Eastern Kentucky Mission Project 2010

by Bill Kauffman

Randy Kidd approached me and asked that I investigate the possibility of a mission trip to the poor Appalachian areas of West Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, or Eastern Tennessee. Randy had a magazine article about the poverty of these areas. I was told to contact Mr. Bill Barker, Director for the three state Appalachia areas, and he put me in contact with Teresa Parrott, a missionary in Sommerset, Kentucky. She gave me the names of three mission sights needing help. All three of these mission directors were called and asked to give information on their needs. All three agreed to give information, and I began wondering which one of the three would the Lord want us to help.

The only person I heard from was Bessie McPeek of "God's Love from a Diaper Bag". The McPeeks sent information and also magazine articles written about their ministry in G.A. quarterlies. It was definitely clear to me which ministry the Lord wanted us to help.

The McPeeks and I talked many times, and they told me of their many needs. They needed toys, diapers, shoes, clothing, soap, shampoos, toiletries, and food. The Missions Committee approved helping to supply these items, and Larry Forrester agreed to let the items to be collected, be stored in the gym.

My neighbor, who is a veterinarian and owner of Premier Storage, agreed to let our church use Premier Storage's Moving Van without a charge. Many people gave donations, and people donated toys, diapers, food items, clothing, soap, and many toiletries. Also, the Manna House donated toothbrushes, toothpaste, and a lot of food items.

Many of the church men helped to load the truck with:

  1. 3,000 diapers
  2. 240 cans of green beans
  3. 240 cans of corn
  4. 150 bars of soap
  5. 40 cases of cranberry sauce
  6. 40 cases of peas
  7. 60 jars of peanut butter
  8. 40 bottles of shampoo
  9. $350 of gift cards to Wal-mart

The truck was three-fourths full. Twice our trip had to be canceled because of snow in the Kentucky Mountains. Premier Storage allowed our church to store the items in one of their storage units, again free of charge.

The five men delivering the items a few days before Christmas were John Vaughn, Junior Stephens, Rich Carter, Doug Tate, and Bill Kauffman. When the men arrived, there were about ten boys and men waiting to help unload the truck. The food was badly needed because there is no food pantry in Jenkins. The one food bank is in Whitesburg, and it is open only one day a month. So the food was really appreciated.

In June of 2010 the McPeeks' daughter and son-in-law suffered the loss of their home to a fire. John Vaughn and Junior Stephens were instrumental in inspecting that home to make suggestions of what would be needed to help them rebuild. The next trip to Eastern Kentucky is planned for May 1st, 2011 to repair that home. We hope to take a total of fifteen people and a few to do the cooking. This mission project will involve purchasing materials and will cost as much as $5,000 for materials. Because of the need to purchase materials, this trip will cost us more money than we have needed in the past.

People have been very generous toward this goal, but we will need more generosity. This, indeed, is a worthy cause. The Lord ministered to me by showing me that He has given me a spiritual gift for helping with missions. If it had not been for Randy and Debby Kidd asking me if I would be interested in going to Michigan, I would not have realized the blessings of going on mission trips.

When Randy asked me to look into partnering with Kentucky, that is all it took. People GIVE to missions, but if they can, they should GO. They, like me, may find out what a blessing it is to serve first hand.

For more information on going to Kentucky, please email me (Bill Kauffman) at wjk38@comcast.net.