First off, it started with a pretty great phone conversation:
A group leader from one of this week's churches called wanting information about the projects that we had assigned to her two crews. I explained that we had placed their whole church on one trailer, one crew inside working on a bedroom floor (which is currently pretty much non-existant) and the other crew working on a wheelchair ramp outside. I then explained that although the projects were standard ASP work, the family would be a different and difficult situation and this was why we had chosen their experienced group. I was really nervous that she would be upset when I described the undiagnosed but obviously present mental disabilities in the home as well as the severe health disabilities of the mother and daughter (hip replacements and scoliosis, respectively) because of the daunting nature that this family situation presents to volunteers. Immediately though, she had the exact opposite reaction than I was expecting. She went on to explain that there was an older woman coming with them (their pastor's wife) who had recently had much anxiety about what her role could possibly be as she doesn't know much construction and worried she would just be in the way. The "God Moment" came then when I was told that this woman has a son with severe scoliosis and has been working with mentally disabled patients for the better part of 25 years. We shared that sweet moment together on the phone where we could both appreciate how awesome God really is, and how He will always find a way to use us in service, even if we don't know how quite yet. It all reminded me of the quote: "God does not always call the equipped, but He will always equip the called." I'm really excited to meet this woman and share in her experience of blindly answering this call to serve.
Returning to the story of my weekend! Mary and I drove from Brenton, WV to Jonesville, VA to pick up my car. Then we headed out to Johnson City/ Kingsport, TN with the Jonesville staff to hang out with the Tri-Cities staff for the night. It was so great to relax with all the people who understand best how badly we really needed to just be and share our stories. Along our drive we definitely took the scenic route, stopping at every lookout for pictures and in Pikeville, KY to see the gravesites of some of the Hatfields and McCoys (where I had some delicious fried green tomatoes for lunch!)
The next morning I woke up fairly early and drove to Bluefield, WV where I was on summer staff in 2010. Since my weekends are all screwed up I never actually seem to know what day it is and I totally forgot that it would be Sunday so the hardware store would be closed and I couldn't visit with people there. I went to lunch with two of my favorite people of all the families we worked for that summer, and then spent the whole day with one of them just driving around and finding the best view of Bluefield. (Note: It's from the top of a new private subdivision that we snuck into. Worth it.) Our picnic in 2010 was in Bluefield State Park and the whole summer they had been building a train (for kids, but obviously awesome for everyone) but we never had gotten to ride it. Apparently it was finished recently and I finally got to experience the magic! It even went through a tunnel!! Mary met up with me later in Bluefield and after running a few errands while we were still in "civilization" (in WV any town with a Walmart = civilized) we started our drive back to Brenton. On the way, just outside of Bluefield, we stopped at Pinnacle Rock to watch the sunset over the mountains. We got some incredible pictures and met a few unique people-- an Appalachian documentary photographer, and a motorcyclist who was spending a few days off of work riding around Appalachia with no particular destination in mind. Once we got back on the road, it got dark fast and we spent the next couple hours driving through a bunch of sleepy mining towns set back into the hills.
"I lift mine eyes unto the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2
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| Mary and me at the RD Bailey Overlook near our center |
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| Sunset from Pinnacle Rock State Park near Bluefield, WV |
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