Spring 2021
buildingfutures A GLIMPSE INTO MOUNTAIN OUTREACH
MOUNTAIN OUTREACH DONATES LABOR, FUNDING FOR B SQUAD BED GIVEAWAY
Mountain Outreach (MO) teamed up with the B Squad Project, a local non-profit, to help make Christmas magical for underprivileged children in the community. Each year since 2018, the B Squad has identified children who do not have beds to sleep in and provided them with brand-new beds at Christmastime. This year, with COVID precautions cancelling many fundraising events, the outreach struggled to raise enough funds to serve the community as much as they wanted. Thankfully, MO was able to provide funds and labor for 30 beds – 17 of which they have already custom-built, the last 13 to be built this spring. MO also donated bedsheets, covers, and pillows for most of the beds (community members donated a few). In total, the MO donation will be worth approximately $10,400. The bed giveaway is part of an initiative the B Squad calls “Gutsy Gunner’s Sweet Dreams,” named in honor of Gunner Bowlin, a local boy. Even though Gunner has total intestinal aganglionosis Hirschsprung’s disease and short bowel syndrome, he is always smiling and bringing joy to those around him. Gunner spent four months in the hospital after he was born due to his health conditions. During that time, the community rallied around his family, praying for them and providing them with whatever support they needed. When the opportunity came for them to be part of the B Squad’s efforts, Carol Smith, Gunner's mom, knew “without a doubt” that she wanted to “give back to the community that helped my family so much.” Smith said, “The Sweet Dreams event is our favorite! The look on those children’s faces and the appreciation you see from the parents is priceless. Gunner loves the bed giveaway! He tells everyone he meets about it. Last year, he even helped paint some of the beds.” Shannon Barman, who created the B Squad Project in 2018, said, “The first year we did the bed giveaway, people 2 Ι UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS
said we were crazy. Nobody knew there was a need. The second year, we had a list of kids waiting for us.” The beds have “Psalm 139:13-14” branded on them in memory of Barman’s grandmother, a devout Christian. The verses say, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Barman said that kind of message would have been just what her grandmother wanted kids to know. This is the third year the B Squad has hosted Gutsy Gunner’s Sweet Dreams. Including the 30 beds this year, the non-profit will have given away 110 beds to Whitley County children. Rocky Brown, Director of MO, said, “We were very thankful to the Lord Jesus, that He provided a way for us to build and fund these beds for the B Squad Project. For us, it was another avenue to help folks in need in our community and share the love of God with them. Additionally, in the process, we got to work with our work-study students and teach them how to provide the absolute best quality work we could.” Barman called MO's donation a “Godsend.” “I cannot express my gratitude for MO. They have been amazing,” Barman said. “The beds are a brand-new design from last year, and we are absolutely in love with it. They added a bookshelf to the side so kids can step up into the beds easily if they’re bunked. We love it.” Barman mentioned that it’s been exceptionally tough to bring in donations for any projects this year, with the ongoing pandemic. “Some of our children and friends have health issues, so even though we wanted to be able to raise funds, we had to be smart for our families and for our community and play it safe,” Barman said. “This year has been nuts, but we’re still trying to make things work. We want to help kids in our area.” Thanks to the hard work and generosity of Mountain Outreach, the B Squad was able to do just that.
UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS Ι 3
LIVING IT OUT
" In my opinion, the best way to show God’s love to people is to serve them. God is love. Through show ing care and serv ice to other people, we can let them know what God is like.” Benjamin Nichols, '24
To Benjamin Nichols, ’24, connecting with others comes naturally. He is a freshman, and one of his goals before graduating is to meet as many new people on campus as possible. He enjoys walking up to a total stranger, smiling, and striking up conversation. His business administration major suits him. Though loving others comes easily to Ben, he recognizes that it also takes hard work to make a real difference in someone’s life. “You have to have a plan of action,” he said. “You can’t just say you love someone and have a desire to help them, you need to act on it. And it takes more than just you; it takes people coming together to make a difference.” Ben is a presidential work-study student in Mountain Outreach (MO). Even though COVID precautions in 2020 have forced outreach to look different (e.g. fewer in-person events), MO has figured out ways to continue serving the area. For instance, earlier this year, the MO team built a deck and wheelchair ramp for an elderly gentleman 4 Ι UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS
who had been falling down his front stairs when he tried to leave the house. Fearing injury, the man secluded himself in his home, shut out from the rest of the world. Thanks to the work MO did, he has real freedom again. Ben said, “Knowing that I could pay something back to the community that has given me so much, that’s a big memory for me. Knowing we could help that gentleman was huge. I’ll never forget the people I’ve met through MO or the experiences I’ve had.” Many in the community think of MO as being the ministry that builds a home for a family during summertime. While that is true, it’s been eye-opening for Ben to see all the other projects MO does, since he’s working for the ministry behind the scenes. And the construction skills he is learning have already come in handy at home; his mom has enlisted him to make new window shutters and do paint jobs around the house. Even more important, Ben is watching the Godly examples set by the men he works under. “It’s very humbling,” he said. “They’re good people. They have so much experience, and they want to teach, they want to help, they want to show Christ to as many people as possible. I’m just here to learn and love on people. The more of their example I can get, the better.” Observing the Godly people around you, learning all you can, and doing your best to use what you glean to show God’s love to others – really, that’s the picture of ministry. Ben is happy he gets to live it out.
WAREHOUSE CLEANUP, REMODELING
The MO warehouse received a much-needed remodel recently. In addition to cataloging inventory of equipment and deep cleaning the whole warehouse, MO staff renovated this corner of the building into wood-working stations for students to use. The stations are laid out to enable the highest efficiency and equipped with quality equipment to help ensure excellence. They will be used to teach basic woodworking skills and make beds for the annual B Squad events. UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS Ι 5
FALL PROJECTS IN REVIEW 17
COMPLETED COMMUNITY/REPAIR PROJECTS PATSERVE EVENTS | HVAC REPLACEMENT DECK/RAMP CONSTRUCTIONS GARBAGE CLEANUP | INSULATION WORK, & MORE
7
CURRENT PROJECTS
FLOOR REPLACEMENTS | KITCHEN REPAIRS SEPTIC TANK REPAIRS/INSTALLATIONS
25
THANKSGIVING MEAL BOXES DELIVERED TO FAMILIES
50
BIBLES PURCHASED FOR ADDICTION RECOVERY CENTER
100
CHRISTMAS MEAL BOXES DELIVERED TO FAMILIES
183
CHRISTMAS GIFTS
(VALUED AT $123.04/PERSON, HAND-WRAPPED BY MO VOLUNTEERS, DELIVERED TO FAMILIES)
$2, 500
TO " SHOP WITH A COP"
$1, 500
TO FAMILIES AFFECTED BY HOUSE FIRES + MANY DONATIONS OF TOOLS/HOUSEHOLD ITEMS 6 Ι UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS
ROCKY BROWN
DIRECTOR OF MOUNTAIN OUTREACH
W H AT E V E R
YOU DO,
WORK AT IT WITH
A L L YOUR Rocky Brown stepped in as Director of Mountain Outreach last year, bringing in more than 20 years’ worth of construction experience. Brown remarked, “It was kind of funny when I got the job because they said, ‘We want you to do service projects, help the community, and share the gospel.’ I smiled and said, ‘And you’re going to pay me to do this?’ Those are all things I absolutely love to do. There’s nothing better.” Brown’s résumé includes extensive experience in HVAC, electrical, trim and finish carpentry, roofing, and doors and windows, along with some experience with sheetrock, painting, framing, and concrete work. He led projects as an electrician in the Department of Operations at University of the Cumberlands for three years. He has worked for a handful of other companies who specialize in hardware and construction, as well as completed freelance projects independently for friends and family. Besides his work for Mountain Outreach, Brown is the father of three girls and one little boy whom Brown calls “the four best kids on the planet, whom I love with all my heart.” “I dedicate my life to teaching people to believe and understand God’s Word for themselves,” Brown said. “It is a great honor to teach God’s Word. The Lord Jesus Christ died for me, and I assure you He died for all because I possess no unique skill or ability that would cause me to stand out in His sight. I am beyond thankful that He laid His life down for me as the payment for my sin and for the sin of the world.”
HEART,
AS THOUGH
YOU WERE
WORKING
FOR THE
LORD
AND NOT FOR
PEOPLE.
COLOSSIANS 3:23
Brown credits the Lord with giving him the skills and abilities he possesses, and he does his best to use those “to work in the Kingdom” helping fellow believers and “reaching out to the lost” as opportunities present themselves. UNIVERSITY OF THE CUMBERLANDS Ι 7
buildingfutures
A GLIMPSE INTO MOUNTAIN OUTREACH Spring 2021 . VOLUME 8 Mountain Outreach is a non-profit service organization operated by University of the Cumberlands. Since the organization’s inception in 1982, students and volunteers have built 151 homes from the ground up in Southeastern Kentucky and have completed renovations on hundreds more. The program’s outreach also includes numerous service projects that help children, the elderly, and financially-struggling families with critical and urgent needs. For more information about how to help, please visit ucumberlands.edu/mountainoutreach