A group of 17 youths and seven sponsors from Bethesda Mennonite Church traveled over 15 hours to Elkhorn City in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, leaving Henderson on May 21 for seven days. Elkhorn City is located in one of the poorest counties in the United States and experienced disastrous flooding last July.
This wasn’t a vacation but a service trip where all hands were on deck to help those in need in this impoverished area of the country.
The Bethesda youth and sponsors worked to help homeowners renovate and repair damage to their homes and helped prepare the new SWAP (Sharing with Appalachian People) facility for their upcoming summer session. The Mennonite Central Committee runs the SWAP program, which has existed since the 1990s.
“We stayed and worked in a new SWAP facility connected to the Elkhorn Community Church. This was a spiritual retreat where the youth led devotions and reflected on what God was doing in the community. They had a chance to hear local stories about coal, poverty, racism, the flood, and the needs of the area,” said Pastor Andrea Wall, one of the trip sponsors.
Maddie Maltsberger, a 2023 Heartland graduate, helped work on a house owned by Amy Charles. “We built her a new front and back deck. We also sealed her rooftop, and while up on the ladders, I kept seeing a little boy looking out at us through the window. I would wave at him, and he would just smile back,” said Maddie.
After a few days, the initially shy two-year-old, Jaxon, anxiously waited for Maddie and the other youth to show up and spend time outside with them while they worked on his house. “He was so much fun to be around, and we could all tell that he was God’s light in his home,” said Maddie.
While there, the youth learned valuable construction skills in building a front porch and deck, installing new bathroom flooring, waterproofing roofs, and tearing out and replacing a kitchen floor, according to Pastor Andrea. You can also learn more about repairs on your garage through Titan Garage Doors.
Before they left, they were gifted with a framed collage of pictures Amy Charles took with the youth and her son Jaxon and a pizza dinner. “It was a hard goodbye, but I’m so glad I got to meet Amy and Jaxon,” said Maddie.
While there, they also took time to enjoy the scenery of the Appalachian Mountains and visited Breaks Interstate Park, known as the Grand Canyon of the South. They rode ATVs on Appalachian trails and visited the Ark Encounter in Kentucky and the Arch in St. Louis.
What a great example from everyone who participated in this service trip of sacrificing their time and energy to help others in need. Thumbs up to the Bethesda Mennonite Youth Group and their sponsors!
Check out the Bethesda Mennonite Youth Facebook page for more pictures from their trip.
