SWAP is an acronym for ‘Sharing With Appalachian People,’ and Rod and a group of 24 other members from Blooming Glen Mennonite recently spent a week in Harlan, working to provide “warm, safe and dry environments” to the people in this rural community named one of the poorest in the country. A coal-mining region, the folks in Harlan County suffer from Black Lung disease, mining injuries and a myriad of other problems indigenous to a coal miner.

“Twenty five of us went down there this year. The youngest was 10 and the oldest……..well, that would be me. “(Rod admits to being 53.) “ It’s a fantastic opportunity to share with the community of Harlan and to get to know members of my church in an entirely new way. This year our SWAP team helped to repair the drainage systems in the mobile home of a man who was being prevented from seeing his son due to the conditions in his home. He’s a divorced man, confined to a wheel chair, and ALL of his drainage systems needed repair. It was pretty bad! He had lost visitation rights with his four year old son because of the deplorable conditions in his home, and he wanted, very much, to regain them. We fixed the drains in the bathroom and kitchen, both above ground and underneath the trailer and it involved a lot of dirty work! We had to climb under his trailer to get to most of the lines. He couldn’t have possibly done it since he’s wheel chair bound.

“While in Harlan, our SWAP Team took on five or six different projects. At the same time as our group was working to fix the drainage problems for the man who wanted to be able to see his son again, another group was building a handicapped ramp for a family who needed one desperately and another group built a set of stairs for yet another family. We all kept busy; that’s for sure.

“The members of our SWAP team are committed to this mission project, and we come away with much more than we give. I’ll tell you, it’s really life-changing to watch a group of teenaged girls climbing in the mud under a trailer; right there with the slugs and the bugs and whatever else is down there, to help do whatever needed doing. My daughter Marissa, who’s 22, went with me this year, and it made the whole experience even more rewarding.

“We stay at a SWAP Camp, located on the top of a mountain. The views are incredible! The mountains are so beautiful and the scenery is magnificent. Camp is nothing fancy, but it’s where we sleep and eat, and it’s inside and under cover. Actually our SWAP camp was once a minimum security prison, but the County didn’t have any use for it so now it’s a campsite for visiting SWAP teams from all across the country. While we were there, there was also a group from a church in Ohio, so there are always new people to meet.

“Typically we get up at 6 a.m., eat breakfast, pack our own lunches then leave for ‘the job.’ We work from 8 until about 4:30 then go back to the camp, shower and have dinner. After dinner we usually have a religious service or meeting of some sort. Then we fall into bed, sleep and get up the next day and do the whole thing over again. The whole experience is physically exhausting but mentally exhilarating – everyone feels that way! I take a week of my vacation time to go, but its well worth it. And when you’re in Harlan, you make friends; the people there are wonderful. If it’s not your first trip you make a point of visiting the folks in Harlan you met in previous visits. We form connections. We exchange Christmas cards and try to keep in touch. Farm & Home Oil made a contribution to our SWAP Team, for which we are extremely grateful, and they have been very supportive of my efforts.

SWAP is a part of the Mennonite Central Committee, which is the mission’s branch of the Mennonite Church. We respond where ever we are needed. We are available for hurricane relief, during floods and other national disasters. We are there to assist in whatever capacity we are needed. For more information about volunteer opportunities, people can go to the Mennonite Central Committee website. Their time or contributions would be greatly appreciated.”