We are writing from Hazard, Kentucky, where twenty-six of us from Lord of Life have been dispatched for a week serving with Appalachia Service Project (ASP).
If you haven’t been watching our activity on social media, you might not know that this is been a transformative and powerful week for all of us. We’re here with handful of other churches from around the Midwest hoping to make homes “warmer, safer, and drier” for those who are struggling in an area of our country which is in an endless cycle of poverty and injustice.
ASP “envisions the eradication of substandard housing in central Appalachia and the transformation of everyone who comes into contact with this ministry."
It’s important to know that we didn’t come here to save the families we are serving from their situations or to deliver Jesus to them. Quite the contrary. Instead, we came to accompany them in their journey and to work alongside them as we share laughter, stories of sorrow and hope, and recognize that there’s so much more that is the same between us.
Our group is working in four crews and is focusing on several different home projects, including interior work with drywall, painting, flooring, door and window installation and trim, as well as a good bit of exterior work including digging post holes (by hand) for a porch, refurbishing a ramp and deck, and removal of the decaying stairwell. And that’s only through Wednesday!
We could write about the school where we are staying, Cordia School: Lotts Creek Community School and tell you about the unique marriage of public and private funding that makes education in this county possible through settlement schools. Or we could talk for pages about the families who have welcomed us into their homes and shared the dire circumstances of their lives. We could tell you about the leadership team made up of college students who give a summer, or even a year of their lives, to work with this organization and build bridges between people and communities. There are so many tales of beauty and the presence of God in this place and through this ministry.
Tuesday evening, our program included culture night and had several local voices share about what God is doing through them in this place. One of them spoke about her ministry with those in recovery, and how her organization invites people to healing from addiction by teaching them pottery, blacksmithing, and instrument building. She mentioned that one of the people in the program, after creating a piece of metal art for a family member, commented that it was so “moving to create something after spending so many years breaking and destroying things.”
Walter Crouch, President and CEO of ASP, stopped by to greet us as he made the rounds to several ASP counties this week. In his opening words in our carry-along Field Guide, he said, “Our 2019 theme, ‘Be the peace,’ is more than a slogan, it is a way of life. In a world that often seems anything but peaceful, God has called us to be instruments of love and hope, uniting people by building bridges and settling conflict where we can. As you put your hands and hearts to the task this week, may God’s peace give you the confidence to bring wholeness and happiness everywhere you go.”
These are words for all of us, no matter where we work, play, or live. God tells us to “be the peace” (1 Samuel 25:6). May we do so wherever we are and whatever we do.
With buckets of tools and hope,
Pastor Corey and Pastor Lowell
Don’t miss worship this weekend as we share photos and reflections of our time here. We also invite you to visit Appalachian Service Project website for more information about how you can pray for and support this vital ministry.