Grade

My group was responsible for installing insulation at the World Servant warehouse. At first our group was disappointed because we weren't working with a specific family or homeowner. However, the leaders at World Servants explained that missionaries and other people will be staying in the building we were insulating. We realized in doing our job we were not just helping one person, but benefiting many different people. I was happy I was able to spend my time in West Virginia doing something that will help a lot of people for many years to come.
~Mary, 10th grade

It was a blessing to get to visit Kim, the woman who owns the house on which we were working, at work one day. We had enjoyed having the opportunity to see firsthand the joy she brings to her community through her work. Kim and her husband, Chris, make a big difference in their community to make it better and to share the love of Christ - it was the least we could do to help them renovate their home.
~Maggie