#361 Mission Critical: Transformation and Enlightenment Through a Crucible Experience with Appalachia Service Project

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Action Plan:</span> <a href= "https://jimharshawjr.com/action"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">https://jimharshawjr.com/</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">ACTION<br /> </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Free Clarity Call:</span> <a href="https://jimharshawjr.com/action"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">https://jimharshawjr.com/</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">APPLY</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">After 5 days of doing manual labor in sweltering 95-degree heat in West Virginia, summer would never be the same for my two sons and me… </span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I always tell my kids, “You get tough by doing tough things.” So I thought, “what better way to start their summer break than to give my two oldest kids their much-needed coming-of-age experience!”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instead of our usual fun summer getaway adventures, my sons— Jesse (16) and Wyatt (14)— and I went on a mission trip that changed the way we view the world.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This year,</span> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">my boys and I signed up for a mission trip organized by the</span> <a href="https://asphome.org/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Appalachia Service Project</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">— a “Christian ministry that inspires hope and service through volunteer home repair and replacement.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">During the</span> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">seven-day mission trip, we spent our nights sleeping in a gymnasium with</span> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">70 strangers, while our days were spent sweating through our jeans from the non-stop digging and hammering and building. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The experience changed us, to say the least. Not because of the hard work. I’ve worked plenty of construction jobs. But because of the emotional conflict that I walked away with.</span></p> <p><span styl