Change for the better: Lincoln mission group spends a week repairing homes and making friends

Last week, there were some big changes for Charlotte May.

For one thing, cars started honking at all hours whenever they drove past her small home along U.S. 27 near Halls Gap.

Even at 2 a.m., the horns would wake May from her sleep.

But May didn't mind — in fact, she said the noise made her very happy.

Drivers were sounding off as they passed May's home because of a sign by the side of the road that read, "Honk if you love Jesus."

The sign was put there by some young girls who were visiting May's home every day as part of a crew fixing her roof, replacing her windows and putting siding on her house.

The crew was one of several dispatched across the county as part of the Christian mission organization Lincoln County Changers' annual week-long service event.

"I'd been praying for many years for the Lord to get my house fixed," said May, a widow who also received help from the Changers about eight or nine years ago. "God has answered my prayers and I am very thankful for these young people. I really can't express the gratefulness. It's wonderful."

Lincoln County Changers Project Coordinator Keith Kirkpatrick said in its ninth year, the Changers had 76 kids from 14 churches go out into the communities of Lincoln County and complete 12 construction projects for individuals and families in need.

Twelve of the churches hail from Lincoln County, while one group came from northern Pulaski County and another traveled all the way from Ohio, Kirkpatrick said.

Along with 64 adult supervisors, the crews repaired roofs, replaced windows, installed handicap ramps and put up siding on homes from Stanford to southern Lincoln County.

During the week of service, the crews stayed at the Stanford Baptist Christian Life Center, where they worshipped at night and ate breakfast in the morning before leaving for their sites.

Kirkpatrick said the Changers are funded entirely by donations and the fees kids pay to attend and work. Area churches provide refreshments and meals at the construction sites during the day.

Supervisor Mike Reichenbach said he understands the importance of foreign mission work, but he also sees the benefits of running local mission work like what Lincoln County Changers does. For the cost of a single airplane ticket, you could help many people locally, he said.

"If you want to do mission work, this is about as good as you can get," he said. "The best part is once you build a relationship with the people you're helping, you can come back and see them."

Sydney Kinhalt, who was working Thursday on a mobile home in north Stanford with Reichenbach, came all the way from Cincinnati to participate. A woman in the Cincinnati area with ties to Lincoln County helped get her and five other girls involved with the program, and now Kinhalt has been coming for five years.

"I love it now," she said. "I come every year."

Marcus Denham, an incoming senior at Lincoln County High School, said he participated with Changers for his sixth time because he enjoys "spreading God's word through construction."

"all the roofs are pretty memorable because you're up there all week and it gets pretty hot," he said.

Allison Newman of Stanford, a freshly graduated high school student who's headed to Western Kentucky University in the fall, was busy pouring a handicap ramp along Water Cemetery Road Friday.

Newman, who participated in Changers for her seventh straight year, said she plans to come back again as a college student.

"It's just so amazing to know that something as small as building a handicap ramp can change someone's life forever," she said.

Back at her home along U.S. 27, May said the changes created by Lincoln County Changers, from her new windows to the improved roof, are appreciated.

"I'm a widow, so it's hard enough to keep the bills paid and groceries on the table," she said. "It makes a big difference in your life when someone comes out and makes your house better."

But for May, the change goes beyond the physical quality of her home: the honking traffic represents a God who answered her prayers and the children who visited her home for a week and changed her life for the better.

"I got to make new friends," she said. "New young friends and new old friends. And that's everything, because if you've got friends, you've got it all."