My Summer as a Missionary Part 3: West Virginia

My third and final mission trip of the summer was to the town of Delbarton, West Virginia. When we first got there, I wasn't sure if it was going to be as good as the trip to Savannah, Georgia was last year. During our first day, I made friends with some of the youth from other churches. Two guys that were in the same group as me were adult leaders from different churches. The group we worked in was Kids' Club, which is similar to Vacation Bible School. The two guys that I got to know were Scott from Pennsylvania and Jonathan from New York. The kid that I bonded with during the week was a 9-year-old boy named D.J.

D.J. was one of the most energetic kids I have ever known. I spent most of the week chasing him around. He would always take my hat and run away with it, resulting in me going after him. I remember one day when we were giving out books, D.J. was holding his little brother's hand and making sure he was okay.

Jonathan and Scott were two of the coolest guys I have ever met. Seeing them work with the kids all week definitely caused me to feel God's presence. Every time I saw Scott, he had a kid climbing all over him. Jonathan always seemed to have a lot of kids surrounding him. I remember riding in the van with Jonathan one day to take the kids home and we drove past an area where a wild donkey lived.

One of the youth I made friends with was a guy named Chris from New York. I remember seeing a different kid hanging out with Chris every day during Kids' Club. He always had something smart or funny to say and it made the day a lot easier.

One thing that I took out of the week in Delbarton was that poverty isn't just about money. There can be poverty of love as well. Most of the kids I met proved that fact to me. I didn't realize just how real poverty was before I went to Delbarton.

I look forward to going on more trips with the youth group next summer. This trip really changed my life and I strongly encourage all of the youth to go on as many trips as they can. They will not regret it and I am sure it will change their lives the same way it changed mine.