APRIL 2008 - Dear Friends,

This month, I want to talk about the upcoming trip to Franklin County West Virginia.

As most of you know, we will be traveling by van to the eastern mountains of West Virginia – leaving on Saturday April 19 and returning on Saturday April 26. Though this area is quite beautiful, it is also very poor. Statistically, unemployment and under-employment are very high; and a significant number of people live in sub-standard housing.

For years, the church has sent teams to Nicaragua. Then a year and a half ago, we sent a team to Kenya. I believe in international mission trips. I believe that we can deepen our faith through almost any cross-cultural experience. For to understand better another part of the world is to understand better another corner of God’s creation; and since all of God’s creation is inter-connected, understanding our inter-connectedness is invaluable. As one anthropologist tells us, “Understanding is often the beginning of love.”

But my commitment to international mission is no stronger than my commitment to domestic mission. For in a very real sense, domestic mission is also a cross-cultural experience. Not many of us living in the Northeast know much about the beauty and struggle of fellow Americans in Appalachia. So I am thrilled that a team is going to West Virginia to demonstrate God’s love in a concrete and tangible way.

While in West Virginia, we will be involved with two collaborating organizations (Habitat for Humanity and The Fuller Institute for Housing) in an initiative entitled “The Millard and Linda Fuller Earth Day Blitz.” (Millard Fuller was/is the founder of Habitat for Humanity, and recently left Habitat to launch The Fuller Institute.) For years, he and Linda were involved in “blitzes” – 5-7 day events where volunteers gather at some designated site to build as many houses as possible. I have had the privilege of being part of several blitzes, and I can testify to the excitement and intensity of these experiences!

In our case, we (the WPPC team) will actually not be building a new home, but will be engaged in a radical home improvement project on behalf of an elderly woman currently living in a dilapidated 12’ by 60’ trailer. Her name is Juanita Bennett, and she is 71 years of age. Consistent with the advertised Earth Day theme, the construction will be undertaken in an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient manner. To say the least, I am pleased by this aspect of our project. Why? It’s simple -- I am crazy enough to believe that God cares deeply about the well-being of His creation.

People may ask, “Why are we going to this particular spot in the forgotten hills of West Virginia? And why are working for this particular woman?” These are reasonable questions. The easy answer is this: Millard Fuller is a personal friend, and he asked me to get involved in this particular outreach to the poorest of the poor in the mountains of Appalachia. But a favorite quote captures another part of my answer:

You cannot help everywhere; but that is no excuse for not helping somewhere. You cannot help everybody; but that is no excuse for not helping somebody. You can never know the next opportunity; but you can always be ready. For in your helping, you are helped; and the world steps forward.

Juanita Bennett is waiting for us. She is our somewhere. She is our somebody. She is our next opportunity. So we go to serve God, to be of help, knowing full well that we will be helped in the process.

Juanita Bennett is waiting for us. She is our somewhere. She is our somebody. She is our next opportunity. So we go to serve God, to be of help, knowing full well that we will be helped in the process.

Carter