This sign went up when we started. We would replace it with a signed cross when we finished.
I went on a mission trip in June, all the way to the great state of South Carolina. I encountered God in so many places and faces while I was there, that I decided I should write a series on it. There are so many God sightings I want to share that I couldn’t possibly cover it in one post.
The Salkehatchie mission was started by Reverend John Wesley Culp in 1978. He lived in Hampton County, South Carolina. He said, “Some of the worst poverty is in middle class America. The poverty of loneliness, lack of communication, emotional and spiritual poverty… These kids are dealing with divorce, estrangement, drugs. They need hope as much as the people who suffer material poverty.”
Hmmm, I find this quote to still be true today. He named the camp after a river that flowed through his town. His goal was to have the youth of his church enter the homes of people across race and socioeconomic lines to offer assistance and along the way, learn that these people were really not much different from them.
The first group had forty kids and adults. They worked on four houses. They slept in a local elementary school and showered outside with a garden hose. Today, there are 48 camps across the state of South Carolina.
One man’s inspired idea has touched thousands of people. When God is involved, one person can make a huge difference.
The volunteers take a week and repair and replace roofs, ceilings and floors. They sometimes replace plumbing. They paint and replace light fixtures as budgets allow. But, the focus of the ministry is on building relationships. All of the campers youth and adult alike, are encouraged to interact with the homeowners and with each other.
They are encouraged to build lifelong relationships with other campers because Christ centered relationships last. Youth have to be 14 to attend and it was amazing how may older people had attended since they were 14. Some of our volunteers had been volunteering for over 20 years.
Everyday begins and ends with a group prayer with the homeowners. Friday is a short day that ends with a cross being placed in the front yard. Later in the day, the entire camp gets to tour each other’s houses and see what was accomplished. The kids speak and share and the homeowners speak. It’s incredibly moving.
Area churches feed the campers all week. They always hugged as and told us what good work we were doing. Many of them wanted a picture with us. A pastor at one of the churches we visited, shared that a Salkehatchie group had worked on one of his relative’s houses.
It’s amazing how much support and recognition the ministry gets from other South Carolina residents. When we were buying items at Wal-Mart for the family who I worked with, we told a stocker, we were with Salkehatchie. He was so excited as he shared that a Salkehatchie team had worked on his family’s house, three years earlier. He said they repaired the roof and floor and that it had changed his life. He proudly said that the cross was still up in the front yard.
I left the store feeling once again, truly amazed at the unlimited possibilities when our plans are God-inspired. Of course, I felt that way the entire week, but more on that later.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂