Wesley Mission Update: Appalachia Week 4

Well, we did it, folks. The 2022 Wesley Summer Mission is complete! Our last week was spent working in the backyard of our dear, old Wesley building. We planted peach trees and blueberry bushes along the sidewalk, put more summer vegetables into our garden beds, and added plywood and siding to our shed. Additionally, we finished the fence – including a kick-butt gate engineered by Phil and Caleb – and power washed the building and parking lot. Perhaps one of the most enjoyable aspects of our home-base week was the opportunity it presented for our whole team to live on the same street. As interns, we are provided with housing on the north side of Ruston. Rather than try to bunk somewhere else, we crammed our 12-person team into two of the intern houses, sharing meals and prayer times with one another.

Our hope for this week, specifically, was that we would continue to steward well the home that God has given us on Louisiana Tech’s campus. It’s not just for the current students that we are striving to make our backyard a beautiful and usable space. We want to leave behind a gift for all the students who will walk through our doors in the years to come. After a handful of us had finished planting the peach trees, we stood back and marveled at the possibility of one day bringing our kids to eat fruit off of a tree we had planted. The Parable of the Talents found in the gospel of Matthew often comes to mind when we consider exactly why it is that we’re investing in the Wesley’s backyard. Just as the master in that parable entrusted his property to his servants, God has entrusted the Wesley to us, and we hope to be found faithful in the way we care for it. 

Without a doubt, this year’s mission has been incredible. We have seen the hand of God intervene on our behalf, and He continuously revealed Himself to us in miraculous ways. Thank you all, once again, for all the prayers that have been sent up for our team. We’re grateful to be home and ready for what the summer will bring!