so i got home from Appalacia Service Project (in wise county virginia) yesterday, and let me tell you, it was amazing. i went there knowing abseloutely no one, and i made so many friends by the end.
my work crew was assigned to a house way up in the mountains, and an old lady named maude lived there. she has bronchial asthma, emphysema, and diabetes. plus she was allergic to cats, and hers kept multiplying so there were like 20. A little while ago the mountain pretty much came down on her house. one side of her house buckled. our task was to build a retaining wall out of railroad ties and rebar, and then dig a 60 foot trench. this was backbreaking work. my muscles are still sore. we were using hacksaw to cut the rebar and a saws-all for the railroad ties. and good old fashioned shovels for the trench. wow when we looked back on that, you just felt so proud. maude didn't come out of her house much, but that let our work crew become like a family to me. those guys made it just soo much better. thank you scott, john, sara, tj, mama beach, and pastor lutcher.
Appalacia is a poor area in such a beautiful landscape, still full of coalmines. but i have never seen such a happier, helpful and more grateful community. it just makes you realize all the things you take for granted these days. the highschool we stayed in made me love the lower house. and they are fighting to save coeburn highschool, and we decided to tear down the lower in a heartbeat.
i wish more people could expierence what i did through ASP. it will give you a different outlook on life.
well anyway, last night was amazing! thank you soo much kyle and shan for throwing me a suprise birthday partay. i love you guys. kyles present was the most interesting by far. that was the first time i ever shot a paintball gun. alyssa got me this sweet book (i know what you're thinking, "terri doesn't read ") well the book is titled "JOY" an its full of quotes. well ironically one of the themes in asp was the fruits of the spirit. joy just happens to be a fruit of the spirit. heres a quote that fits the moment-
"work and live to serve others, to leave the world a little better than you found it and garner yourself as much peace of mind as you can. this is happiness"
david sarnoff.
hope you guys have fun.
love terri | 
