Poverty

This morning was a slow start, as they figured out the materials and the tools we needed for two projects. Since we finished our main project early this week, today we were divided into two groups to work on two bathrooms. Lots of repair, dry wall and painting. I even got to use the power saw...and still have all my digits.

We drove about a half hour away from the Mission site, through an area called Ogle (where there was ever so briefly an internet and cellular signal) and down a long winding road to two houses, about 6 minutes apart from each other. This was real Appalachia. Poverty was evident in the surroundings and in the houses...though, one thing I can’t help but notice is that, despite not having money to repair their houses, people do seem to have money for their DISH TV!

Poverty brings up a lot of issues, and it’s not as simple as having money or not having money. Poverty is a lifestyle, and sometimes a mindset. The goal here at Red Bird has never been to simply provide things for people. It’s to push them toward a self-sustaining life. But overcoming the generational poverty that is set in these mountains is something that no one single work project can accomplish. What we come to do is to try to make life better...and to be able to see our own lives through a different lens.

Tomorrow we will finish our work, and three projects will be complete. We are tired, but grateful for what we have been able to accomplish. Tonight, however, is the talent show...and another opportunity for ice cream! I have eaten more ice cream here this week than I do in any other single week of the year. No, that was not a complaint!