I just love these kids ...

I recently got back from my yearly trip to Appalachia with St. Vincent’s and St. Pat’s and have returned, as usual, amazed and impressed with the caliber of teens that go on the trip. This year consisted of 21 adults and 27 teens all working together to repair homes in Preston County, West Virginia. 

The teens, some of them returning year after year, give up a full week of their glorious summer to spend their days fixing roofs, repairing bathroom floors and replacing rotted windows and doors. Their evenings are spent in shared reflection with the team, bonding with each other through games and conversation and finally, sleeping on the floor.  There is no luxury on the trip.  Cell phone service is sketchy at best, there is no private time and there are lists of rules that must be strictly followed to maintain order. But still, teens continue to flock to this week and report that it is their “best week of the year”.

I look back on my youth and don’t remember being as well-spoken, socially conscious or mature as the teens that go on the trip. If these are the children that will be responsible for the world some day, we are in good hands. 

Each day, we work in teams to repair homes. The work is hard and not at all glamorous.  One morning two teams spent about three hours loading a dump truck with debris from a job site.  While I can’t say we were whistling a happy tune while we threw moldy sheetrock and shingles in a truck, there certainly wasn’t any complaining. Without a lot of conversation, the teens got into a rhythm and figured out who was better at shoveling the debris into a bucket and who had the strength to carry the heavy shingles.  And the best thing was that when we were done, we quietly rejoiced and immediately went on to our next job. 

I had the opportunity to have three fantastic teens with me on our team. One was my son, Reilly, and the other two, Claire and Tara, were nervous first timers who had never used power tools. I saw teamwork, dedication and growth in all three of them. Tara was nervous about the saws, but after a little encouragement, she conquered her fears and adeptly used the jig saw and circular saw. We eventually nicknamed her Pergo, after the flooring we were putting down. At first, she thought she couldn’t do it, but after half an hour, she was teaching others how to install it.  Claire mastered the art of caulking windows and hammering in trim, and although she and Reilly seemed to enjoy painting, it’s possible they got as much paint on the walls as on themselves. The days were long and hot, and admittedly, I’m a bit of a task master, but no one on the team complained. They worked and sang and created an environment of joy that was a pleasure to be around.

Even better than the work I saw happen, was the sense of community and respect from the teens and the people of Preston County. The home we worked in was dirty and in very poor condition, but the couple who lived there was welcoming to us. The teens were courteous and respectful to the couple, engaging them in conversation about the things they liked and how they were going to decorate the new room we were working on. One day, two teams were having lunch at a local place and a few of our boys got into a conversation with two older men. As the men were leaving, our waitress told us that the men had paid for all our lunches!  When we thanked them, the men told us that they appreciated the work we did for the people in the area. I believe it is the respectful, positive attitudes of the teens each year that continue to impress the people of Preston County.

The leader of our trip, Fred, encourages us to focus on relationships, not just the work. While I struggle with this because I want to get my job done, I see the teens expertly engaging the people we work for.  Each night, I would hear stories about the families we were helping. The teens would talk about the children at the work sites.  One boy, Mike, on the trip for his third year, told me about how each year he would watch his mother bond with the families while he would work. It wasn’t that he thought he was better than them, he just wasn’t that interested. This year, however, he spent the time to learn about the family and their children and told me this was his best year ever because of the relationships he fostered.

Each night, Fred organizes something that forces you to share your feelings about the experience and to learn more about the people on the trip. While I think it is hard for some of the adults to relax and open up with one another, the teens are a refreshing breath of honesty. They are truthful, interested and engaging. They actively participate in small groups where they discuss their days. And while they do talk about the windows they had to put in, they normally start out with a discussion about the family and their interaction with them. I heard things like “The guy who owns the house is the nicest person I ever met” or “you should have seen this five year old year and what she’s been through.” It is amazing to me how open they are about their reasons for going on the trip and what they hope to accomplish for both others and themselves as a result of their experiences. No one talks about how good the trip will look on their college application. Instead they share their desire to learn what is really important in the world, to focus and identify personal priorities and to cultivate a sense of community.

My aches and pains are gone from the week of work, but the joy of spending a week with 21 amazing teens remains. Truly, if this is the caliber of people that will be responsible for the world in the future, we can all rest easy. We are in very good hands.