Volunteer Journal

Entry: 27 February 2015

I think I received more from Lily and Melissa than I could have possibly given. We worked on their house for a long time: replacing siding, most of their windows, their roof, and their porch in the backyard. I know Lily and her daughter appreciated the work we did. Their home was more functional and much safer, and as a plus, it looked nicer. But being welcomed into Lily and Melissa’s home and granted the opportunity to enter into their lives was a gift so personal that it felt too great to be returned with only my time and labor.

I know that this is an oversimplification. We gave from our hearts as well as through our work and conversation. But at times when I felt like I was just a construction worker at their home, Lily would take us aside and pull out her and Melissa’s artwork. They had a stack of Melissa’s paintings in a corner of a back room—many pieces from her art school work, some that combined her love for fantasy worlds with her roots here in McCreary County, and one that beautifully depicted her mother. Lily painted Appalachian scenes on a number of different rustic objects, including cross-sections of tree branches, and she had illustrated the Creation Story across the panels of a large quilt. She even presented us with a couple of old saw blades on which she had painted pictures of her home and Cumberland Falls for us to keep. We often ate lunch inside, and Melissa offered us some of their homemade pickles as they kept the wood stove stocked for us to keep warm on those cold winter days. And when we ate outside, we struggled to keep their cats at bay and our lunches safe as Lily and Melissa watched and laughed. They let us witness and partake in some of the idiosyncrasies that make up their lives.

Not only was Lily welcoming, but she worked on her home harder than we did. When she wasn’t working at her job, she would jump right into whatever our crew was working on. If we were on the roof, she would come up and strip shingles with us. When a weekend passed, we would return to her home to find a new wall of siding finished that Lily had worked on while we were away. Before we even started the work, she tore down her old, crumbling porch so that we were ready to begin right away. It was clear that what we were providing was a helping hand. First and foremost, Lily wanted to fix her own home. We were just community members who had the resources and time to help her do it.

One morning when it was particularly cold, Lily started talking with me and my crew. She told us what had happened to her husband and about some of the other trials she and Melissa had been through. Then she welcomed us into her home to warm up and be with her. Moments like these confirmed to me that my role was more than being a carpenter—it was being her neighbor.

Christ teaches us through the ultimate sacrifice that love is giving of self, but sometimes it’s hard to know what that looks like in our day-to-day lives. Lily and Melissa taught me that it can look like the sharing of conversation, art made from the heart, and homemade pickles. It can be a mom showing someone what hard work for a family and home means. It can look like the sharing of a cross and a warm home.

-- Vinnie Birch

Entry: 30 April 2015

I think there is a natural inclination in us to turn down the assistance of others, especially when we are volunteering. A participant offers me something, and my gut reaction is to turn them down. I think, “I don’t want to take anything from them—they are struggling enough without me consuming their food.” I mean it with the best intention. Knowing how much food I consume as a twenty-two year old male, it would seriously set anyone back no matter their financial status. Really it extends from a desire to give freely without taking anything in return, but I realized recently how selfish this attitude can be.

Susan and her husband had already offered me some of their lunch directly after I had finished mine, and later she was practically insisting that I take some water. I was thirsty, but I went through the same thought process of wanting to give without taking. But it seemed as if the only thing she wanted was to serve me. That’s the interesting part of the situation. I’m there to help her, and all it seemed she wanted was to help me. So I took the water.

Service can easily put us in a mindset of “we are the helpers and they are the people we are helping.” But this outlook places us above those we’re serving: “I have something to give and you can only receive;” “You don’t have anything to offer me that I could need.” And this idea completely contradicts the intention of service. We want people to feel fulfilled, not small. This can only be done when we recognize one another’s common dignity. Everyone has something to give.

Recently I started running my ideas of service through a “neighbor lens.” Loving our neighbor as ourselves is the language of the gospel after all. I consider how I would treat a close friend if they were in the situation of the participant. If that person needed help installing some windows and I offered my assistance because they couldn’t afford to hire someone, would I turn down their water when I was thirsty? No. So why should I turn down water from a participant? It only creates distance between us that implies, “You are not my neighbor.”

Christ came to give the ultimate gift. He gave himself fully for the salvation of humanity. If ever there was someone who had something to give and who needed nothing in return, it was Christ, but even He asked the Samaritan woman for a drink. Christ teaches us that loving our neighbor does not mean denying what they have to offer.

-- Vinnie Birch