North Country Mission of Hope heads to Kentucky in July

Robin Caudell, The Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Updated ·2 min read

PLATTSBURGH — The North Country Mission of Hope is set for a July mission in Kentucky for the Christian Appalachian Project.

“It is a not-for profit group that runs service programs for the needy rural in the Appalachian Mountains,” Deacon James Carlin, Mission of Hope executive director, said.

“They’re a fairly large organization, but we have worked with them in the past sending them shipments, two 53-foot tractor trailers full of clothing and medical equipment over the last two years.”

Last year, Carlin traveled to Kentucky twice to explore the Project’s mission group.

“I led a mission group of seven from here last October/November down there,” he said.

“So, we as a board of the Mission of Hope decided that they were a good fit to fill in that piece that we are missing right now of mission trips, a way to re-establish our mission roots until we can get back into Nicaragua. This time at the end of July, first couple of days of August, we will be down in Kentucky with a group of 17 people.”

The Project’s mission arm focuses on housing issues.

“They do a lot of construction on substandard housing in order to bring it up to a livable standard,” he said.

“They will also replace people’s housing when bringing it up to a level of suitability is not possible. They also do projects that provide accessibility for people with difficulties or a handicap that doesn’t allow them access to their house, a temporary or long-term issue. So, we will work on those types of projects when we’re down there.”

The mission team includes students, and retirees, and current and former North Country residents.

“We’ve got a group from Lamb of God Church in Clearwater, Florida,” Carlin said.

“We’ve worked with them in the past. We do projects with them for ecological programs in Nicaragua. They spearheaded those for a lot of years. They are going to come on this trip with us as well. We have support coming from there. There are some other retirees who have left the area and live in North Carolina that are coming. So it’s a good mix of retired folks, some younger folks, and men and women of varying abilities of construction.

“But, they will find us something to do that we can contribute to fulfilling that service aspect of who we all have inside of us somewhere. We all have a part of us that is drawn to serve others in a particular way, and this answers that need for a lot of people.”