Country roads, take me home to the place where i belong. West Virginia, mountain momma, Take me home
Hello All!! This is it, the Spring Break update. Just a forewarning, its going to be long.
First, the trip was amazing. I don't think I can even put into words how great it was. I went to Pence Springs,WV for break, it is a tiny town in the southeastern corner of the state mostly made up of houses on top of mountains. The closest actual town with stores and what not was Hinton. This town had a lot of history because it used to be a booming coal mining town. This is also where the legend of John Henry was made. We visited John Henry's statue and one day, my group took a little off roading adventure to the John Henry train tunnel. It was pretty exciting. Anyway, the average age in the area was 65 and the poverty level very high. But the locals I met were amazing people. They were very humble, service oriented, high morals, and they all wanted to share their stories with us. Most of the people lived in the area all their lives or they moved away and moved back to help the community. They showed much gratitude towards our group and the service we were doing. For example, we went to church in Hinton on Sunday. The church is very small, only has one service on Sunday morning and the average turnout is 40 people. Well, our group was 40 people large so we doubled there congregation that day. The people knew we were coming so they had a hospitality Sunday with lots of food in our honor. It was awesome.
I was one of 5 designated drivers for the week because I am 21 and volunteered. The drive down was quite interesting. We encountered almost every weather element. The worst was the snowstorm in the middle of the mountains about an hour away from our destination. We were going 25-35 mph on a 70mph stretch of highway because the weather was so terrible. Then, as we decended a 2.25 mile 8% grade, we ran into fog which slowed us down even more. Finally, we get off the expressway but we get on this twisty road with turns that didnt have guard rails but were basically cliffs. The next road we turned onto was even smaller. It was one lane wide but meant for two lanes. It was even worse when it came to the blind turns and hills. Finally, 2 hours later (12 hour total trip time), we make it to the driveway of Bethleham Farms, where we stayed. The driveway though was a .6 mile stretch uphill and it wasn't paved, only gravel and mud. Alas, we took our caravan of minivans, suburban, and 12-passenger van up the driveway. I honestly didn't think we were going to make it up the driveway because the tires were spinning at some points and the back of the vans draggign a long a bump in the middle (which we later fixed). Needless to say, I feel like a much better driver and a lot fellowship and inside jokes took place amongst the group in the car.
The scenery down there was absolutely gorgeous. We stayed in a huge log cabin on top of mountain. The neighbors property had a hill that we climbed. At the top of it on a clear day, the farthest mountain peak you can see is 100 miles away. It was awesome. On Sunday, we went hiking and again, my breathe was taken away. We some falls on the New River, which is the only river in the US that runs North and only one of two in all the world. We also hiked at Bluestone State Park which was gorgeous. Monday, my group worked at Grandview National Park and the guys who worked there gave us a tour. Again, *speechless* The link for photos will be at the end of the post.
I could go on forever and ever about everything we did, but here is a few highlights/service things my group or another group did on the trip:
-cooked for Lenten luncheon
-St. Patty's day dinner ( i met a lady whose son graduated from University of Toledo, very ironic. I also met one of the city council members for the town we were in called Ronceverte and he invited us over for a keg of green beer, haha)
-watching tourney at Greenbriar Inn following St. Patty's day dinner
-painting at National Park/marking boundaries for park on trees that will last the next 15 years!
-John Henry
-soup kitchen
-thrift store
-day care
-cleaning courthouse
-farm work - fixing the road, making bunk beds, feeding the animals (they had 2 sheep, 4 donkeys whom i fell in love with, a horse, 3 chickens, and a 600 lb pig named Arnold!), building fire pit for bonfire on Friday night
-home crew - cleaning house, cooking meals from scratch, packing lunches for the groups going out into the community
-playing Knockout repeatedly on Friday, starting with about 5 people and eventually ending with 30 of us, i got in the finals a few times and won once
I know I am forgetting a lot more, but those were some things we did. One of the cornerstones of the week was simplicity. We recycled everything and conserved water. This included only flushing the toilets after they became full. Also, we were only allowed one shower for the week! That's right, one! I didnt shower at all and it was gross, but still an awesome experience. We had the option of washing our hair in the sink but mine is too long and thick and i didnt want to bother with it. Funny story, on Friday after not washing my hair since the previous Saturday morning, I had two people tell me my hair smelled good. Hmm. . . Anyway, we also didn't have any hot water except for the kitchen sink because of the system it took forever for the water to warm up. So, i washed my face with cold water all week. This was a great experience for everyone because it really teaches you about natural beauty and things you dont need.
At night, we had evening prayer which a lot of times included discussions about different topics and songs. There was a lot of time for reflection too and I feel i really learned a lot about my little faults I need to fix and really pondered what i am doing with my future. The trip left me feeling very rejuvenated and refreshed. It has given me a new outlook on things and helped me to put everything into perspective.
We arrived home on Saturday (this time it only took 8 hours, haha). That night some of the girls on the trip through a great party. Almost everyone who went was there. It was a lot of fun, until I got my phone wet and broke it. Oops! So, i am without phone until friday.
That is the synopsis of break. I could go on and on and write a short novel, but i will leave you all with this. below is the link for the photos. Hope everyone else had a wonderful break and is getting back into the swing of things!
http://photobucket.com/albums/v243/handmedown21/WV%20Spring%20Break/ (click on view slideshow and you will see the little captions i put with the photos. Also, the bone photos are bones i found by the farm and they were all scattered and led up to the final big set of the carcass, i thought it was awesome and wanted photos,haha)
First, the trip was amazing. I don't think I can even put into words how great it was. I went to Pence Springs,WV for break, it is a tiny town in the southeastern corner of the state mostly made up of houses on top of mountains. The closest actual town with stores and what not was Hinton. This town had a lot of history because it used to be a booming coal mining town. This is also where the legend of John Henry was made. We visited John Henry's statue and one day, my group took a little off roading adventure to the John Henry train tunnel. It was pretty exciting. Anyway, the average age in the area was 65 and the poverty level very high. But the locals I met were amazing people. They were very humble, service oriented, high morals, and they all wanted to share their stories with us. Most of the people lived in the area all their lives or they moved away and moved back to help the community. They showed much gratitude towards our group and the service we were doing. For example, we went to church in Hinton on Sunday. The church is very small, only has one service on Sunday morning and the average turnout is 40 people. Well, our group was 40 people large so we doubled there congregation that day. The people knew we were coming so they had a hospitality Sunday with lots of food in our honor. It was awesome.
I was one of 5 designated drivers for the week because I am 21 and volunteered. The drive down was quite interesting. We encountered almost every weather element. The worst was the snowstorm in the middle of the mountains about an hour away from our destination. We were going 25-35 mph on a 70mph stretch of highway because the weather was so terrible. Then, as we decended a 2.25 mile 8% grade, we ran into fog which slowed us down even more. Finally, we get off the expressway but we get on this twisty road with turns that didnt have guard rails but were basically cliffs. The next road we turned onto was even smaller. It was one lane wide but meant for two lanes. It was even worse when it came to the blind turns and hills. Finally, 2 hours later (12 hour total trip time), we make it to the driveway of Bethleham Farms, where we stayed. The driveway though was a .6 mile stretch uphill and it wasn't paved, only gravel and mud. Alas, we took our caravan of minivans, suburban, and 12-passenger van up the driveway. I honestly didn't think we were going to make it up the driveway because the tires were spinning at some points and the back of the vans draggign a long a bump in the middle (which we later fixed). Needless to say, I feel like a much better driver and a lot fellowship and inside jokes took place amongst the group in the car.
The scenery down there was absolutely gorgeous. We stayed in a huge log cabin on top of mountain. The neighbors property had a hill that we climbed. At the top of it on a clear day, the farthest mountain peak you can see is 100 miles away. It was awesome. On Sunday, we went hiking and again, my breathe was taken away. We some falls on the New River, which is the only river in the US that runs North and only one of two in all the world. We also hiked at Bluestone State Park which was gorgeous. Monday, my group worked at Grandview National Park and the guys who worked there gave us a tour. Again, *speechless* The link for photos will be at the end of the post.
I could go on forever and ever about everything we did, but here is a few highlights/service things my group or another group did on the trip:
-cooked for Lenten luncheon
-St. Patty's day dinner ( i met a lady whose son graduated from University of Toledo, very ironic. I also met one of the city council members for the town we were in called Ronceverte and he invited us over for a keg of green beer, haha)
-watching tourney at Greenbriar Inn following St. Patty's day dinner
-painting at National Park/marking boundaries for park on trees that will last the next 15 years!
-John Henry
-soup kitchen
-thrift store
-day care
-cleaning courthouse
-farm work - fixing the road, making bunk beds, feeding the animals (they had 2 sheep, 4 donkeys whom i fell in love with, a horse, 3 chickens, and a 600 lb pig named Arnold!), building fire pit for bonfire on Friday night
-home crew - cleaning house, cooking meals from scratch, packing lunches for the groups going out into the community
-playing Knockout repeatedly on Friday, starting with about 5 people and eventually ending with 30 of us, i got in the finals a few times and won once
I know I am forgetting a lot more, but those were some things we did. One of the cornerstones of the week was simplicity. We recycled everything and conserved water. This included only flushing the toilets after they became full. Also, we were only allowed one shower for the week! That's right, one! I didnt shower at all and it was gross, but still an awesome experience. We had the option of washing our hair in the sink but mine is too long and thick and i didnt want to bother with it. Funny story, on Friday after not washing my hair since the previous Saturday morning, I had two people tell me my hair smelled good. Hmm. . . Anyway, we also didn't have any hot water except for the kitchen sink because of the system it took forever for the water to warm up. So, i washed my face with cold water all week. This was a great experience for everyone because it really teaches you about natural beauty and things you dont need.
At night, we had evening prayer which a lot of times included discussions about different topics and songs. There was a lot of time for reflection too and I feel i really learned a lot about my little faults I need to fix and really pondered what i am doing with my future. The trip left me feeling very rejuvenated and refreshed. It has given me a new outlook on things and helped me to put everything into perspective.
We arrived home on Saturday (this time it only took 8 hours, haha). That night some of the girls on the trip through a great party. Almost everyone who went was there. It was a lot of fun, until I got my phone wet and broke it. Oops! So, i am without phone until friday.
That is the synopsis of break. I could go on and on and write a short novel, but i will leave you all with this. below is the link for the photos. Hope everyone else had a wonderful break and is getting back into the swing of things!
http://photobucket.com/albums/v243/handmedown21/WV%20Spring%20Break/ (click on view slideshow and you will see the little captions i put with the photos. Also, the bone photos are bones i found by the farm and they were all scattered and led up to the final big set of the carcass, i thought it was awesome and wanted photos,haha)