Mission Trip 2008

Trip Recap written by Alison Toman

            I feel that I have been so blessed this summer. I was paired with a wonderful group of women and we were able to share our love for Christ. My great adventure started off in June. As we made our way to Beverly, KY the group of seven Kappa Phi women took in the scenery and dreamed up ideas of what our mission trip would be like. As we started getting closer we noticed that houses became farther apart. The hills began to rise into mountains and our anticipation became greater.
            When we finally pulled into Red Bird Mission everything was beautiful. I recall Sally Marple saying that we were in God’s County. I whole-heartedly agree. As I looked around and started to see how beautiful it really was. Once we got settled in we were told that we were in Eagles Nest, the highest cabin at the camp. We stared unpacking and talking about what the next day would bring.
            On the first full day at Red Bird we went to our mission site. Our project was to build an eight by ten foot deck. We arrived to the site we all started toward the back of the house where the deck would be built. As we made it to the back we realized that our work would be cut out for us. There were weeds almost six feet tall and the door where the deck would be built was seven feet up in the air. We knew that we were going to be challenged, but a little hard work didn’t scare us away. The first thing that we did each day when arriving to the site was pray, this particular day we prayed that we would find a way to build our deck. We started clearing out the area and dug out the holes needed for the posts. At the end of our first day we had the posts and part of the frame built.
Once we returned to camp we had our dinner and cleaned ourselves up and went on two tours. The first tour was of the Red Bird School. This school housed student’s kindergarten through twelfth grade. Many of the teachers there came on mission and never left.  The school was an amazing place with murals in almost every room. The second tour was of the Craft Store. The Craft Store sells items made by local craftsman. These items include handmade rugs, baskets, homemade jams, woodwork and jewelry. Red Bird has the craft store to help out the local people to sell their items.
            Our second day at camp turned out to be a challenge just as the first. We ran into problems building our frame but worked through it. We worked so hard that we were able to put down almost all of the deck boards. The homeowner was so excited. We later found out that they had a small cookout on the deck to celebrate that evening. This gave us the strength to work towards finishing the project. Our evening adventure was a tour of the clinic and dental office. This building housed everything needed to take care of minor injuries to daily check ups. As with the rest of the things at Red Bird Mission many of the tools and equipment were donated.         
            On Wednesday we had a day off. Some of us started the day off by taking a tour of the Community Store. This is where families can come in and buy furniture, clothing, appliances, and school supplies. The community store helps to give the local people a feeling of ownership when they buy the donated items instead of feeling like it is passed out as a charity. Once this tour was over we started our trip towards Cumberland Falls. This is where our real adventure was. All seven of us decided that it would be fun to go on a boat ride to get closer to the falls. To our surprise the boat ride got us all so close that we were soaked. We had an amazing tour guide and he lead us right underneath the water that hit off a large rock located at the base of the waterfall. We were told that the waterfall was 70 feet high. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
            On Thursday, we went to our work site and finished up our deck. We made the stairs that led up to the deck and worked on putting up the railing. As we finished the deck we stood back and prayed. We had all come together and completed a project that not only touched the lives of the homeowner but ours as well. I had never had a better sense of accomplishment than I had on mission. Once we returned back to camp we were praised for not only finishing the deck but for finishing it early. One of the jokes all week was how eight women were going to build a deck. Our crew leader Lindsay led the way and we all followed diligently to finish the project. The directors at Red Bird were so proud of us. They couldn’t believe that we finished such a challenging project so quickly. Our entertainment for the night was the talent show. We watched many acts ranging from singing to skits to magic tricks. Our group did a skit about our mission trip. One of our favorite sayings is “How far is it…just down the road!” and this could mean one minute to two hours.
            On our final day at Red Bird we were assigned to work at the school painting a classroom and stairs. We also worked out at the lumberyard helping to put away a new shipment. We painted and cleaned at the school so that a new computer lab could go in. That evening we had a service and watched the fireworks for the Fourth of July.
            While in Kentucky I met some people that have touched my life forever. I also got to know some of my fellow Kappa Phi’s even better than I knew them before. Red Bird Mission Trip is something that has touched my life forever. I will forever be in debt to those who provided the funding for the scholarship I was granted to go on mission. I had never felt closer to God that I did during that week. Since then I have strengthened that bond. I hope that everyone can experience something so life changing as I did on mission. Thank you to all of you who provided me with the chance to go, it is greatly and sincerely appreciated.

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