So Much
Community COMPA SSION SPREADS THROUGH AN OUTREACH IN RURAL KENTUCKY By Callie Stevens
T
here is something going on in Martin County, Kentucky, and no one seems to be able to put into words. Community, faith, love—there isn’t one word that covers it. Denise Stepp, who was raised in a city in a different state, says she wouldn’t move back there “… because right here there’s so much community. People just come together and help each other.” Love for one’s neighbors is what inspires hardware store owners in the community to donate entire bathroom sets when houses are damaged by fire, something Stepp experienced herself. It compels people to leave notes of encouragement when a home floods or to waive funeral charges for an unexpected death. And certainly, it is what drives Dwayne Mills and the rest of the staff at Appalachia Reach Out, a ministry with a mission to show the radical love of Christ by caring for their neighbors.
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2020 // ISSUE 1
PHOTOS COURTESY OF ANDY RUSSELL AND DWAYNE MILLS