Johnston girls help others, learn value of home

from the Des Moines Register

The great thing about lending a hand is when your done, you want to do it again. This story profiles 3 girls from Iowa who helped the people of Appalachia. - Kale, Poverty News Blog Editor.

By JULI PROBASCO-SOWERS

Three Johnston High School students have returned from a trip they say makes them look at life more realistically, appreciate family more and be less materialistic.

Haley Johnson, 17, and Kara Highfill, 15, both of Johnston, and Caroline Byrd, 16, of Urbandale just returned from a mission trip to Kentucky.

Three crews totaling 12 people from Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Urbandale repaired and improved houses for families through the Appalachian Service Project.

"I just had such a great experience last time," Byrd said. "I learned so much from it, and it is something I want to continue doing."

That's why she went along on this year's trip, leaving for Barbourville, Ky., on July 5 and returning on Saturday. "You learn that everything is not how it is in Johnston. Johnston is a different community and a lot more fortunate than a lot of places, even places in Iowa," she said.

Last year's trip was to a remote location in the mountains in Virginia, she said. This time the destination was less secluded and she had cell phone service so she could talk to her family daily.

Byrd and Johnson worked on the same team, installing drywall and doing a little plumbing with the other crew members.

Johnson said she got to know the family she was working for better than in the last three mission trips because they had children at home.

"I just thought this family was really cool," she said. "The lady of the house, she used to live in the Philippines and I think that when she lived there she had a lot of things, but not so much since she moved here. But she said she is getting to see her boys grow up and be with her family. It just shows you don't need a lot of things in life to make you happy."

The woman cooked for the crew every day.

Highfill, who was on her second mission trip, worked on a separate crew. Her group scrubbed the walls, primed and painted the kitchen and did other work on the roof of the house.

"I think when I come back from these trips I have a sense of renewal and what is important in my life," she said. "The culture down there is a lot about family and when I come back I understand how important family is."

Byrd said she also bonded more with the family she was helping on this year's trip.

"When we sawed drywall, the little 4-year-old would blow the dust away so we could see the lines. He also would hold a flashlight for us when we did plumbing work."

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