St. Thomas Mission Trip 2015
As I write this, it is early Friday morning in Whitesville, West Virginia, and day seven of the St. Thomas Aquinas mission trip. The morning fog rolls off the tips of the Appalachian Mountains that surround this small mining town in the southern part of the state. The decline in the coal industry has left Whitesville, a coal-mining town, with a dwindling population and a high rate of unemployment. Many of those who have remained in Whitesville live in extreme poverty.
For more than 20 years, a group of St. Thomas parishioners has come here during the summer in order to repair homes and to build relationships with homeowners. With guidance from the adults on the trip, the teens fix floors and roofs, build decks and ramps and get to know people who live a very different lifestyle from their own. At the end of the week, the teens were asked to talk about the most meaningful part of the trip. Here is a glimpse of their responses:
To see these people and how they live … some of them haven’t been out of their house in years. The conditions they live in are very bad … they’re living on a day to day basis, just trying to survive. We take so much for granted. Our crappiest day would be considered their best day. ... It’s not really what we’re doing for them, but rather that we’re here and that they have another person, someone else with whom they can share their love and their faith and it’s just so powerful to see that.
Evan Wangenheim, rising senior, Cambridge High School.
It’s meaningful that they allow us to work on their houses. Their trust in us is inspiring.
Savanna Milam, rising junior, Roswell High School.
The most meaningful thing that I learned this week is what a difference one person can make in just one week. Jason Howard, rising sophomore, Cambridge High School .
I will always remember seeing the smile on our homeowner Nancy’s face when we finished the roof. It was incredible to see her happiness.
Rafael Piscopo, college freshman.
It’s been meaningful to see the change in the person after you work on their house … it’s amazing ... for example, Miss Hawkins, when we first got there, she wouldn’t talk to us, she would just peek out the window. That was a couple days ago. Now she has opened up and she’s always out there with us, talking to us.
Meghan Nettuno, rising freshman, home-schooled.
I got to meet a lot of new people. This kid, Jake, who is six years old … he never really went outside his little yard. For the first time, we took him outside to watch the train go by … we squashed some little coins on the railroad track. We gave him one to see the look on his face and he was ecstatic. We always talk about service in the church. This is an excellent opportunity to go out and DO what we’ve been talking about.
Donovan Giardina, rising senior, Sequoyah High School.
