Youth Mission Trip: McDowell County, WV

We believe a good mission trip has three components: meaningful work, spiritual growth, and Christian fellowship. Since 2012, our youth have experienced this and more through our relationship with the Highland Educational Project (HEP) in McDowell County, West Virginia. Under the direction of Episcopal Appalachian Ministries, HEP provides mission groups with the opportunity to serve in one of the poorest counties in the United States. Projects range from home repair, to hunger initiatives, to animal shelter support, all coordinated by local individuals and organizations. Our youth and chaperones spend a week, living in community in Welch, WV and working on a variety of sites. Throughout the year, we continue to connect with our friends in West Virginia, through such programs as “Gotta Getta Goat” (in which we funded a herd of goats for the center), school supply drives for the children of McDowell County, and through the heirloom seeds which they donated to us for our St. Francis produce garden.