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November - December 1992

The Mountain Spirit The Magazine of the Christian Appalachian Project

— The Mountain Spirit The Magazine of the Christian Appalachian Project November - December 1992

Contents Features 4

High School Students Share the Spirit by Beth Dotson

For as long as CAP workers can remember, the Christmas basket program has received assistance from volunteers from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. Their work extends far beyond CAP, though.

16 Belief . . . T ru st. . . Obedience by Margaret Gabriel

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Vol. XI, No. 6

Faith and Actions

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“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only . . . . the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does.” This passage from the first chapter of the letter from St. James in the New Testament is an excellent description of the folks and groups we have profiled in this issue of The Mountain Spirit. CAP is fortunate to be on the receiving end of action that is the result of the faith of two groups who are participating in our Christmas basket program—some high school students from Cincinnati, and “Some Guys” from Louisville. Meet them on pages four and twenty-two, respectively. And we believe that we may never meet another “doer” to match Miss Jo, executive director of Christian Appalachian Homes. Read about the love she shares with the women and children in her home on page sixteen. On the COVER Lynn finishes lunch at Christian Appalachian Homes from her mommy’s lap (photo by Gabriel). On the BACK COVER, two “St. X guys” carry boxes at Christmas basket distribution, 1991 (photo by Gabriel).

Obedience to the will of the Lord has led Johanna Boomsma to found Christian Appalachian Homes, a safe haven for women.

20 The Great Teen Escape by Connie Branham Young people from several counties in Kentucky met at Camp Andrew Jackson for fun and fellowship.

22 Faith, Works and the Workplace by Ed Cortas

At the invitation of a former co worker, now a CAP volunteer, a group of business people in Louisville have made a tremen dous contribution of time and faith.

Departments 3 9

From Our Founder Letters 10 Around the Project 14 The CAP Closeup

Christian Appalachian Flomes, p.16.

The Great Teen Escape, p.20.

Published by the Christian Appalachian Project. Editor: Margaret Gabriel. Advisory Board: Father Ralph W. Beiting, Mike McLaughlin, Rose Price, Bill Begley, Ike Adams, Kathleen Ford LeaveU, Barbara Delmonico. G raphic Designer: Elizabeth Reed Miller. Circulation: Linda Grider East. The Mountain Spirit is published six times a year. The annual subscription price is $6.00. Subscriptions and other correspondence should be sent to The Mountain Spirit, Christian Appalachian Project, 322 Crab Orchard Road, Lancaster, KY 40446. Copyright 1992, The Christian Appalachian Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Member, Catholic Press Association. The Christian Appalachian Project is a non-profit Christian service organization operating throughout Appalachia. The project operates on the philosophy that “helping people help themselves” is the best approach to Appalachian poverty.

The Mountain Spirit

From Our Founder life. God was Father to him. He was per sonal. Jesus loved his Father. He talked to him when the day began and was still doing that when the day ended.

Sometimes when I watch some of the TV evangelists, I get the impression you have to speak in tongues, have a cure, or be touched by some special charism to be known as spiritual or God-filled.

He sought G od’s will rather than his own. His neighbors were not strangers. He saw his Father’s reflection in each of them.

On the other hand, if you watch some of the talk shows you are told that sin no longer exists and as long as you are you everything is fine. “I’m OK, you’re OK, we’re all OK.” Spiritual ity is out of place and, in fact, is not necessary in such a world. There has never been a time when spirituality has been so necessary or important if we are to find the happi ness God intended for us. What does “resting in God” mean? St. Paul said it meant that we have the same mind that was in the Lord Jesus. We are to think as he thinks, act as he acts, dream as he dreams. How did Jesus act? Was his life one miracle after another, one sermon af ter another? I don’t think so. In all likelihood, Jesus lived to be 37 to 39 years old. For less than three years of that time he led a public life. The major part of his life was private, much like yours and mine. Surely, he was no less spiritual in the first 34 or 35 years than in the last three. By trade he was a carpenter. He worked with his hands, planned with his mind. He listened to his custom ers and assured them he would have the job done on time at a fair price. By faith, he was Jewish. This meant that God had a special place in his November - December 1992

As he cared for his mother, repaired the house, sawed wood, ham m ered nails, visited friends, talked with leaders of the community, visited the syna gogue or sat quietly in the evening sun set, he was spiritual.

Trammel

In a simpler time, spiritual ity was more easily understood. Folks had a sense that it meant you were acting in the spirit and under the in spiration of the Lord Jesus. When a secular, materialistic society sur rounds us, we receive such strange signals.

in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.

His life had a purpose—to please God, to help others, to care for the earth and inspire others, to bring the best out of them. His was the same purpose that should be reflected in all our lives. Last week I was part of a funeral service for a wonderful lady who was a friend for more than 30 years. She was wife to a wonderful man whose life she made joyful. She was a mother of six children. Diapers had to be changed, clothes washed and ironed, meals fixed, dishes washed. Lessons were taught, prayers said, church vis ited, picnics enjoyed. I think she was a very spiritual per son. In a clear and simple way she did the ordinary things in life in such a way that God was always a part of her life. She was an inspiration to all she met. Each life she touched took a step forward.

While parting from her at the funeral brought sadness to my heart, there was the memory of a life full of purpose that was filled with a joy that promised even better things after life. St. Augustine said that holiness does not consist of doing extraordinary things but in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. I believe my friend’s life exemplified that truth. St. Paul encourages us, “Whatever you do, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” That is what his mother did. No miracles, no homilies, no visions. She was a wife, a mother, a neighbor, a church woman who did all things as the handmaid of the Lord. Spirituality is love, a love that takes all of our strength, all of our heart and our whole mind and soul. —Father Ralph W. Belting. 3

High School Students Share the Spirit by Beth Dotson

L e e , Tom, Jim, Jason, Chuck, Mike, Andy, Chris and Mike. They could be teenagers anywhere in the middle of America. They search for work during the summer, rearrange classes to avoid the dreaded teach ers during the school year, and run out for a loaded ice cream sundae when they’re hungry. They have to put up with little sisters who don’t take good phone mes sages and parents who won’t speak to them if they get an ear pierced. But life is generally good for these young men in Cincinnati, Ohio, where they are all seniors at St. Xavier, a Catholic high school. They’re glad they have older brothers to give them advice about school and they thank their parents when they give them money for the weekend. Sometimes, they devote a part of their day to service work at a children’s hospital or as big brothers. During the summer of 1992, these students took two weeks off from their sunny day routines to devote themselves to work in Appalachia. They were part of a program that has been bringing St. Xavier students to the region since the 1970s. They spend their summer stint helping out at a small parish, and in the wintertime St. Xavier students assist the Christian Appalachian Project with its Christmas basket program. “It’s an opportunity for them to realize they can make a difference, and they do,” said Bev Potter, manager of the CAP outreach program that distributes the Christ mas baskets. Last year, the students arrived in Lancaster on a Thurs day evening to pack481 Christmas boxes with food. To an outreach staff that can become so overburdened

around the holidays that it’s possible to lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas, the enthusiastic helpers contributed a substantial amount of spirit-boosting as well as box-packing. On Friday when they distributed the boxes, the students greeted the outreach clients warmly. Bev said she was impressed by how outgoing they were with people who need to know that someone cares. “They were so good because they interacted with the people, which is so beautiful,” Bev said, recalling the greetings of “Merry Christmas” and “Have a good year” that they shouted out. Besides energy and enthusiasm, the stu dents brought a vanload of canned food they had col lected, valued at ap proximately $2500. The outreach pro gram uses that do nation to fill boxes for families who come in on an emergency basis for food. “It’s a real positive exam ple of America’s youth,” Bev said about their co ntribution to CAP.

The Mountain Spirit

Another group of young men spent their two summer weeks working with Sr. Barbara Walsh at St. Peter’s parish in Monticello in Wayne County. It was two weeks during which they learned about Appalachian life, and themselves, as they put up dry wall, built steps, taught Bible school and reflected on the experience daily.

What these students saw was that life isn’t easy fo r m any W ayne Countians. “For some people, it was like, I can’t see how you can keep going with the conditions you live in. Rat infested, things are kind of falling apart, and it just seems like everything is against you. Up here, everything is so comfortable and it’s kind of all set for you and you have a real chance to

November - December 1992

Jim Tettenhorst said much of what he saw made him sad. He taught third and fourth grade during Bible school and had twin girls in his class who came to school dressed decently every day. Like other visitors in Appalachia, Jim learned that cleanliness and a nice appearance can mask painful living conditions. One day Jim was driving around with Fr. Bill Verbryke, the St. Xavier president who accompanied the group, Gabriel

“ You hear about poor people in poor areas, and you can see it on TV in commercials like with Sally Struthers, but it’s a whole different thing to experience it,” said C huck B eardslee. “That’s what I was hop ing for. I wanted to find out what it’s like. I’ve lived my life middle class the whole way through and things have been pretty easy for me.”

go somewhere,” Chuck said. For the families he met in Appalachia, the future seemed bleak.

The crew in 1991 wails patiently for recipients.

so she got a job at McDonald’s. When her car was wrecked and she wasn’t able to get it fixed immedi ately, she couldn’t get to work and she lost her job. What surprised Jason was the anger she expressed at going back on welfare. To this woman, a government check w asn’t the answer. Before the group left Monticello, Chris had found another job cleaning house boats. Sister Barbara Walsh made a strong impression on the group. She does community outreach and education in the area on a very slim budget. It is replenished by donations from her native Massachusetts and people in other states who have heard her speak about her work, or have learned about her work through St. Peter’s parishioners. Although she works alone and with the help of parishioners during most of the school year, summer time brings volunteers from several states to help with home repair jobs she lines up. And she looked forward to having the young St. Xavier volunteers to help with the approximately 40 Bible school students, most of whom are not Catholic. Chuck Beardslee (standing) and Andy Venosa (front, right) and their Monticello, Kentucky, Bible school class.

and was shocked that the dilapidated house they pulled up to was where the girls came from. “The house was just like a shack and it had the rat holes like Chuck was talking about,” Jim said. “I couldn’t believe these two little girls could come from a house like that.” At another home, Jim found the sight even more diffi cult to confront. He saw trash covering the yard, seem ingly divided into good trash and bad trash. Old, mil dewed clothes were stuffed into a van. The group was there to work on the house. They completed tasks such as painting, installing linoleum and shingling the roof. Before the students left Monticello, they returned to visit that family again. This time, the sight brought pleasure, not pain. Along with the repairs that had been made to the home, the family had cleaned up the trash, mowed the grass and planted flowers. “That was kind of hopeful that we started something maybe they were going to keep up with,” Jim said.

“I think it’s fun having young people working with children,” said Sr. Barbara. She explained that the classes are small so the children can get one-on-one attention. “It makes the kids feel very important. “The youths energize me,” Sr. Barbara said. And she inspires them. Andy Venosa, who described Sr. Barbara as “very devoted, loyal, dedicated,” was impressed that someone in her 60s would have so much energy. There was also more that he recalled about her as he told about Sr. Barbara taking in some sickly puppies. “What I thought was neat about Sr. Barbara was that every life was so significant to her. She would take care of every dog, every mangy dog.” The students also remembered how everyone in the county seemed to know the hard-working woman. One woman even talked about naming her soon-to-be-bom child after her.

Jason Beminger found hope at another home where the group did repairs. A woman in her twenties, Chris, and her young son lived there. “A lot of times, you think of these people as hopeless, like they lose hope . . . . The first time we met her she wasn’t hopeless. She didn’t have anything, but she wanted more. She just wasn’t ready to give up,” Jason said.

Being around people like Sr. Barbara, the twins and Chris prodded these young St. Xavier students to exam ine some lifestyle issues, choices and opportunities they hadn’t explored before. According to Fr. Verbryke, that is one of the important reasons to do service work, something that is very much a part of the Jesuit philoso phy of a well-balanced education.

In Chris, Jason found a hard-working woman who had run into some bad luck. She wanted to get off welfare

“I think it’s to focus outside of themselves. We have a motto here, ‘Men for Others.’ I think really it’s a way

The Mountain Spirit

Dotson

for them to see what the needs are in the world outside of themselves, to see what opportunities they have in comparison to some of the other people,” Fr. Verbryke said. Other St. Xavier students spent time working with refugees in Texas, on a Sioux Indian reservation in South Dakota and at a project in the Dominican Repub lic. Through their service work, all of these young volunteers have opportunities to leam through daily personal and group experiences. Their lessons ranged from the hands-on participation in a foreign culture to sharing an increasing spirituality with fellow students, who they didn’t know well before the trip. For most high school students, this type of opportunity is the first time they are able to build strong spiritual bonds with others their own age. Away from the distrac tions and comforts of their everyday lives, they were able to share their personal growth through evening reflections. According to Fr. Verbryke, the group in Monticello learned to be open to listening to others experiences and observations during a nightly reflec tion. He also saw their seriousness about the trip in their personal journals. Although the volunteer experience overseas can be more difficult because of language barriers, Fr. Verbryke

“The youths energize me,” said Sr. Barbara.

said all volunteers return with the same challenge. After living and working with people in povertystricken conditions, they are challenged upon their return home to explore ways that they can carry on with what they have learned. The experience in Monticello defi nitely prompted Jason to look at some of his own decisions in a different light. “I spent last night filling out an application for a scholarship and I was just think ing that people down there don’t have the opportunity . . . there’s no colleges in the town,” he said, comparing Monticello to Cincin nati where there are several col leges nearby. “Right now I’m looking at what college is gonna be the best, as opposed to kids in Monticello say ing well, maybe if I finish high school I’ll be okay . . . there’s not a whole lot of jobs down there,

Some Christmas basket recipients ask St. Xavier volunteers to pass along messages to volunteers from years gone by.

November - December 1992

Gabriel

“You have to do it before you can feel it.” In the years that the volunteers from St. Xavier have been helping with CAP’S Christmas baskets they have worked in several different counties, including Garrard, Rockcastle annd Lincoln.

too, for people to get. That’s why, I guess, the lack of opportunity promotes lack of education.” Jim was shocked that it seemed normal for a child to have failed one or two grades. The educational system appeared to be lacking the quality to which most of the volunteers were accustomed. Jim also learned that students are more often encouraged to attend trade school than college; to many it seems a more practical path to employment when they consider the job oppor tunities in the area. The Appalachian experience also prompted Jason to look at his own family and their habits. “Like money. W e’re always trying to spend less money but we’re always spending more and we keep worrying about it,

Jason explained. Dealing with the “simple things made him question what is really important. “I think I learned to live more simply,” Chuck said of his experience. Instead of eating brand name cereal in the mornings, he had generic cereal and he realized that many of the people he met didn’t really have a choice. They also didn ’t have the option of hopping in a car and going out for a loaded ice cream sundae every time they had the urge. Andy said one of the simple things he learned to appreciate was water. One place where they worked had a well a distance from the house and that made the guys appreciate the kitchen tap. Upon their return to Cincinnati, some of the students missed having the entire group around to continue sharing their new challenge with. “One part of growing in faith is a group of believers being together to kind of root you on I guess,” Chuck said about the other volunteers. When he returned to Cincinnati and the group dispersed across the city, he missed that support. The students built a faith community and a work community as they carried on a St. Xavier High School tradition that many people from Monticello and CAP will remember, and look forward to, in the years to come.

Fr. Bill Verbryke, presiden! of St. Xavier.

The students will remember it too. Jason summed up the experience well when he said: “You can watch the news forever and still not know what it s like anywhere. You have to do it before you can feel it.” The Mountain Spirit

Letters I enjoy The Mountain Spirit so much because it reminds me of times I spent with my beloved grandmother on her farm when I was young. As a young widow and for the rest of her life she had that “True Spirit” to make do for herself and her family. I am a widow myself now and just wish I lived closer to Kentucky so that I could volunteer and be with so many wonderful people. I am a vol unteer here for a transitional housing project called “Joseph House Vil lage”—another great project to help people who can’t help themselves. Keep up all the good work and keep The Mountain Spirit coming! Jeanne B. Stevenson Salisbury, MD

We need The Mountain Spirit to help us realize what life is really like for some of our people in the United States. We are so busy with our own lives we sometimes forget about oth ers. Your magazine brings into sharper focus the need for “Good Samaritans.” Mr & Mrs K. Josefson Conneaut Lake, PA

You are doing great work where it is so much needed. Your volunteers are to be congratulated for giving their time and talents for the Lord.

I always enjoy receiving The Moun tain Spirit and share it with my neigh bors. I do miss the occasional addi tion of poetry and short stories. My prayers are with all of you in volved in the Christian Appalachian Project and the wonderful, proud people with whom you work.

Herbert Johnson Tennville, GA

Laurie J. Fox Madison, WI

I am interested in your program mostly because you encourage selfhelp and realize the dangers inherent in government sponsored welfare systems. I read The Mountain Spirit eagerly and enjoy the stories of the mountain people. I am saddened, however, that so much money is wasted by our government when there is such a need as theirs. Roy B. Sharron Worcester, MA

I saw the governor of Kentucky on TV asking businesses to “come to Kentucky. Our people will work hard for you.” He must have seen the CAP volunteers! The Mountain Spirit lets me know you’re doing God’s work very well. Mrs. J. Gajdos Riverside, CA

It has been said that happiness isn’t found in searching for it. It comes quietly while we are helping others. May God continue to bless you in your work.

Every time I read The Mountain Spirit, I am deeply moved by the wonderful spirit of Christian love and help that the workers of CAP provide to the poor of Appalachia. What a difference you are making in so many lives! God bless you all!

F.E. Fusting Lutherville, MD

Mrs. Helen B. Dawson Southold, N Y

November - December 1992

It is so encouraging to read the sto ries about the people who have been helped through CAP. How a few dollars and some encouraging words can give seemingly hopeless people a new lease on life. I’m glad to have a little part in this.

Your September issue of The Moun tain Spirit is fantastic—you should get an award for that magazine on the “Appalachian Woman.” Thank you for inspiration through its pages. Please keep my subscription going! God bless you! Jean Miller Santa Barbara, CA

This is a wonderful publication. It is very heartwarming and proves that private projects organized and run by individual citizens can accom plish wonders even on a shoestring. Government at all levels—please take notice! This marvelous group, under Fr. Ralph Beiting’s direction and train ing of people who are dedicated to helping our brothers and sisters who need a helping hand, is just what Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior wants us to do! God bless you all! Eileen F. Rickarby Milton, MA Letters to the editor are welcome. They should not exceed 150 words in length, and we reserve the right to edit them for space. Address letters to The Mountain Spirit, Christian Appalachian Project, 322 Crab Orchard Road, Lancas ter, Kentucky 40446.

Around the Project CAP Workers Help with Relief “I was watching 48 Hours, and I couldn’t believe the devastation,” said Michelle Hendrickson, a ma chine operator in the Christian Ap palachian Project mailroom. “My mouth dropped to my knees when I saw what those people in Florida were going through, and God told me I needed to do something. “I was going to give on my own when I thought others might like the chance, too,” Michelle said. She circulated a memo through the administrative offices in Lancaster, telling her fellow employees that if

Thank You!! Citibank employees . . .

and THANKS to the employees of the 60 other companies which participate in our Matching Gifts program. We also thank your companies for their generous m atch which doubles and in some cases triples your gift to CAP. If you are a CAP donor or are considering becoming one, please check with your employer to see if they offer a matching gift pro gram to non-profit community services organizations. Many companies today support causes that are supported by their em ployees. Your company may double or possibly triple your do nation to CAP. If so, please obtain a matching gift from your em ployer and enclose it with your donation. For more information, please write for your free brochure “Double Your Dollars.” Please send corre spondence to the attention of Teresa McAnly.

that CAP employees donated to the relief of victims of Hurricane Andrew.

they would like to contribute to the relief of victims of Hurricane An drew to bring materials to CAP’s loading dock. The local chapter of the Red Cross would see to it that the goods were delivered to people liv ing in the “tent cities” in south Florida. “We had a pretty good response,” Michelle said. “People gave sham poo, toothpaste and toothbrushes, canned food, paper stuff and baby things.” The Red Cross also contacted Op eration Sharing, CAP’s in-kind do nation distribution program and asked program manager Charlie Deaton if he had any goods to spare. “We were able to send two skids of food— cream of wheat, oatmeal, tea and crackers—and a load of baby blan kets,” Charlie said. Because the hurricane struck close to the end of the summer season, Renee Carrier, manager of CAP’s used clothing stores, felt that the balance of her summer merchandise could be put to better use in Florida and Loui siana than in her Berea warehouse for the winter. “We sent about 2,000 pounds of nice summer clothing— exactly the kinds of things they need that far south—through a Lexington radio station,” Renee said.

CAP Volunteers! Thanks A Million! The Christian Appalachian Project is required to keep records and perform a yearly audit of the number of hours that are donated to its work by volun teers. Recently the audit was com pleted for the last fiscal year with some interesting findings. Over 85 permanent volunteers and 400 temporary volunteers donated hours totalling the equivalent of nearly $1 million dollars in labor from September of 1991 through August of 1992. Volunteers were involved in many human develop ment programs, including child de velopment and adult education. “Every one of our volunteer jobs has been assigned a dollar figure, based on what we would have to pay an employee at the same rate,” said Kathy Kluesener, manager of CAP’s volunteer administration office. For many years CAP has known that its volunteers are an invaluable re source. It is truly staggering to see the actual monetary value of that labor, and to know that while we can count the number of hours donated by those volunteers, the love that accompanied them is measureless. The Mountain Spirit

around the project. .. continued

Artist-in-Residence Promotes Self-Esteem Young people at the Garrard Teen Center and the Sunshine Center will have the opportunity to explore their creativity with the help of Barbara Banks, Garrard County’s artist-in residence. The Christian Appalachian Project matched a grant from the Kentucky Council for the Arts which has enabled Barbara, a writer, to be gin an innovative arts program in a number of areas in the county. “We have a committee in place, and we’ve got good stuff going on at Camp Dick [an elementary school],” Barbara said. “W e’re trying to make contact with every artist in the county, to see what kind of pool we’re work ing with.” As a writer, Barbara has been explor ing different writing media with vari ous age groups, including play writing with teenagers and storytelling with pre-schoolers. She said that CAP’s mission and the goals of Kentucky’s artist-in-residence program are per fectly compatible. “B oth em phasize em pow ering people,” Barbara said. “We want to

find artists in the county, because we think these are the people who can help our children with arts demon strations and workshops. And we believe that the arts, eventually, can empower people economically. The arts can give people an opportunity to leam careers as well as business does.

G ift A nnu ities

“First, though, we want to use the arts to make people feel good about themselves.” When she began her work with the teens, Barbara said that her first chal lenge was in getting them to begin to write for enjoyment. “They want to do a play,” she said. “So first, they have to write a script!” Connie Branham, education coordi nator of CAP’s teen centers has been very impressed with Barbara’s work. “The county is lucky to have Bar bara,” she said. “She has some really innovative ideas.” Connie believes that the arts are im portant to the teen center, as well as the rest of the community, because “The arts are a reflection of human ity. They foster a sense of commu nity, togetherness and pride.”

A gift annuity to the Chris tian A ppalachian Project will help us continue to provide em ploym ent opportun ities to A ppalachian people. This ac tivity is an essential p art o f o u r m ission to help people help themselves. But, what is a gift annuity? It’s a legal agreem ent by which you make a gift to CAP and receive a guaranteed life in com e in return. For a m ore com plete expla nation, write today for your free copy o f “Giving T h ro u g h Gift A nnuities” by filling o u t the coupon below an d enclos ing it in the envelope provided. Clip and send N am e______ Address _ _ _ C ity ________ State, ZIP __

CAP sponsored an employee health fair in October. Activities promoting physical health, mental health and nutrition were available, in addition to nutritious refreshments and door prizes. CAP also invited folks from the Garrard County Senior Citizens Center to the Health Fair. Here, Danny Purcell has a glucose screening.

November - December 1992

Date o f B irth T elephone _

around the project. . . continued

I Can Share . . . I Can Volunteer . . . I Can Pray Christian Appalachian Project sup porters often ask what more they can do to eliminate suffering in Appala chia. First, you can tell others of the problems in Appalachian which you leam about in The Mountain Spirit and other CAP publications. If you share this magazine with a friend, let us know, and we’ll send a replace ment. Ask us about any of the prob lems in Appalachia and w e’ll be happy to share any knowledge we have or to refer you to another orga nization that can help you. Secondly, you can give us a most valuable commodity—time. Since 1950, millions of hours have been donated to helping the people of Ap palachia help themselves and their families out of poverty. If you would like to volunteer three weeks or more to working in Appalachia, please con-

Moving? Please notify us of any change of address to make sure you receive every issue of The Mountain Spirit.

Finally, our most powerful form of assistance is prayer. We believe that if our supporters spend at least one minute a day praying for poor people everyw here, m ountains can be moved, the course of rivers changed. The CAP family forms a powerful prayer network reaching into Appa lachia and across the nation.

New Building Creates Possibilities “We were just busting out of that little room at the church!” said Rev erend Willard Holliday, affection ately known as “Doc” to his friends, neighbors and congregation of the Old Philadelphia Tabernacle Church in Magoffin County. The Magoffin Attic, started by the Christian Appa lachian Project, then turned over to Doc to operate in 1987, was featured in the September-October 1991 is sue of The Mountain Spirit. A lumber yard was available for lease in Salyersville recently, so in col laboration with CAP Doc obtained a ten-year lease on the yard, which includes four buildings. The acquisition of the building is making a number of activities pos-

OLD ADDRESS name

tact The Mountain Spirit, so that in formation can be given to the volun teer department.

sible in Magoffin County, according to Darryl Combs, manager of CAP’s home repair program in Floyd County. “The Farmers’ Home Ad ministration had been trying to work in Magoffin County without much success. After they heard about CAP they asked us for help with referrals to families who could use help build ing homes. Two weeks later they came back to us and we piled 30 applications on the desk.” Thirty landowners who know and respect Doc have “assigned” prop erty to the project; that is, the prop erty is being developed for families who need homes. “People are will ing to wait for their money,” Darryl said, “which makes property avail able without upfront money.” Doc is taking the contractor’s place in the equation, and in some cases, he and other volunteers are supplying free labor in the construction of homes. Mortgage rates are figured on a slid ing scale, depending on a family’s income. “A family can move into a new home for as little as $119 a month,” Darryl said. “And it all started from the Attic and the pantry,” Doc said. “W e’re proud and we’re happy that we’re going as far as we can go feeding the hungry and housing the homeless.”

please print

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NEW ADDRESS name address city

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Mail to: The Mountain Spirit 322 Crab Orchard Road Lancaster, KY 40446.

Reverend Willard Holliday (“Doc”), and his wife, Frankie, are ihe caialysl behind much work in Magoffin County.

The Mountain Spirit

around the project. . . continued

CAP Workers Receive Grant for Job Training Family Life Services manager Liz Phelps had a nice surprise recently. With encouragement from Connie Wagers, manager of the Family Life Abuse Center, Liz applied for a grant from the Kentucky Domestic Vio lence Association. “I didn’t think we’d get it, because we’re not actu ally a shelter, but we did!” The grant will enable the FLS staff to increase the job training that they offer their residents. “W e’re going to focus on how to get job interviews and how conduct yourself in an inter view.” Grants from the KDVA are usually awarded to spouse abuse shelters, but Liz decided to apply because 50% of the residents of Family Life Services are referred to the program from CAP spouse abuse shelters, as well as other shelters in Kentucky. “The opportunity was as timely,” Liz said. “Now we’re going to be able to expand the training that we’re doing with folks, and add a volunteer staff person to work with them.” Liz recently attended her first meet ing as a member of the Kentucky Domestic Violence Association, at Cumberland Falls, in McCreary County. “It was a good, informal, blue-jeans kind of group,” Liz said. “My kind of people!” Representatives from abuse shelters throughout Kentucky met to discuss new legislation concerning domestic violence that was recently enacted by the Kentucky General Assembly. “They’re setting up a ‘link system,”’ Liz said. “That means that if person has been served with an EPO [Emer gency Protective Order] in one county, it’s still in effect the next county over.

Family Life Seivices is a residence which helps families make a transition from a dependent to an independent life. According to manager Liz Phelps, 50% of the residents are referred from spouse abuse shelters.

been served with an order in another county, but the local officials said there wasn’t anything they could do. We had to get KDVA to come in and explain the new laws.”

education involved, making sure that county law enforcement is aware of the new legislation. “KDVA has a big job, and they’re obviously very committed to helping with domestic violence issues.”

Liz said that there is a great deal of

Spread the Spirit this Christmas! The Mountain Spirit, that is! Share CAP’s story with your friends this Christmas. For only $10.00, you can send The Mountain Spirit to two households (that’s two dollars off the usual price!), and share stories like the ones you’ve read in this issue. “Reading The Mountain Spirit is the next best thing to a visit!” readers tell us. Share that enthusiasm with your friends and family won’t you? We’ll announce your gift with a Christmas card, and your Christmas greeting will accompany The Mountain Spirit the whole year through!

“We had a case where a woman was being threatened by someone who’d November - December 1992

The CAP Closeup

Working with his Hands . . . And his Heart Jim Lynn by Ike Adam s photos by M argaret G abriel Jim Lynn.

Scattered throughout the cities of the midwest, thousands of families native to Appalachia dream of coming home to their mountain roots. Unfortunately there are no jobs to come home to in the hills, so most folks only make it back for a couple of days over a holiday weekend now and then.

In 1985 Jim responded to an ad in the Casey County paper for a director of a CAP group home. He was hired to teach and counsel young men who had been aban doned by their families. At the same time, he obtained a master’s degree in education, with a specialty in counseling, from Western Kentucky University.

Jim Lynn, who manages one of CAP’s two home repair programs, is one of those folks. He grew up in Casey County, and, like more than half of the people his age in the community, headed north for a job that would enable him to rear a family at a liveable income level. Eighteen year-old Jim arrived in Indianapolis in 1959 and landed a job with the Ford Motor Company. Later he returned to Casey County, married his sweetheart, Ann, over the weekend, then made it back for work on Monday.

But the ministry still called. Within a year of arriving at the group home, he found himself preaching at Oak Grove Baptist Church in Casey County. Coinciden tally, CAP had an opening in its home repair program which Jim saw as an ideal way to minister to impover ished families.

After ten years at Ford, Jim felt an unmistakable call to work for God. In 1969 the Lynn family moved to Pineville, at the base of Kentucky’s highest mountain, where Jim studied to become a Baptist minister. After finishing his studies at Clear Creek, Jim com pleted a bachelor’s degree in religious education at Campbellsville College. Then in 1976, he became pastor of a Baptist congregation in Indianapolis. “I could be retired from Ford by now and have a great benefit package and live just about anyplace, hunting and fishing full time if I wanted and that had been God’s will,” Jim Lynn muses without a trace of regret in his voice. “Or I could be pastoring a large church in Indiana and living in a nice parsonage, but I had a different purpose in life; I’m very comfortable that purpose is being fulfilled.” 14

“I’m more excited about helping people change their attitudes and better themselves than I am about con struction. But I must admit that I enjoy working with my hands,” he said. “Some of our jobs might take a construction company only a day or so, but we try to teach, especially younger people, to build and repair things themselves. We work with families that want desperately to do better. By helping them make their homes more secure and com fortable, we help them develop a sense of pride. Fre quently we get teenagers back in school, parents in volved in GED or even college courses. We get dys functional families into CAP counseling programs.” Jim takes pride in starting a job like adding a room and then having the occupants of the house finish it. He tells about a family in Jackson County whose mobile home was falling apart, and the new frame house CAP built around it. He showed the lady of the house what needed to be done to properly wire it for electrical service. When he went The Mountain Spirit

back a week or so later, she had completed the job and was ready for the power to be turned on. Her husband, who had been reluctant to attempt any work that in volved tools, had built a dining room set from lumber the work crew had left. “It’s normally easier to teach women to repair and maintain their homes than it is men,” Jim notes. “It’s a macho thing with men. They’re afraid someone will laugh if they can’t hit a nail on the head or saw a straight line, so they won’t even try. They feel they ought to know how to do things so they’re afraid to show that they don’t. If we can get them in a position where they can pack supplies and watch the carpenters, they can start picking up the basics. “Women don’t have anything to lose, though. If they bend a nail it’s okay because they aren’t supposed to know about carpentry so they jump right in and leam without being threatened. Often, we’ll go back and find a man working like a pro because we’ve taught his wife a skill and he’s learned it from her.” Jim Lynn’s smile is broad and beaming when he relates stories like these. “There’s no better way to demonstrate love for God than by demonstrating love for people. We demonstrate that love and the folks we help return it and that’s always a step in the right direction for the downtrod den.” Since beginning home repair, Jim estimates that CAP crews have repaired well over 200 dwellings in Casey County. He has seen many families change their lifestyles in a short period of time. For some, it’s been

the first step in breaking the cycle of poverty that families have known for generations. “There wouldn’t be a lot of use in it if we didn’t believe that the five or six children we often find living in shacks weren’t going to become determined to make their lives better. There’s a chance that all those kids are going to live in the same kind of squalor if they don’t stay in school and have some kind of incentive to better themselves. After we work on a home, other CAP programs like outreach, child development and family counseling may follow-up for years with the ultimate goal of helping those kids become productive citizens. If it wasn’t working, I wouldn’t be doing it.” Jim is also pastor of Oak Grove Baptist Church in Casey County, and headed a crew that recently com pleted construction of Chestnut Grove Baptist Chruch. Although three of his children were bom in Indiana, they are all now bona fide Kentuckians, he notes with satisfaction. Two daughters work in the Boyle County school system and his son, the youngest Lynn, is a supervisor at Cumberland Falls State Park. Jim and Ann live in a large home, more than a hundred years old, that they have fixed and keep open so that the kids and five grandchildren can come and go as they please. They’ve also purchased 92 acres, mostly cov ered with brush and young woods where Jim likes to hunt squirrels on occasion. “The property has deer and wild turkeys and rabbits and squirrels and coyotes. Even copperhead snakes, whose utility my son and I dis agree about,” he says. “We want to build a small lake and eventu ally turn the property into a C hristian camp ground, but right now we are simply enjoying the fact that we have a place to really and truly call home. It’s right where we always wanted it to be.” ft

Jim would like to have home repair crews in six counties in the coming year. Each crew will be composed of two people, and they will work on repairs with volunteer groups and home owners.

November - December 1992

Belief. . .

Trust. . . Obedience Story and photos by Margaret Gabriel Johanna Boomsma-“Miss Jo.”

An 1988 a social worker told Mary Washing ton (who asked that her real name not be used), “If you don’t care to go to church on Sundays, Miss Jo will take you in.” Mary had decided that she and her two children had suffered enough abuse at the hands of her husband when they fled, first moving in with a sister-in-law. “But we got in a fight and she threw us out. My little boy was six then and my little girl was 15 months, and we had no place else. I’d have gone anywhere just to have a roof over our heads and some food.” But Mary, Jimmy and Laura didn’t have to go just anywhere. They were fortunate enough to be able to go to Christian Appalachian Homes, a shelter which “ex ists as a refuge for the abused, the homeless, the destitute and the troubled.” “If it hadn’t been for Miss Jo, I don’t know where I’d be,” Mary said recently. “It’s been such a blessing— who knows what would have happened. It seems like the Lord brings you to your knees, then picks you back up again.” Miss Jo—Johanna Boomsma—is executive director of Christian Appalachian Homes and administers the pro gram with “tough love,” as she calls it, and an ever present, unshaking and seemingly unshakable faith in the Lord. “Last year my alma mater honored me as a most distinguished alumna,” Miss Jo said. “They wanted me to address the class, and I just said ‘Believe, trust

and be obedient to the will of the Lord.’ I think that ‘obedient’ word is very strong. If God calls you, you’d better be obedient to him.” That call to obedience has Christian Appalachian Homes meeting a different variety of needs than it did in 1978, when Miss Jo was able to purchase a 75-acre farm with a tri-level home and a pond. “There’s more of a need to help the homeless now because there are more abuse shelters,” Miss Jo said. “Sometimes there’s a psycho logical need. W e’ve been getting people out of mental institutions. Comprehensive Care [the local mental health agency] has used us a lot and we’ve been working closely with Comp Care on mental needs, as well as the social, physical, emotional, social, and of course, we tie the spiritual underneath all of it. So, yes, it’s changing. W e’ll go wherever there’s a need—it’s an open thing.” An observer might think that he or she has a handle on the work of Miss Jo and Christian Appalachian Homes. The spacious house on the side of a hill has rooms for mothers and children seeking refuge from abusive husbands and fathers. Other rooms might shelter troubled teenagers who have fled government-sponsored group homes. Down a short driveway, there is a building full of apartments which are home to people who have “graduated,” and are ready for more independence. But ask Miss Jo, specifically, to what she is called, she says without hesitation, “To witness for the Lord,” and that in every way her life and her ministry follows the The Mountain Spirit

instruction in the letter of St. James to illustrate one’s faith with good works. “That’s why we never start the day without devotions. We pray for those that are in need, and we do a lot of praising, too. I’m a strong believer that I’m here to praise the Lord, and when I see what he’s done, I can’t stop praising him.” Praising the Lord seems to come with each breath for Miss Jo. Her priorities are living Christ’s love and helping people to live that love, as well. She sees education and discipline working hand in hand, as women strive to put their lives together after violence has threatened to tear them apart. The main house can accommodate seventeen people, and residents leam to work together to care for them selves and their children in a “home school,” Miss Jo calls it. Residents help with the cooking, cleaning and laundry chores, as they work toward self-sufficiency. From the main house, they move to one of several apartments on the grounds where they can stay as long as they choose. “I don’t hold people against their will— I did get investigated once; I think it was a husband. They said I was a Jim Jones, that I was brainwashing his wife. “But we have steps. After they live in an apartment where they pay utilities, they can get out to a little house where they do have to pay rent. Now they’re on their own. They don’t have the umbrella, except they know I’m here. Even now, some have been in those apart ments for eight, nine years, and they come to the Bible study, or if they get into problems, I’m on the phone counseling. I’m still there, I’m home. This place is the only real stability for them, and it will always be that.”

Inge Seavey, Bradenion, Florida, plans lo volunteer for a year at Christian Appalachian Homes. She runs the thrift store.

While her love is unconditional and her education thorough, Miss Jo is also demanding of her residents. A code of discipline is required, which even prompts some residents to leave the shelter. “If a family has had no discipline of any sort, to them, any type of discipline is rigid and they resent it. But we tell them that this is the way of a family. If they want happiness and joy they have to give and take. You have to leam to respect others as well. But my rigidity is with love, and I have had many mothers maintain that. When they left, they said, ‘Miss Jo, your demands used to hurt us sometimes, but we knew you loved us.’ “And that’s my key. Af ter all God is rigid with us. That’s why so many

Inge and Miss Jo discuss a large truckload of clothing they are expecting. Like CAP’S Attics, the thrift store charges a small amount for the clothing, except in emergency cases.

November - December 1992

A recent volunteer group painted a vividly colored rendering of the grounds of the home.

people don’t want him. Because he’s too rigid. His demands are too much for us.”

saying that he wants to be a doctor or a lawyer or a minister. He wants to make something out of himself.”

And like the Lord, Miss Jo takes people back time and time again. It’s not uncommon at all for people to return to the home where they once found refuge when the seas again become too rough. Although Mary has been involved with Miss Jo and Christian Appalachian Homes for four years, they have not been continuous. “I lived out on my own for about a year,” she said, “but then my husband got out of jail and said that he was going to take the kids so I had to come back. I took my chance and got out.”

Mary says that she would like to have more children someday, “If I meet the right man, if the good Lord helps me find one. But first I want to get my life straight, to get through school, get a job. I want to stay in this area, so I can help Miss Jo like she’s helped me.”

Life today is looking much brighter for Mary, as well as for Jimmy and Laura. In the mornings, Mary is com pleting a course of study in computer operations at a vocational school, and in the afternoons she does cleri cal work at the local mental health agency. Jimmy and Laura are living with a couple in Alabama, some folks who came to work as volunteers for Chris tian Appalachian Homes. “I thought about it long and hard,” Mary said. “But I couldn’t consider what I wanted; I had to think about what was best for them. And I would do the same thing again.” Mary glowingly reports that Jimmy, who will turn 12 in December, has had a complete turnaround. While he was living with Mary, he was exhibiting severe behav ior problems, and had been diagnosed with a learning disability. “But he’s been getting all A ’s down there. When he was up here, he used to say that he wanted to be a coal truck driver when he grew up. Now he’s

Mary has rented an apartment near Christian Appala chian Homes, and with the help of Miss Jo and a volunteer couple from Chicago, she has cleaned, painted, furnished and pre pared to move from her haven to the “out side.” She is secure in the knowledge that if she should need help, it’s just a phone call away. Seeing Mary’s suc cess and observing the confident air of a self-reliant young woman makes one w onder w hat’s in store for Paula, age 18, who’s been liv ing at Christian Ap palachian Homes for about a month. “I

The Mountain Spirit

didn’t want to come, but I didn’t have anyplace else to go,” Paula said. “I was living with a lady, but after my money ran out she threw me out. I had $453 that my stepdad had gotten from black lung benefits, but after that was gone, it seems like my family didn’t want to have anything to do with me.” Paula finished the tenth grade while she was living in a group home in Ashland, Kentucky (“I was in the group home because I had a bad childhood and tried to commit suicide and stu ff’). She made a promise to a teacher there that she would finish high school and she would like to honor that promise by earning her GED. She would like to train for a job and save enough money to rent her own apartment. “I ’d like to work with kids with cerebral palsy,” Paula said. “I ’d like to teach them and play games with them.” For now, though, Paula is learning what she can with Miss Jo. “We clean the house, help prepare lunch and dinner. It’s not fun, but I do it because it needs to be done. I’m learning to take responsibility so I can get on my own.” Although Paula appreciates having people around her who “understand what I’m going through right now” she sometimes feels left out, “like I don’t belong. Everybody else is Christian, but I’d rather be back with my friends.” With her experience, Mary can tell Paula that those feelings are common. “We all feel that way at first. I wasn’t a Christian when I came, but through Miss Jo I met the Lord. Just give it time; it’ll come.”

When Miss Jo took in her first family in 1979, she had little in the way of ma terials or resources, except the farm that she had been able to purchase with do nated funds. Donations still come, some as a result of the 3,000 newsletters Miss Jo mails to supporters sev eral times a year, others simply as answers to un ceasing prayer. Groups from churches of many dif-

Nancy's contribution to lunch was a homemade German chocolate cake. (It was delicious.)

ferent denominations support her work, financially and as volunteers. With pride, Miss Jo says that most of the work at Christian Appalachian Homes is accomplished by volunteers. The Christian Appalachian Project gave Miss Jo a grant in 1992, not because she applied for it, but because CAP workers had heard of her program and knew of her need. She plans to submit an application for a van in the future. “Mind you, all I’ve got is a board of people here—and they’re not big, wealthy people—and a dream. Just think of it. I started out with only 300 people on the mailing list. I’m just amazed. There were times when I first started when money came from strange places. There was a Lutheran church that was giving me $500 to $ 1000 every year. To this day, I don’t know who they were. “W e’ve been going bit by bit, a little money at a time. Sometimes we don’t get much at all, sometimes we get a little bit more. And we just trust the Lord, I never worry. W e’ll make plans and pray and leave it there.” ***

The main residence at Christian Appalachian Homes can accomodate 17 women and children.

November - December 1992

For more information about Christian Appalachian Homes, write Christian Appalachian Homes, HC 69, Box 1450, Inez, KY 41224. ft 19

The Great Teen Escape by Connie Branham photos by Donita Wheat

W hat comes to mind when you hear the word spirituality? For each of us the answer to this question may be different. Church . . . God . . . peace . . . selfawareness. We know the word “spiritual” has to do with the soul. The soul has many facets: godliness, kindness, awareness, acceptance, the ability to reach out and touch the souls of others. In the late summer, 30 teens from four Kentucky coun ties came together at CAP’s Camp Andrew Jackson in Jackson County to meet others, challenge themselves, and explore their spirituality, and the many facets of their souls. For some it was the first time they had ever been ch allen g ed to take an inward look. For us, the group leaders and supervisors, it was exciting to see young people begin to glim pse th eir p o tential. We called it a “Teen E sca p e,” and told the kids to prepare for an adventure. B eginning on Friday night, and going until Sunday a fte r noon, we shared activities as well

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as chores. Everything we had planned for the teens challenged them—as well as the staff— to take a look at themselves and others as we journeyed together through trust activities, prayer, group discussion, and other activities. Each of us came from different back grounds, races, and perspectives, and we began the weekend a little unsure of ourselves and others. Then we began to grow. We talked about our feelings, goals for the future and concerns for the present. Friday night’s late night discussion revealed each of us in our own insecurities.

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I’m not sure exactly what you wanted to hear from me . . . but, here are some thoughts I had regarding our weekend together at Camp AJ. First, my compliments to you [Connie]. God blessed and honored our intentions of serving the kids and he certainly used you to keep things going—so, con gratulations! I felt pleased with the weekend. It meant so much to me to see some of the teens finally loosen up and allow themselves to have fun. My team started with extraordinary negativity and obstinacy. They grumbled, complained and quit games as quickly as possible. When we discussed a team name, one of the suggestions was “The Losers.” I was bummed.

Finally, I steered them away from “The Losers” and a collection of other not-so-appropriate suggestions, to the name “Team Noire.” It was weird, but at least everyone agreed on it. The Teen Olympics really brought things together for our team. We worked together and won. Everyone was ecstatic. On Sunday, when we gathered as a team for the final time on the pavillion, Keith and Kinney suggested we change our name to “The Winners.” They then decided on “The Champions,” and we all felt great. Angus Eastham Volunteer (team leader)

I B. declared his independence. “I don’t need anyone to

survive. I depend only on me. Amanda seconded his declaration. “You’re absolutely right. What’s the use; ain’t no one but me that counts!” But their stories changed as we confronted the 15-foot wall in the team obstacle course on the camp grounds the next day. Amanda stood back as her eyes scanned the wall. “I can’t climb that,” she said. “Well, I can,” said J.B., who stands five feet tall. Of course, J.B. ’s first attempt found him sliding back down the wail into the arms of the spotter below. Their project leader, Gina, explained that like most things in life, the obstacles on the course are designed so that no one can do them alone. “It takes teamwork. We have to work together to get everyone over the wall.” So with a little effort and help from nine teammates, J.B. was the third person to the top. Amanda, on the other hand, needed a little more time. She didn’t make it over the wall. The teams split up to tackle the next two obstacles. At the second obstacle, a spindle four feet off the ground, Amanda was more sure of herself and began to work with the team. She was next to last over the spindle, not because she was reluctant, but because she had volun teered to be an anchor person for the rest of the team to make it over the obstacle, so her challenge was even more difficult. But over she came—the thrill of victory! Realizing that we are not alone in this world is one step to gaining insight into our spiritual selves. For J.B. and Amanda, and their teammates, the obstacle course may help in the realization that there are some things in this world that we cannot do alone, a small step in a long journey of understanding themselves and the world around them. '0*

November - December 1992

The obstacle course at Camp Andrew Jackson includes this 15foot wall, which team members must help each other scale.

Faith, Works and the Workplace by Ed Cortas

It did not always work. In fact, nearly every time Brenda ran the program something would happen requiring me to drive to Lancaster to try and get it going again. In the past, Brenda and her predecessors had matched all the fami lies and sponsors by hand. Even with the rather tempermental computer program, Brenda was cutting her matching time by about 70%. Still, the unreliability of the program frustrated Brenda and me, and took time away from our other outreach responsibilities. I knew that the program should be rewritten before we started working on Christmas bas kets for 1992. The problem was finding the resources to rewrite it. Ken had left the outreach program earlier in the year to volunteer in CAP’s home repair program. While I have enough computer experience to rewrite the program myself, I’m here to spend time in the field, working with low-income families. I didn’t come to Corlas

had just arrived at the Mount Vernon out reach office one morning early last fall when the phone rang. It was Brenda Watts, administrative assistant to the outreach program manager, Bev Potter. Her computer’s matching program was “acting funny again” she said. She tried to explain to me what had happened, but I didn’t understand. Once again, I had to make a thirty-mile trip to Lancaster to have a look.

About once a week Brenda ran the matching program. Using the information she entered, the program was designed to match families to sponsors. After the match ing was completed the program would produce a report detailing which family was matched to which sponsor. The report included information sheets for each spon sor, noting the names, ages and sizes of each member of the family they had been matched to, as well as the mailing labels. The matching program always correctly matched sponsors to families when it worked.

The “matching program” was a computer program devised by another volunteer, Ken Stuber, and me, which ran on Brenda’s personal computer. We de signed it to match the families enrolled in our Christmas basket program with people from around the country who volunteer to sponsor those families, providing them with gifts for Christmas. As she received applications from us dedicated out reach workers, Brenda would type into the computer the pertinent information about the families, including the number of children in the family and the ages of those children. At different times, she received and entered into the computer the information about each sponsor. This information included the sponsor’s pref erence concerning family size and the age of the chil dren. Brenda entered this information several times each week throughout late summer and early fall, as she received applications from sponsors and families.

Eric Osiecki and Glenn Just spent many evening and weekend hours on CAP’S Christmas basket computer program.

The Mountain Spirit

“Some Guys” (l-r) Brian Satterfield, Eric Osiecki, Ed Cortas, Steve Haffner.

Appalachia to sit at a computer terminal! The answer came when it occurred to me that I still have close friends in the computer field that might be willing to help me. I was thinking of one group of men in particu lar. Before I came to CAP, I was a systems analyst for General Electric in Louisville, Kentucky. About five years ago I was sitting at my computer when this message from a co-worker flashed across the screen: The people that I have sent this message to are people whom 1 know to have some desire to make service to Jesus a part o f their lives. I wonder if there is any interest among you guys fo r forming a group for the purpose o f mutual encouragement in this task. I think that each o f you has a lot to offer me, and probably each other, if you are interested in a group like this. Anyone interested? The message had been sent to five other men in the department as well. We got together and liked the idea a lot. And so our group—named unofficially and unassumingly “Some Guys”— began meeting once a week to discuss living out our Christian values in the world at large and in the business world specifically. Over the years we have talked about everything from personal spiritual growth to corporate politics to the morality of the Gulf War. At times we supported individual members as they met changes and chal lenges in their private and professional lives. We often played together, grabbing a pizza and beer after a game of Frisbee football. And we prayed together. Over the years, members have come and gone, but the group has continued. November - December 1992

In the late spring of 1992, I contacted one of the members of the group, a good friend of mine, Eric Osiecki. Eric is an information systems professional currently employed by General Electric. I asked him if he thought some of the guys in the group would like to volunteer their time to rewrite our matching program. He loved the idea and said he would see what the rest of the group thought. A couple of weeks later Eric called me back with the good news: all of the group wanted to help. They were eager to get started and wanted to know when they could come down and have a look at what we had been doing. We settled on a weekend in late May, and Eric, Steve Haffner and Brian Satterfield made the two-hour trek from Louisville to Mount Vernon. Brian works with Eric at General Electric, in nearly the same capacity. Steve is a consulting systems engineer for Humana, a major health care company, whose corporate offices are in Louisville. The focus of the weekend was a Saturday morning meeting with Bev and Brenda. The goal of that meeting was to help Eric, Steve and Brian understand the Christmas basket program in general and the matching program specifically. Bev and Brenda explained to them the ins and outs of Christmas baskets, told them how we sign up families and sponsors, how we process the gifts the sponsors send to us and how those gifts are distributed to the families. We gave them a brief tour of the warehouse where we process the gifts (“Santa’s Workshop,” some wags call it). Brenda showed them all of the reports she uses, and told them the use of each one. I walked them through the matching program itself, step by step. Eric, Brian and Steve huddled around the computer, looking

Much of the work for the computer program was completed on Glenn’s home computer.

at the program over my shoulder, reviewing it first hand. After nearly three hours of hashing everything out, we adjourned. Later that evening the guys headed home. Later, Eric told me that while they were driving home the three of them determined what they needed to do, at least on a theoretical level. The next step was to define specifically what needed to be done and then just do it. To help them with the actual programming, they en listed another member of the group, Glenn Just, who works with Eric and Brian as an engineer and systems analyst.

Over the next two months, Glenn and Eric took the lead, rewriting Brenda’s matching program. Both of them have full-time jobs, so they had to work evenings and weekends on their project. “A group of us had been getting together to play tennis every Saturday in the the summer,” Eric told me. “Glenn and I would go over to his house after that, usually around 11 in the morning, and work sometimes until 6 or 7 in the evening, depend ing on what needed to get done.” All of the program ming work was completed on Glenn’s home computer, and Eric estimates that they put 240 hours into the project over three months. As they developed the new program in Louisville, I kept in touch with Eric and Glenn by telephone, helping them resolve problems when I could. In mid-July it looked like the program was ready to go, so Eric made the trip to Lancaster one night after work to install the new program onto Brenda’s computer. After hours of work at the screen and on the phone, it didn’t work. So, back it went to Louisville where Eric and Glenn made some adjustments. A week later Eric returned to Lancaster to try it again. Still nothing. We worked until 1:30 the following morning and, while we made some headway, it still wasn’t working. Maybe we weren’t holding our mouths right.

Frisbee football may not have a commissioner, but it’s a big favorite at George Rogers Clark Memorial Park in Louisville.

A week later I journeyed to Louisville to work out the last few “bugs” with Glenn and Eric, and at long last, The Mountain Spirit

when I returned to Lancaster, I had in my possession a brand-new, fully functional matching program. Brenda thinks we’re a bunch of heroes. Or at least computer geniuses. Eric, Brian, Steve and Glenn are a different sort of CAP volunteer. Unlike permanent volunteers, they did not quit their jobs and lifestyles to serve the poor in Appa lachia. Indeed, none of them is currently considering full time volunteer work. Eric said about his job, “I still really enjoy what I do.” Steve agreed. “I’ve thought about full time service work, but I like what I’m doing. People are called by God in different ways to do different things. Not everyone is called to full time volunteering or service work.” Steve knows what he is talking about. He was a CAP volunteer one summer a couple of years ago, working in the summer camp and the GED program. He came to CAP after quitting his job in Chicago and before accepting his current position. Steve maintains his time with CAP was very rewarding, but not completely satisfying. “I still had a nagging feeling of untapped potential.” The “untapped potential” was his ability with computers. He wanted to get back to that. Instead of a full time commitment, Steve and the others have chosen to donate a significant amount of their time and talent in addition to maintaining their current careers and lifestyles. Why?

First of all they saw an obvious need that they could help meet. CAP needed a new matching program; the inefficiency of the current program was costing the outreach staff too much time. As Steve pointed out, “A new program frees Brenda up to do other things that are a better use of her time and, consequently, the donor’s money. It’s a stewardship thing. Efficient use of people’s donated money is important.” They recognized how they were uniquely qualified to help. Steve said, “Here was an opportunity to use something I’m good at to help others. It’s a gift.” Brian agreed. “We had the skills and the talents that could be put to good use. If I have skills available . . . I hope to be able to help.” Volunteering was also an opportunity to become more familiar with the situation facing low-income families and the organizations that try to serve them. Eric found that his perspective was narrower than he would like it to be. “It’s too bad we’re all white and middle-class with no sense of how the others feel.” He found his volunteering to be an educational experi ence, widening his perspective. “I leam more by doing, by participating, than by watching. It helps my under standing. I was exposed more to what CAP is. Because of my exposure I am able to advise others on how they can help.” Indeed, Eric hopes to get his co-workers to sponsor some families in the Christmas basket pro gram. They believe that volunteering is more than just a good use of free time; volunteering is an important responsi bility. Steve said, “I feel that with little effort on my part, I’m very fortunate. I had parents who cared and raised me well. They put me through school. As a result, I have had good jobs and good money. I think ‘Why me?”’ Steve be lieves that for this reason, he—and others like him—need to help those who, for whatever reason, are not as fortunate. “The ‘haves’ have a respon sibility to help the ‘have-nots,’” he said. Brian feels a similar commitment to volunteering, something instilled in him by his parents. “Growing up, vol-

Weeks after the program was successfully installed, Ed and administrative assistant Brenda Watts still delight in its efficiency.

November - December 1992

Cortas

unteering was simply a part of what we did. We always shared. If someone needed help and we could help, we helped.” All of these men have made significant commitments to helping beyond this project with CAP. Brian has spent much time coaching young businesspeople through Junior Achievement. Eric sings with his church choir and is involved in a musical to be staged by the church’s youth group. Glenn coaches grade school football and basketball. Steve, in addition to his stint one summer at CAP, has worked in homeless shelters and is currently involved in Louisville’s Citizen Advocacy Program, working with adults who are mentally disabled. All of them, however, voice a deeper motive for volun teering than this sense of responsibility. The time they spend volunteering their talents is an outward expres sion of their Christian beliefs and commitment to Christ. Steve sums it up best: “The meaning of life is love. Service is a big part of that. My definition of love includes action, not just feeling. Love is as love does. You show your love by what you do. Who is the best example of that? Christ.” Nerf basketball is a popular indoor sport with “Some Guys.”

Many people have benefitted from the time and effort Eric, Steve, Brian and Glenn have donated to CAP. The new matching program performs flawlessly and has reduced the time to match sponsors to families by another 50% over last year’s computer program. Brenda appreciates the speed and reliability. “Now I have more time to spend with sponsors who call in requesting more information about the Christmas basket pro gram,” she said. The time Brenda spends with these sponsors helps them understand the needs of our fami lies here, which, in turn, helps the sponsors serve those families better.

The guys themselves have come away with a sense of having provided a valuable service to a truly needy organization. And they have a desire to do more. Eric and Glenn are already kicking around ideas for im proving the matching program for next year! The greatest benefit derived from their work is not easily expressed. It is certainly sensed, however, by volunteers, by those who work with volunteers and by those who are served by volunteers. It is the inspiration and peace that comes with witnessing Christian love in action. Bev explains, “It’s great for us to know that we have the kind of support we’ve received from ‘Some Guys.’ Knowing that people care enough to give their time and skill to help others they’ll probably never meet helps us go on, and keeps us from get ting burned out. Indirectly, their energy affects every fam ily we serve. I know the fami lies must feel it—that kind of Christian love is impossible to contain.” ft

Outreach manager Bev Poller reviews the Christmas basket program with Eric Osiecki.

The Mountain Spirit

“W ell, I know there have been times th ey ’ve really needed it, but th ey ’ve never asked us for help w ith their bills,” W anda said. W anda is the C hristian A ppalachian Project outreach w orker in Lincoln County. She helped Mr. and M rs. W illiam s w ith a garden the sum m er before last, “B ut they had so m any health problem s this year that they w eren’t able to put a garden in this year. I ’m sure w e ’ll be able to give them a C hristm as basket, though.” C A P outreach w orkers fill m any needs for our fam ilies. Som etim es they help a fam ily w ith educational goals. O ther tim es, steady w ork m ight be an answ er. For an elderly couple like the W illiam ses, though, W anda knew that ju st m aking them com fortable would be the m ost im portant. “I ’m hoping to be able to get a grant for them to put in a bathroom , so they w o n ’t have to go out to that old outhouse, but our hom e repair crew has started w ith the outside of the house. It looks great now, and I ca n ’t w ait to see w hat they do w ith the inside.” W anda said in the year or so that she has know n Mr. and Mrs. W illiam s she has seen them steadily decline in health. T hey’re grateful, she said, for the help that they have received. And we are grateful for donors like you who m ake it possible for W anda to do w hat she can for Mr. and Mrs. W illiam s. B ecause o f you, W anda w ill be able to say “Yes, I ’ll be right out,” to the next fam ily w ho needs her. A gift o f $15, $25, $50—m ore, if y o u ’re able— will m ake it possible for a w orker like W anda to say “y es” w herever there is a need.