How can a region so rich in natural resources be so poor? There are no factories on the mountainsides, no crops to plant and no jobs. Rows of modest houses handed down from generation to generation are the only real possessions for some of the residents there. But houses need maintenance and when you don’t even have enough money to put shoes on your kids’ feet, fixing a hole in the roof is a low priority.
We
took a group of high school youth up the mountain to help make a house warmer,
safer and drier. We asked God why He allowed poverty in Appalachia when He
could do something about it, but He asked us the same question. We went to help the poor, but they helped us.
The things we take for granted, someone else is praying for. Henry Beecher
says, “He is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what he
has.” We returned home with kids and adults who were stronger, wiser, and
closer to God.
