TKA Service Trip Kentucky 2024

Apparently, this post did not upload last night...

Unfortunately, we were without internet all day yesterday, likely due to the stormy weather. So, I apologize for not having a post yesterday. This post will catch you up on some of what has taken place the last couple of days, and then I’ll follow up with some pictures.

From Monday evening: We just finished the first workday here in Paintsville. The Orange Team drove about 20 miles to the nearby town of Wayland, KY. There, tucked into the small, rolling, tree-covered mountains, was an old home. After setting up, the team began dismantling what remained of a dilapidated deck and staircase outside the front door, setting posts for the new deck, and cutting and prepping the parts of the deck. The morning weather was beautiful; overcast with the briefest of rain showers, and the afternoon was partly cloudy and warm. It was a full day’s work, and we left the home having rebuilt the deck, and hung the first section of the ramp that we will continue building tomorrow.

From Tuesday: We started Tuesday with a short devotion for all of the campers (not just TKA folks) shared by our very own Joanna and Kayi. They did a lovely job delivering a message encouraging us to share Christ’s love. Noah also shared with the TKA team his insightful reflections on Christmas, Easter, and Christ’s example of serving others. I was really impressed with all of the students who spoke, and it was an encouragement to many to hear them. Later when we arrived on our worksites, we were excited and ready to accomplish a lot, having already seen so much progress on Monday. The morning went well, despite a very brief rain shower, but we were disappointed to learn that work for the rest of the day had been canceled due to expected storms. The forecast even indicated that our area was on a tornado watch yesterday evening. Fortunately, the storms weren’t as bad as expected, and the students remained in good spirits, despite the lost time on the worksites. We took them to Dairy Queen here in town, where for the first time, many of them tried one of the best ice cream treats known to man, the Blizzard (I enjoyed a Nutter Butter Butterfinger Blizzard, myself). One student even let me know that Warren Buffett purchased Dairy Queen just so he could have free Blizzards and food there. In the evening, we watched a fascinating, short, in-house documentary on Eastern Kentucky history, and the history of the Christian Appalachian Project. It was very interesting to learn about the people in the area, and their struggle to get by.

Today (which was actually Wednesday), despite some tiredness, we again approached our workday with zeal, ready to make up for lost time yesterday. And that we did, as you’ll see in the pictures to come. Both teams eager and hopeful we will finish the jobs on our worksites tomorrow. In addition to accomplishing a lot on our worksites, students were treated to something they don’t get in the Bay Area. And no, I’m not talking about eating dinner at Billy Ray’s (although we did that, too!). I’m talking about rapidly changing weather conditions. I don’t remember the exact progression, but it was something along the lines of wind, sun, light rain, heavier rain, light rain, no rain, cold, rain, hail, and sun, all within the span of about 15 minutes or less. I’m sure it will live in their record books as one of the weirdest weather days they’ve experienced for years to come.

Well, those are just some of the highlights. So far as I can tell, though we’re all tired, we’ve all had an amazing experience in Kentucky so far, and are so happy to have been part of this amazing experience. We covet your prayers as we look forward to one last day to finish our projects.

Today (Thursday): Both groups finished their work projects. We are happy and excited to have completed our projects and it was so satisfying to see the result of all of our work this week. Orange team finished by 2:00 p.m. and we celebrated by once again visiting DQ for some delicious treats. While we know our work doesn't "fix" the endemic struggles faced by many in Eastern Kentucky, we know that we have helped one person, Karen (and others in her family). If all you can do is help one, help one. Not no one. Not everyone. Just one. We are grateful to have had the opportunity to give Karen 'freedom'.

That's all for now. We are excited to be coming home tomorrow, and we beseech you to pray for our safe travel. If I receive any additional updates or photos from the red team, I'm make sure to post them.