Appalachia & Homebase Mission Testimony: Adam Guillory

This summer, about a dozen people and I from the Wesley at LA Tech went on a mission trip to the Appalachia region. During that trip there were some very high peaks, and there were some very low troughs, but overall, it was one of the best experiences of my life. 

We started the trip strong by driving to Kentucky at 2 am with a storm raging all around us until we got halfway through Arkansas, and if that doesn’t put the fear of God into you, I don’t know what will. But thankfully, we made it to our destination, Red Bird, Kentucky, with some issues, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed, and the first week of mission had officially begun. 

That first week had something magical about it, which I don’t think can be easily replicated or spoken about adequately, but I’ll try here. To start, the sheer amount of things, which I hesitate to call anything but miraculous, that happened was incredible. From a mechanic having the one part that we needed in order to fix one of our cars, to one of us walking around with a nail in his shoe all day without him even realizing it, unharmed, because of how he stepped on it, to God actively changing our schedules based on if we needed rest or work by giving us rain or shine, it was clear that God was not only listening to our prayers, but was actively participating in our lives. 

During that first week, we had some of the best moments together, and some of the best scenery, being surrounded by almost nothing but creation. Most of it was breathtaking, and it cemented the idea that this is where we belong. Not necessarily in Appalachia every time, but “out”- with God, with each other, and with nothing on our minds but how best to help people.

Suffice to say, the first week set a really high bar for everyone and got the momentum rolling for sure. For me, nothing quite eclipsed it, but some moments definitely came close.

The second week started… disappointingly. We had gone from Red Bird to Princeton, Kentucky, and with it, we left the vistas and mountains, and came to, what appeared to be at first glance, just a rural town, which was flat. I mean, I thought I’d left Louisiana to be away from the flat lands, but this was just like home. But then, the work came, and we got the best job I have ever worked, and the magic came back. The job was to build a deck and wheelchair ramp for a couple, Jackie and Krystal, who had recently brought in Krystal’s sister, who has down syndrome and other mental health issues and needed to be taken care of by family. She had also fallen off of their stairs twice at that point and was afraid to climb down them. We made it our mission to make sure we could finish the ramp and see her walk down it for the first time. 

I kid you not when I say that that ramp was dominating my mind that week. But on top of that, the family was truly wonderful. From bringing out the grill to serve us lunch, to giving us sermons, to being an active support in our project, they kept our morale high and kept our eyes on God. The ramp’s completion and “maiden voyage” was the single highest high of mission for me, and it felt great to have a completed project under our belts.

On week three, we made our way to Johnson City, Tennessee, which is where I finally broke down and bought an air mattress, because at this point a $2 pool floatie just wasn’t doing it for me, and boy, did I need it. This week, we worked with Coalition for Kids, a nonprofit organization which serves as a daycare/summer school for underprivileged kids. It was… exhausting, to say the least. I remember every day I would come back to the church we were staying at and just sleep until supper time, and then those of us in the boys’ room would be so tired we would become delirious, making statements that in no other context would be funny, but, at the mere mention of one of them, we would start cackling. The main highlights for me here would be our night-time shenanigans and one little girl going into first grade named Riley. Whenever we would go to wash up before eating, Riley would hold my hand and make me wait by a wall while she was in the bathroom, and then wanted to sit with me. One of the lunches, we just spent the entire time having staring contests. I felt horrible inside when she asked if we would stay forever, and I had to tell her no.

But, although we were leaving behind some amazing children, we were beginning the last leg of our journey. A trip back to Ruston to work on our home base- the Wesley. This week was the most physically challenging of the four. We had ambitious goals in the midst of the Louisiana heat, it was very physically intensive (which brought a lot of emotional and mental intensity with it), and come the fourth day, I broke. Every single negative thing, which happened on the mission up until that point had been unleashed by one misplaced joke on my end. I then proceeded to spend 2 hours crying into my pillow. The next morning I thought I was fine, and then, someone made a joke at me, which I normally would have been fine with, but this time couldn’t handle. When our morning prayer came around, I spent 15 minutes crying into my Bible, and then went to my couch and cried into my pillow for the next 45 minutes while pretending to take a nap. I then tried (very poorly) to hide it when everyone got there for breakfast, but thank God, someone noticed and was able to help me. That night, instead of doing what we normally would, the team had me talk through what was actually going on and gave me advice, affirmations, and prayed over me. When I finally realized I could actually be vulnerable with this group of people who I had lived with and worked with for almost a month, I was given a second wind, which made the next day the single best day of mission, hands down.

This past summer’s mission trip has profoundly affected me as a person and as a Christian. In some ways that I noticed immediately, in some I am only coming to realize while writing this, and in some which I will only realize years down the line. But, if I had to go through and say any specific takeaways from this trip, it’d be the following three: prayer works, good works bring people to God just as much as good words, and that to have a community which you can be vulnerable with is one of the most vital parts of the Christian journey.

Adam Guillory is a sophomore engineering major at Louisiana Tech and and has blessed our community with his presence and joy since he showed up on our doorstep last fall. His wisdom, excitement, and tenacious desire to serve are a gift to the Wesley. Adam is passionate about swordsmanship, D&D, puns, and his friends. He is serving on this year’s Discipleship Team, and it has been a delight seeing him grow in his faith.