The Appalachia mission team recently returned from their trip to North Carolina and West Virginia, where they served with Anchor Ridge Ministries.
Anchor Ridge is an organization that is passionate about changing the lives of underprivileged citizens in the Appalachian region. The main objective of the mission team was to help Anchor Ridge renovate their new 30,000 square foot headquarters.
“We helped paint ceiling tiles, do insulation, paint the walls in the lobby, and basically make it so it’s functional for [Anchor Ridge],” said team member, Lindsey Thomas.
After renovating the headquarters, the team headed to McDowell County, West Virginia, which is the poorest county in America.
“There were houses with tarps for roofs, broken windows, caved in walls…” said Thomas.
The mission team and Anchor Ridge brought a truck full of supplies to give to families, held a church service and a community outreach event that included bounce houses, food, face painting and more.
“There were a bunch of families and kids that came, and they all had a good time,” said team member, James Rowlands. “The parents were able to sit back and relax from having to take care of all their kids.”
It was an eye-opening experience for the team to witness certain living conditions, and they are grateful that God gave them the opportunity to touch the lives of everyone they met.
