"What an adventure."
I think that's the best way to concisely describe the week that seven students and I spent in Charleston, West Virginia at the holler and downtown locations of the Union Mission of Charleston.
The week began with a snowy trek over the hill and through the woods to the coal mining town and capital of the Mountain State. Despite precarious conditions on the winding highway, we all took in the natural beauty and delighted in the snow that is so rare at Campbell.
The six hour drive brought us "down the holler," as the locals say, a narrow valley between two mountains where the majority of the Mission's facilities sit on hills and in hills. As soon as our feet hit the pavement outside the womenfolk's dorm at Brookside, the recovery center for homeless women and children, we became an unstoppable force of oatmeal packet sorters, envelope stuffing experts, and donation organizing extraordinaires... and those are only a few of the tasks we accomplished!
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I observed a lot and learned a lot last week. The images strongest in my mind still are of the clients who came into Family Services needing a food and/or clothing voucher. The clients didn't mind a stranger (me) sitting two seats away while they explained that they can't afford to buy new sneakers for their 10-year-old or how diapers are just too expensive these days. The Mission doesn't ask for an explanation for needing help, though a series of questions about income paints a dreary picture for me as I sit, listening intently and soaking in this rare opportunity to see, hear, and smell poverty that's literally inches from me.
I can speak only on my own experiences. Our students journaled throughout the week on their experiences and thoughts (check back in the coming days for additional reactions):
Jessica Beaver "If I had to summarize my mission trip to West Virginia in one word it would have to be love. I experienced an unimaginable amount of love. I was floored and amazed by the different types and magnitude of love in and around the Union Mission.
I spent a lot of the week sorting clothes, shoes and food that went into the Mission’s thrift store. I cannot even begin to explain the amount of things there were to sort. Literally, things were piled to the ceiling and once you finished on pile, there were at least 3 more behind it. At one point I was standing keen deep in a pile of shoes that needed to be sorted and feeling pretty overwhelmed with the task in front of me. Then I realized, all of these shoes (and clothes and food items) were donated by the community. The people of the community are constantly giving to the Mission. In my eyes, the community is showing a tremendous amount of love for the Mission by supplying a never ending flow of donations. The people of the community are loving people in need, people they have probably never meet, simply by donating clothes, shoes, food, etc."
"I gained a new perspective on many things during the week in West Virginia. I got to really live out what the Bible says about serving the poor and needy. During one of our group debriefing sessions after a day of work one of our leaders (LaCount) said something that really struck me. He explained that as he sat eating dinner with the people at the shelter who were hungry and had nothing he realized that if Jesus was still walking on earth he would probably be right there. He would not be in a church but rather sitting with and serving these people. Suddenly after hearing this I felt honored to be serving these strangers because I knew that is what my Lord did. I encourage everyone to try out a mission trip experience. You will not regret it!"
Cara Glover
Pictures speak a thousand words, so I suggest that you check out the Facebook photo album from the trip.
