One church's mission to Appalachia

MONROE — Sixteen high school students four adult leaders from St. Paul Lutheran Church left Monroe last Sunday, July 12, for a week-long trip to Mingo County in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, just off the Kentucky border.

The area is steeped in a rich history of coal mining which, in many ways, is inseparable from daily life and also influences the political and economic life of these small towns.

The St. Paul youth will serve the community of Williamson, West Virginia, by doing minor home repair, painting or yard work.

They will give the kids from this rural community a constructive way to spend their summer days by running a program known as Kids Club, which includes games, crafts, Bible stories and skits.

In the evenings, they will enjoy the local swimming pool and community center, visit the neighboring community of Delbarton for line dancing and bluegrass music at the Opry House, attend a worship service at a local church and celebrate the week at a community cookout in Delbarton.

The trip was arranged through YouthWorks, a national organization that exists to connect teenagers to God, each other and communities through life-changing Christ-centered mission trips. This is the twelfth consecutive year that St. Paul has sent a group for this type of service opportunity, and the second time they have served in this part of the country.