Appalachian Service Project Analysis

It was not like they said it would be. Taking a cold shower from a pipe coming out of the basement wall of a seventy-five-year-old school was not fun. They said this would be the best week of my summer. Until I began writing this essay, I had never thought about the impact my experiences on Appalachian Service Project mission trips had contributed to my transition from childhood to adulthood. However, now I realize that not only was I affecting other people’s lives, but the work I was doing was also changing me. That was the best week of my summer, and so have the two following trips been that I have taken.
Appalachian Service Project is about helping people and building relationships. The people who are served in Appalachia live in homes and circumstances that are difficult for me to understand. The feelings of accomplishment and fulfillment I felt when I saw the looks in the eyes of the homeowners when our work was finished was indescribable. They had so little, yet were so happy. But each year is
Her home was nothing more than a shack that was not safe for her or a newborn. We met the homeowner’s mother and learned that Hope had worked very hard her whole life, but it was obvious she had not received many of the blessings we had been given. She was a single mother hiding from the abusive father of her child. During our week we worked very hard making improvements to her home. Possibly because I was older, or because of the adult crew leaders, I was working with very little instruction and thinking on my own to find solutions. I was problem solving, leading, being creative, and didn’t even think a thing of it at the time. It wasn’t until after this week of accomplishments and hard work were over that I realized I was no longer a child any longer. I could impact the lives of other who were facing life and death, strength and weakness, sadness and