ASP2010 Buchanan County, VA

Wednesday – Evening Gathering (EG)

Tonight’s  EG is a Prayer Walk – 6 stations each having an individual activity or prayer.  In no particular order: a Footwash station – to wash your neighbors feed, a Prayer station – to pray or contemplate, a Music station – to listen and be contemplative of the musical lyrics, a station on Buchanan county – where you can make any prayer or comment you wish, a Prayer Box – to place in what is heavy on your heart, a comment sheet bearing the quotation “There is no hope for Central Appalachia”.  We travel to one, some or all of these stations as an individual in prayer.

This can  be a pretty heavy activity.  It brings all kinds of feelings and emotions to the surface – for us to review, contemplate, reject, accept or change.  It is always an emotional time for me.  I think about my family – Sandra and JT, my family past – Mom and Dad, my siblings, my family at Bound Brook Presbyterian (BBPC), my family in youth group and my family in ASP.

I have many families this week.  My home family, my Chicago family – all of whom I miss.  I have traveled here with my family – BBPC adults and youth.  I work here giving (what little) talent I have to a family – no my family in Appalachia.  And I have an ASP family – the staff of ASP.

At the beginning of each week we have an opportunity to sign up to be “surrogate” parents for a day for the staffers.  The staffers are college students hired by ASP to manage the center.  It is strictly voluntary.  Not every day or every parent gets filled.  Usually I sign up for a day.  This week Wednesday was my Day.  Adriana singed up to be Mom.

We arranged for a little “care package” from “home” and then during the day hand out hugs and check to see if they have brushed their teeth and other parental admonitions.

It is a fun thing – but really these “kids” have arranged for our care during this week.  This center has five “staffers”, Becky, Laura, Tayli, Spencer and Kyle.  These young adults have had 2 weeks of training, a week to interview assistance applicants and decide on whom to assist and then  start receiving “volunteers”, coordinating their feeding, sleeping and working.  Each day they travel to the hardware store to keep the work going and then travel to all the work – family – sites to see how it is going and to answer questions or just to listen.

There are so many qualities that they have.  Each one is an individual – and like any family recognizes it’s differences but pulls in unison.  They bring their lives with them, but as the weeks progress they realize the love that God has and can see it in their ASP families and in the volunteers and community they are in.

Frustration is a way of life on ASP.  Dealing with those pesky human beings is always interesting.  But their challenges include the bureaucracies we have.

So what am I trying to say?  These staffers deserve our applause and support.  Even though I don’t keep in touch with all of them – thinking back they are all part of my family.

God’s blessings.

Paul