‘The whole Baptist village’ Field personnel, churches help teen complete high school, head to college
Give 16
|
fellowship!
Church Winchester, Ky., started the Nada Mission where Charlene began attending church services as a young girl. Now Settle is coordinating with Kentucky churches to meet Helton’s academic needs as she prepares to graduate from high school and begin college. Lexington Avenue Baptist Church in Danville, Ky., plans to buy a laptop computer and Broadway Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., is covering all of her senior expenses including her senior trip, test fees and graduation cap and gown. “These churches have come here year after year and know her family. They want to do whatever they can to help,” Settle said. “It’s going to take the whole Baptist village to get her to college.” Settle’s work to help residents overcome poverty takes many forms. One of Settle’s ministries involves tutoring students at Owsley County Elementary School. She tries to meet needs when possible, such as recently purchasing 225 pencils; the school couldn’t depend on parents to provide the pencils required to take a state test. She also helps organize reverse mission trips to introduce Owsley and Powell teenagers and adults to other parts of the country since many of them have never traveled outside of their own county. Hominy Baptist Church in Candler, N.C.; Blacksburg Baptist Church in Blacksburg, Va.; First Baptist Church in Winchester, Va.; Memorial Baptist Church in Arlington, Va.; and Millbrook
Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C., have all hosted groups from eastern Kentucky. The trips give the Kentucky teenagers a chance to observe routines that aren’t so routine in their communities, such as adults who go to work every day. While Settle recognizes that she can’t help everyone in need and that some don’t desire to make changes necessary to overcome poverty, she seeks to be the presence of Christ wherever possible. “I want to help people and see people reach their potential,” Settle said. “I want to be with them in the good times and bad.” By contributing writer Charlotte Tubbs
Charlene Helton will be the first woman to attend college from her hometown of Nada, Ky., a community of 50 families.
Learn more about Paula Settle’s ministry at www.thefellowship.info/settle. To learn more about Together for Hope, go to www.thefellowship.info/ruralpoverty. You can also view videos about CBF’s rural poverty initiative on the Fellowship’s YouTube Channel — www.youtube.com/cbfvideo.
April/May 2011
Photo courtesy of Debbie Rison
C
ollege applications can bring a host of stresses for high school students, from writing a stand-out essay to balancing a resume with community service, athletic pursuits and academic achievements. For 18-year-old Charlene Helton, the stress started with her phone number. Helton’s family income is less than $800 a month. Bills are rarely paid on time, and the phone bill often goes unpaid. When the phone service is cut and later restored, the family receives a new phone number. “She has a different number every month,” said Paula Settle, one of CBF’s self-funded field personnel, who serves in eastern Kentucky. Colleges need a way to reach Helton, so Settle put Helton on her personal cell phone plan. Through Together for Hope, CBF’s rural poverty initiative in 20 of the United States’ poorest counties, Settle serves Charlene and others in Kentucky’s Powell and Owsley counties. Both rural counties on the western edge of Appalachia struggle with generational poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and drug abuse. Students often drop out of high school to help support their families, but their lack of education makes it even more difficult to find decent-paying employment in an area where jobs are scarce. Helton will be the first woman to attend college from her hometown of Nada, a community of 50 families in Powell County. Last summer she was one of 1,000 Kentucky high school juniors and seniors named as Governor’s Scholars, an honor reserved for the best students in the state. The myriad obstacles that Helton has faced could have deterred even the most dedicated student. Her father died three years ago, her mother died in December and she lived the first 16 years of her life in a house with no indoor plumbing. In addition to Helton’s persistence, churches have invested in Helton throughout her life, making repairs to her family’s house and holding Vacation Bible School and other activities for the youth of Nada. In 1991 volunteers from First Baptist