home >kaptures of kentucky
Kaptures of Kentucky
by Kathy Weaver
Nine long days with my dad. That’s how I viewed this trip as I left the church parking lot. Nine very long days with my dad. I went on this trip thinking I knew everything there was to know about him. But by the third day, I discovered I was wrong. My dad could actually be cool.
It was at Joyce’s house I discovered this. Joyce’s house needed a new floor and new wall after a nest of termites had totally demolished the foundation. When I saw the condition of the floor I was shocked. The wood supporting the floor was completely gone. If I had gone by myself, I would have thought the room was unsalvageable. But my dad new what he was doing. He took notes and spoke strange words in a carpenter’s language I could not understand whatsoever. My dad was smart, and he knew what he was doing. I was completely lost but he was there to guide all of us non handy people.
At the beginning of the first day, however, we soon found out that the group before us had laid the cement blocks on which we were to place wood on top of uneven. Some members of the group was disappointed. Some of us, like me, were frustrated. I thought we were going to fail our project. But my dad was determined. Joyce, our house owner, had to fill up the cracks with clothes because she was afraid of snakes. He wanted to get the floor done and put up drywall by the end of the weak so that she could sleep peacefully. The next day, after a talk with ASP, we were back in business. And by the end of the week, we reached our goal.
Another thing that I found shocking to me was that the kids in my group actually appreciated and admired my dad. They listened to what he had to say, because they knew my dad had the experience. I soon realized that if the other kids in my group respected my dad, than perhaps I should too.
There are a thousand reasons I’m glad I went on the ASP Mission trip, but perhaps the biggest reason was because I had the chance to really meet my dad before I went off to college. I guess I also learned how very similar my dad and I are. I mean, my dad and I are the only two people who wrote their reflection papers for the Kentucky mission trip the day it was due.
More stories from our youth