Pawley's Island Mission Trip

By Katie Vaselkiv

When I heard there was going to be a Middle School Mission Trip this summer, I was so excited. I've watched high school students go on mission trips and come back with awesome stories of how God used them and I have always wanted to have a similar opportunity. There had been talk of a middle school trip, but I never really thought there would be one. There always has to be a first, so thirteen of Central's Middle School students headed down to South Carolina, not really knowing what to expect. We knew the basics - we were going to a poor segregated area to do some kind of construction and possibly help with a camp for kids in the area.

Here's what we saw, did, and learned. When we arrived in the Pawley's Island area we were all surprised to see a resort community and wondered how there could be any poor people living here. We had been told that the poorer sections of town were hidden, but it was still hard to believe when all we could see were beach homes and golf courses. The contrast between the hidden poverty stricken areas and the resort community was shocking. For example, one of the houses we worked on belonged to an elderly gentleman named Mr. Lance. We were told that before Adventures in Student Missions (the organization we went with) started working on his house the floorboards were rotting. He was confined to a small area around his bed and couldn't access a toilet, so he used a five-gallon bucket instead. Thanks to our group and the teams before us, the floorboards have been replaced and a new room and porch were installed which will allow Mr. Lance's wife to live with him. Along with a remodeled house, Mr. Lance also had company- kids like us who came & helped build his house - who showed him God's love and witnessed to him.

The other house we worked on, Ms. Janie's house, was also in a horrible state before groups like ours started helping. Groups before us cleaned up a huge trash pile in her back yard as well as fixed a broken roof. Our group took down a rotting room in her house along with shingling her roof. There's still work to be done - her house is filled with black widows and flying cockroaches and needs more work. Because she has a countless number of grandchildren who hang out at her house, we had tons of help at this work site. Earlier this summer Ms. Janie said if her house wasn't getting fixed up, she would probably had left the residence, leaving all her grandchildren behind.

It's amazing to see what God is doing in the Pawley's Island community. He's put people with a real heart for Him working there. They are starting a church, fighting segregation, and changing the lives of many people. Not only did I see God work in the lives of the people of the Pawley's Island community, I also saw him work in our group. I don't think anyone came back from this trip without being changed. God taught us so much that week. I think we all realized how much we take for granted and how lucky we are. Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers. Because of your support the lives of many people are being changed.