A little bit of time has passed since I was in Appalachia. Even though I said I was going to take time for myself to debrief and reflect on the summer, I really haven’t yet. So I figured now would be a better time than any. Every day, my heart longs more and more to be in those mountains. To have to wake up at 5:30 in the morning, throw on my overalls, and head to the lumber store in a 15-passenger van with the windows down and Top 40s blaring on the radio. It is awesome how God has given me little reminders that this summer wasn’t a dream. How, at 3:00 p.m on Sundays, I always happen to look at the clock and think, “My volunteers will be here soon.” Or how I sometimes get the urge to eat a PB&J sandwich…just because I think that is all there is to eat for lunch. Then there are days where I daydream in class, my mind still not comprehending the fact that I DID IT: spent a summer repairing homes for 15 families in Central Appalachia. Knowing how to build a porch, ramp, put a truss roof on a trailer, re-pitch a roof on a house, fix the plumbing in a bathroom, install a girder/foundation system…only based on 10 days of construction training. I learned how to drive a 15-passenger van up and down the hills of West Virginia, even maneuvering switch-backs…no matter how many boards of lumber or bags of concrete or drywall I was transporting. God opened my heart and instilled in me the confidence to share my testimony to over 600 people ranging from 15 years old to 87 years old. I lived with three other college-aged adults who became my family in a matter of 8 weeks. I miss the inside jokes we had that no one else would ever understand (Bananagrams, J-bolt, secant, DoubleD, flintastic, inside-corner). I can only laugh when I randomly think of how exciting it was to drive 45 minutes to Lowe’s and getting a couple bars of cell reception. Being at college has been great, though. I love having such a powerful support system I can turn to. My sorority sisters, Campus Outreach friends, an even the freshmen I have just met have shown so much support in wanting to hear about my summer and being that shoulder to lean on when I need it. As I sit here in my dorm room, with my overalls hanging up in my closet, it’s a constant struggle for me to move onto my life in college without the continuous thoughts about my families—how they are doing, if our projects are holding up, do they even remember me? I am so hopeful though as I look through all of the thousands of pictures, taken by volunteers, that I made a difference and that God used me this summer. I have stayed in contact with many of my volunteers and I rejoice when I hear that they haven’t forgotten about their week in Mingo County. This summer wasn’t about me, whether I would still fall in love with Appalachia Service Project. It wasn’t about building a resume or having some awesome story to be able to tell when I go back to school. This summer was about surrendering to God; going back to the basics of who I was and who He wants me to be. It was about realizing that I wasn’t perfect, and that I still have so much to learn. This summer was about letting God use me in so many ways: to be an inspiration to youth that found hope through my story, to be the motivator to 600 people that they are the hands and feet of Christ and to see them become excited about working for the Lord. It was about humbling my heart and allowing 15 families to step in and show me the most down-to-earth faith I will probably ever experience. I came into this summer as a girl who worried about so many things, but came out of it worrying about nothing because for once, I finally realized what Philippians 4:6-7 looked like. I may not have a clear picture of what my life will look like in a few weeks, months, or years, but I know that every morning when I wake up that God chose me for another day and that is all I need to focus on. I found out even more that I don’t have to go into anything with expectations, just an open and flexible heart. I was afraid of how I was going to grow this summer, but now looking back, God grew me in ways I could have never imagined. One verse, since I’ve came back to school that has really helped me when I feel like no one understands, is Micah 6:8 where it says, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what exactly does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” That’s it. That is all I have to do…it is what He requires…so why not?! I feel that this verse has become my new life verse from this summer. I write a peace sign, a heart, and a cross after my signature. Before I read this verse, I told everyone it meant peace love faith. But now it stands for peace sign (seek justice), heart (love mercy) and cross (walk humbly with God). God has stilled my heart, and although I rejoice in the fact, I struggle with this because I see the world and life from such a different perspective. I see how materialistic, political, and petty the world can be…and it’s hard to stand on my own ground when I see the injustice in people’s decisions. But I have to love them anyway. Every day, God answers my prayer a little more about seeing the world as He sees it. I pray every day that I can be a light on my campus and that God gives me the confidence to love like I did this summer and to never let go on the strength I get from Him to “not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test what and approve what God’s will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will.” –Romans 12:2
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