The Change

Claire Schottelkotte wrote this article for her church newsletter, "Redeemer News", for The Church of the Redeemer in Cincinnati, OH. Enjoy!

"Two years ago, I was in the eighth grade, I had good friends, I got along with my brother and sister (most of the time), and I got along with my parents (most of the time). There was one day a week when we wouldn't get along at all. Always the same day. Always Sunday. None of us ever wanted to go to church so we tried everything we could to avoid it. If you woke up early on Sunday morning, no one would move at all, just in case our parents had forgot about church, we didn't want to take a chance of waking them up and reminding them. But they never forgot, and eventually we would have to go. One day my mom came to me and told me about this new mission trip for my age group to the Appalachian mountains and she wanted me to go. I talked to some friends of mine who were also going to go. We got excited for it and I looked forward to it.

The day we drove down to Tennessee was a lot of fun. We played games, sang, talked, and everything was good. We made it to the Roberts' lake house, we swam and hung out, Kyle briefed us on what was to come, and we were all having a good time. We left early to drive the rest of the way to the camp site. The second we actually got to the camp it hit me - I was about to spend an entire week basically at church. I couldn't stand to sit through an hour of church once a week, what made me think I wanted to do this? I don't know anything about religion and I really have no desire to learn. I had totally freaked myself out at that point, and was really concerned with what the week would have in store for me. I was only sure of one thing, this week was not going to be what I was expecting. That, I was right about. By the end of the night my mind had been changed (maybe not quite yet completely because I was still a little iffy on the next day when everything actually started). I got the chance to work on people's houses and help them when they were in need. I built a porch for someone and gave them a person to talk to because many of them do not get a lot of visitors. Also I got to meet new people and make great friends that I otherwise would have never met. By the end of the week I knew that there was a reason that I was there and I knew I would never be the same person.

After anyone goes on a mission trip, almost everyone will say that they got more out of it than they gave. For me, this was more than just an awesome feeling I got from being there. Because of Mountain T.O.P., I really found the importance of religion and what I was missing out on before. Since then, religion has been a big part of my life. Since my first trip to Mountain T.O.P I have really begun to question and strengthen my faith, I have begun to enjoy and explore my faith and without Mountain T.O.P., I honestly believe I would not be where I am. I wouldn't be who I am today, I wouldn't have some of the friends I do, and I definitely wouldn't be standing in front of you now. If I had not been given the opportunity to go on this trip, nothing in my life would be as it is, and I am truly blessed and grateful to be given the chance. Thanks to you, this entire experience was possible for me and many others, and i can't begin to express my gratitude. I want to sincerely thank all of you for your support".