Every year the Martha’s Vineyard Ecu menical Youth Group goes on a mission trip. Last year we went to Washington D.C. to help in a homeless shelter, the year before we worked in a soup kitchen in New York city. This year we were lucky enough to get to fly out to Nashville, Tenn. to help with flood recovery efforts.

The 12 members of the youth group that went are Kathryn Antonsson, Dan Durawa, Cal Fiore, Katelyn Fritz, Michaella Gaines, Taylor Gramkowski, Emma Johnson, Alex Lloyd, Charlotte Lowell-Bettencourt, Ashley Pearlstein, Chris Pitt and myself. We were accompanied by three adults: Jen Fiore, Melissa Pitt and Pastor Jerry Fritz. We had no idea what we would be doing when we got to Nashville, we just knew that we were needed. Nashville and many small surrounding towns were devastated from the flooding that affected the region in May 2010. There are still people who can’t go back to their homes.

We were dispatched to Franklin, Tenn. by National Disaster Ministries where we stayed in the Christ United Methodist Church. The next day we learned our actual work site would be about 35 miles away in the very small town of Fairview. Here we learned more about the floods of 2010 and what it was like for the people directly impacted. In Fairview they lost power for more than 12 hours and went three days without cell phone service. One of the locals I spoke with, Deborah Lovett, owner of The Tool Box, a local hardware store, said that although they only lived 35 miles from Nashville it took them two days to drive there because so many roads were impassable due to the flooding.

When we arrived for our first day of work, we learned that we would be helping an older woman named Mary Latham, whose home was damaged due to a pond that overflowed and caused mold issues. Among the many things we did were to put down new flooring, fix broken windows, put in a drainage ditch and put in new plumbing so she would have water in her kitchen.

I learned a lot about home repair but that wasn’t the biggest lesson I learned.

Mrs. Latham was married, the mother of four children and a former teacher and guidance counselor. Her husband and four children have all died and Mrs. Latham has been dealing with cancer as well as a few other medical problems. Her passion is to rescue animals that are considered unadoptable. Mrs. Latham has adopted animals that have cancer or are missing limbs, etc. Unfortunately, many of her animals that she loved so very much have also died. She lives alone with her remaining animals; 27 cats, two geese, three dogs and even a donkey.

These are all animals that she has rescued.  

Mrs. Latham was so grateful that we were there to help her. “It’s like I won the lottery without even buying a ticket,” she told us. She had used up all her savings taking care of her husband when he was dying and would never have been able to afford to get everything fixed. She told me that she thinks that we were there because of all the good karma she earned taking care of and rescuing animals.

But I feel like we were truly the lucky ones. Although there are hardships everywhere, it seems as though we are more insulated than a lot of other places and when it’s not right in your face it is easy to forget that people are homeless and hungry. I hope that none of us ever have to endure the hardships and heartache that Mrs. Latham has, but I would hope that we would handle ourselves with as much grace and humility as she has.

I don’t know where we will be going next year but I know that whomever we help, we will be helping ourselves also. I know that we are better people for having met Mrs. Latham and I am glad that we could help her.

Paige Donovan will be a junior at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School this year; she lives in Edgartown. This is the third mission trip she has taken with the ecumenical youth group.