The fourth of July passed and I realized: only a few days until we leave! There has been a flurry of activity to get ready for the trip. Making lists and checking them twice. Getting casseroles made and frozen. Finalizing the itinerary.
Probably the best part of this planning came yesterday, as I went to the Lowes store in Woburn, with a check for $1,885 to get gift cards. I went to the service desk and explained. The service person went to get the manager(!). It took a while, but we got 37 $50 gift cards up and running. I combined them with the gift cards we already have, and it totals over $2,200. What generosity - my heart is full of gratitude for the faithful people of this church who believe in transforming the lives of the poorest people in Appalachia! I said it in the newsletter, and I still believe it: even though 16 people are going down, in reality, all of you are going down with us. If you worked on or attended the Mission Festival, had a plate of spaghetti and meatballs at the Spaghetti Dinner, went to Flatbreads to eat pizza on our fundraiser night, gave gift cards, sent Amazon packages to the Wade Center - all of you are going down there, all of you are on the Mission Team!
With each trip to West Virginia, we learn more about the area, the people, the culture, the challenges and the solutions. I strongly suggested that the mission team read "Hillbilly Elegy" by J.D. Vance. It is an eye-opening account of the challenges facing people growing up in Appalachian culture. His story of how he went against the tide that was trying to pull him down into poverty and despair is inspiring. His analysis of what really keeps folks in Appalachian in poverty is revealing. Many might question his observations, which tend to be conservative, but his points need to be taken seriously.
I've also been helped by the Facebook feed of several Appalachian organizations, like Appalachian Voices, Appalachian Magazine and West Virginia Public Radio. Each lead me to articles and podcasts that fill in the picture. I was deeply moved to watch the documentary, "Fire on the Mountain" which tells about the history and current struggle over coal mining. If any wants a great analysis of coal and West Virginia, it is on Netflix.
This year's Mission Trip will be different. Last year, we went down, wondering where we will be staying: what it's going to be like, what will the people be like? This time, we know where we're going and who will be at the Folklife Center; we have developed a strong relationship with agencies in WV, so going down will be a matter of developing existing relationships, which is a big part of our goal.
A big difference is that we are taking 16 people down with us. That's over 3 times that went down before! It includes 4 youth, which is really exciting. The larger amount means more planning, but even more, it means we can really do some significant work down there. It is a real blessing to send so many down! We have a mix of "veterans", people who went on the New Orleans Mission trips and those who have never been on a trip before. We are blessed to have two people who are not members of the church. It has somehow been a tradition to have non-church members on the trip, and they turn out to bless us in unexpected and profound ways. We look forward to working with them.
We leave the church parking lot on Saturday morning at around 7:30 a.m. Please keep us in your prayers, especially for travel mercies on the way down. I will be checking in with y'all when we get to Chambersburg, PA, our halfway point on the journey.
Pastor John
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