It has been months since I submitted a blog entry. While I am sorry for being so slow, this summer has just been BUSY.
May and June were busy months as we got started hosting the summer mission trip season at Foley Mission Center. Some weeks we had one group at a time, but other weeks we hosted multiple groups. I love the challenge of meeting the needs of multiple groups with different backgrounds.
Just like the long-term volunteers that come to CAP, some groups are comfortable with evening devotions, and others depend on us to give them something in the evening that is more than just a meal. Here at Foley, I have tried to set a plan so everyone knows what to expect. An agenda is always posted on the doors to the dorms, and on the Welcome board. This information includes the time of all meals, the designated time to leave for the job site, and what is available after dinner.
For this year, the plan has been to share a short video about CAP and Fr. Beiting (CAP's founder) on Monday’s “CAP Info Night”. After the video, a short discussion on CAP, our mission, and answers to questions are provided. On Tuesday evening, there is a short discussion of Kentucky in general, and some of the poverty issues in Appalachia are discussed. Neither of these evening discussions runs longer than 30 minutes, unless there are lots of questions. Wednesday evening is a free night. Sometimes the groups just stay at the center and visit, but many times they go out for a drive to Jenny Wiley State Park. Sometimes they just like to drive around the area and become familiar with the land and the "hollers" (a small valley between mountains).
On Thursday evening we have a cook-out. We invite the participant families from the job sites we have served this week to join us. We offer a short closing program, so that our volunteer groups can voice what they have experienced with the job and the people they have served. The participant families also like the chance to say thank you to those who have helped to improve their homes. We offer a closing prayer, collect an evaluation of the week, and send our groups home with a small bag of CAP goodies, information and of course a CAP shirt.
The idea behind this program is simply to give our guests a little more insight into the people and issues in this part of the Kentucky, than they get by just working on one job each day, with one family. The more we can share about our work here and the people we serve, the bigger impact we can make by hosting these groups. They go home armed with more information that they can then share with others.
In mid-July part of CAP's service area in Johnson County was hit with a devastating flash flood. We still had groups arriving to work, but we had to drastically change our game plan. Instead of working from the Foley Center, we packed up our pantry, cooking utensils and all, and headed for the town of Paintsville to help with Disaster Relief. We worked out of the old Midway College building. The serving groups stayed on cots in rooms that were offices. We cooked in a room with one stove and an apartment size dishwasher. An extra refrigerator was rented for us to store food. A shower trailer was provided. We served meals for not only our group, but other groups that were staying in the center, all working with the Disaster Relief program. Some of the volunteers actually went to job sites and pulled wet insulation and drywall out of flooded homes. Others helped to distribute goods to affected families at the high school. The hours were crazy, but everyone understood the need and pitched in to help.
Before we knew it, July was gone, and families were trying to put their lives back together to get the families ready to attend school again. August was also full of groups coming to work at the center, as well as Orientation for the new volunteers arriving for their commitment at CAP. It is always great to see new faces arrive with such energy and willingness to serve. It always reminds us of why we came to serve in the first place. Just like watching a Fr. Beiting video, the new volunteers give us that "shot in the arm" we need to get moving again.
And so now it is September. The days have been feeling more like fall than they should, but the break from the heat is welcome. The mountains are beautiful. Children are back in school, and groups are still coming to help the people of Kentucky. There is just no way to help all these families without the service of these groups. We only have September and October left of this groups season. The Foley Mission center will then be transformed for the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. Groups within CAP will use the building for holiday celebrations as well as the Christmas Basket program run by our Family Advocacy staff and volunteers.
Before long, the New Year will arrive. Plans for WorkFest and YouthFest (CAP's alternative spring breaks) are already being made for the spring of 2016. The difference this next year, is that I will not be part of all of this. My husband and I will be leaving CAP at the end of the group’s season come October. We have been here for over two years and it is time to go home. We have met so many wonderful people and have learned so much about so many things. We will certainly take with us a love of CAP and the people of Eastern Kentucky. We will continue to promote CAP, but probably mostly from our home in North Carolina.
Debra and her husband Jim are second-year long-term volunteers, serving as Independent Living volunteers. Debra serves as the Mission Group Facilitator/Housekeeper for CAP’s Foley Mission Center. Opinions expressed in volunteer blogs are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of CAP or the Volunteer Program.
