My time in Kentucky was a blur. However, it was an experience that was very valuable and I believe I will benefit from it greatly. I believe experiencing other cultures is extremely valuable. We will obviously be doing this as we go to different countries all around the world, but I didn’t think we would during our time in Kentucky. We worked in Eastern Kentucky in Appalachia, and the people there are much different than the people I’m used to being around. Many of them lived in small communities and have not experienced very much outside of these communities.
There was not much hope there. There was a feeling of despair, and very few people had hope for a better future. So many of the people that live there are moving out, but many don’t have enough money to move. So they just have to stay and keep rebuilding every time the floods come. Many of the people we helped also had their homes flooded about a year and a half before the most recent one, but like I mentioned earlier, they don’t have much of a choice to move. Despite this lack of hope, it was amazing to be able to help them out in such a tangible way, as well as telling everyone who would listen about Jesus. We were able to take their homes that were filled with junk, mud, and rotting walls and floors, and take all of them out so that they can rebuild from there. We were able to make it not so overwhelming and show them that there is hope for their homes to be rebuilt.
The trip was also beneficial to me because I felt like I could take a mental break for a little bit. The month of training camp before leaving was a great time of growth, but it could be overwhelming at times. I was happy to not have to sit through hours of lectures every day and just work. I was also able to use this time to process things and just rest on the things I have learned without having so much shoved on me during this time.
Now if you’re thinking that you want more stories about things in Kentucky, don’t worry, they’re coming. I will be posting another blog in a day or two talking more about the things that happened and the stories I heard while there with Samaritan’s Purse.
