Reaching Out
Not everything related to the coronavirus has a bad ending.
For the past nine years, Chicora Alliance Church has participated in a statewide group called Reach Mission Trips, inviting church members and youth groups to help make significant home improvements to families in need.
When this year's trip to Gettysburg was canceled, Brandy Waldroup, of the church, decided to bring the project to local families. Over the course of three days this week, a group of about 25 children, young adults and adults made home improvements. As assistant superintendent for the church's Sunday school, Waldroup helped organize the efforts.Tara Hackwelder lives with her two children and husband in Chicora, and the church group helped put drywall in her daughter's bedroom and bathroom.“We've been blessed many times over with people who want to help us. That's what's great about a small town,” Hackwelder said. “They just blew us away with this. Just amazing what they did. It was such a big task, a hurdle to get finished.”Her daughter, Elizabeth, has two rare syndromes that severely limit the 7-year-old's mobility. To accommodate their daughter's limitations, the Hackwelders built a bathroom and bedroom on the first floor, making the amenities handicap-accessible. The Hackwelders planned to finish the project this summer, but Tara said financial restrictions and time limitations forced the family to delay the project.
Tara said Mark Wallace, pastor at Chicora Alliance, asked her several weeks ago if her family would be interested in being a recipient of the church's construction work.“It was an absolute prayer heard,” Tara said. “It was a major job.”Three other homes in the county received similar attention as part of the church group's modified coronavirus plans, according to Waldroup.She said the group was aided by Boyce Builders, a local construction company that helped with some equipment needs. But more importantly, she said they brought their expertise and planning.At a house in Renfrew, they replaced a deck and ramp after demolishing the old one. Another house in Petrolia had the bathroom floor replaced along with painting and installing a new sink and toilet.Waldroup said they chose these homes because their residents either had handicap needs, financial limitations or a combination of the two.“We wanted to give back, share our skills, and the kids love doing it. You wouldn't think a bunch of teenagers would want to do this sort of thing,” Waldroup said. “We do this to be the hands and feet of Jesus.”Waldroup said next year they plan to go back to their usual plans of traveling for Reach Mission Trips. But she said she was open to looking into local projects.“This experience was amazing, and we're thinking of doing it again,” Waldroup said.For Tara and her family, that's good news.“There's always bad things happening in the world,” Tara said. “But there's still truly good out there and what they did was proof of that.”
