APPALACHIA

Poverty:  According to the statistics conducted by Appalachian Research Commission, one out of every three Appalachians suffered from poverty; their average income was 23 percent lower than the average level of American per capita income.  McCreary County is located in the Daniel Boone National Forest in southeastern Kentucky along the Tennessee state border. The only county nationwide where most households earn less than $20,000 a year, McCreary is the poorest county in both Kentucky and the United States.  [Jan 25, 2019]

Climate:  Summer days are typically sunny warm and humid. Most areas of the region receive more than 60 percent of available sunshine during summer. The average daily high temperature for July is about 85° F.

Terrain:  A glaciated mountainous terrain with thousands of valleys, “hollows,” creeks, and rivers,  Kentucky’s highest point is Black Mountain in Harlan County, 4,145 feet (1,264 meters) above sea level.

Natural Resources:  water, forestry products, coal, oil, natural gas, and various other minerals.

Location:  The southeastern region of the state of Kentucky (bordering with the states of Virginia and Tennessee).  Kentucky is located in the south-central United States along the west side of the Appalachian Mountains, Kentucky ranks 37th in land size, with 39,732 square miles (102,907 square kilometers). The Commonwealth is bordered by seven states: Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, and Illinois.

• Before 1750, Kentucky was populated nearly exclusively by Cherokee, Chickasaw, Shawnee and several other tribes of Native Americans.
• April 13, 1750, while leading an expedition for the Loyal Land Company in what is now southeastern Kentucky, Dr. Thomas Walker was the first recorded American of European descent to discover and use coal in Kentucky.
• By 1751 surveyor-explorer and Indian scout Christopher Gist, representing the Ohio Company, mapped the Ohio River area from its headwaters (near today’s Pittsburgh) and crossed into what is now Kentucky.
• 1767 Daniel Boone led his first band of hunters as far west as what is now Floyd County, Kentucky and hunted along the Big Sandy River.
• 1769 Judge Richard Henderson financed a venture proposed by John Finley to find the Cherokees’ Warriors Path through a gap in the Cumberland Mountains; Finley convinced his friend Daniel Boone to lead a hunting party on a long hunt in Kentucky, including John Stewart, Boone’s brother-in-law; they cleared a trail through the Cumberland Gap.
• March 10, 1775, Daniel Boone along with 35 axmen begin to blaze a trail from Fort Chiswell (Virginia) through Cumberland Gap into central Kentucky. Financed by the Transylvania Company, the trail eventually came to be known as the Wilderness Road.
• June 1, 1792, Kentucky became the fifteenth state to be admitted to the union.
• 1820, the first commercial coal mine, known as the McLean Drift Bank opens.
• 1850, coal production for the year reaches 150,000 tons.
• 1879, one million tons of Kentucky coal production reached.
• 1917, Lynch and Portal 31 mine are established by the U.S. Steel and Coke Company.
• 1923, All-time high U.S. employment of 704,793 bituminous coal and lignite miners.
• 1941-1945, Appalachian coal mines produce millions of tons of coal for the allied war effort.
• 1950-1960, Coal mine operations begin to gradually lessen as new technologies are developed for the extraction of coal.
• 1960-1980, Various Congressional Acts and policies enacted to protect the environment begin to have an ever-increasing dampening effect on coal mining and production.
• 2020, The lack of infrastructure, healthcare, and economic development continues to foster an overall depressed economy which has led to an increase in drug abuse and other social ills in the region.

Health:

• Appalachian Kentucky’s heart disease mortality rate is 45 percent higher than the national rate.
• Appalachian Kentucky’s cancer mortality rate is 35 percent higher than the national rate.
• Appalachian Kentucky’s COPD mortality rate is 88 percent higher than the national rate.
• Appalachian Kentucky’s injury mortality rate is 103 percent higher than the national rate.
• Appalachian Kentucky’s stroke mortality rate is 26 percent higher than the national rate.
• Appalachian Kentucky’s diabetes mortality rate is 32 percent higher than the national rate.
• The average adult in Appalachian Kentucky reports feeling physically unhealthy 47 percent more often than the average American.

Behavioral Health:

• The suicide rate in Appalachian Kentucky is 19 percent higher than the national rate.
• The average adult in Appalachian Kentucky reports feeling mentally unhealthy 25 percent more often than the average American.
• The prevalence of depression among fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries in Appalachian Kentucky is 18.4 percent, compared to 15.4 percent for the United States as a whole.

Child Health:

• The infant mortality rate is 21 percent higher in Appalachian Kentucky than in the nation as a whole.

Health Care Systems:

• The supply of primary care physicians per 100,000 population in Appalachian Kentucky is 26 percent lower than the national average.
• The supply of mental health providers per 100,000 population in Appalachian Kentucky is 7 percent lower than the national average.
• The supply of specialty physicians per 100,000 population in Appalachian Kentucky is 59 percent lower than the national average.
• The supply of dentists per 100,000 population in Appalachian Kentucky is 37 percent lower than the national average.
• The percentage of the population under age 65 that is uninsured in Appalachian Kentucky is 18.6 percent, which is higher (worse) than the national average of 16.8 percent.

• The median household income in Appalachian Kentucky is 40 percent less than the national median.
• The household poverty rate is 26.7 percent in Appalachian Kentucky, a figure higher than the national rate of 15.6 percent.
• The percentage of people receiving disability benefits is higher in Appalachian Kentucky (14.3 percent) than in the United States as a whole.
• In Appalachian Kentucky, 48.4 percent of adults ages 25 to 44 have some type of postsecondary education, compared to the 63.3 percent in the nation as a whole.

1. What are the minimum and maximum group sizes?

Our private trips can accommodate groups as small as 4 people and as large as 50+. Reduced pricing applies for groups larger than 10 people.

2. Are trips private?

Yes, your group will experience a private trip with your own trip leader(s) and ministry/service projects as well as your own group worship and debrief times.

3. What’s included in the trip price?

Ministry materials, lodging, food, and recreation. You will also have a trip consultant to set up the logistics prior to the trip, trip manuals to help your team to prepare, and excellent Thirst Missions leaders while your trip is underway. You will be responsible for your own transportation and bedding.

4. Do we need to bring our own tools?

We will have some basic hand tools and power tools in place. Since most teams are driving to this location, we expect teams to be able to bring some tools. These details will be worked out specifically with the trip consultant.

5. What will we do?

Encourage and help people and communities affected by isolation and poverty through service projects and ministry opportunities. The service projects could include light construction such as home repair, landscaping, painting, and more. There are also many heavy construction needs that will involve skilled work and equipment such as debris removal, plumbing, electrical, masonry, and carpentry work.

6. Where will we stay?

Either in a Guest House, Camp/Dorm stay, or Floor Stay facility. Group members opting for the floor stay may need to bring their own air mattress/cot, sheets, and pillow. Showers and restrooms will be available on site. Those that opt for Guesthouse lodging will be guaranteed air conditioning!

7. What about transportation?

On-location transportation is not included in the price of the mission trip.  You will need to arrange your own team’s vans, SUVs, or other transport.

8. What if we want to donate more money or work on bigger projects?

Additional financial donations can be given and projects will be arranged to use those funds.

9. Where will we be serving?

You will primarily be serving and ministering to the people in the Southeastern Kentucky Appalachian counties that are most affected by rural poverty according to the Appalachian Regional Commission. (Harlan, Floyd, Letcher, Perry, Knott, & Pulaski Counties)

10. Will we have recreation time?

Each group will have the opportunity to experience the beauty of the Appalachian Mountains during a recreation activity.  Recreation is complimentary, however, there are upgrades available if you prefer.  What specific recreation will be included depends on the location where you’ll be staying and serving during your mission trip.  Your trip consultant will have more specific information for you during your trip planning process.

11. Is the $499 registration fee deducted from my final payment?

No, it’s used right away to offset a small portion of planning and preparing for your group’s trip. Please read through our generous payment policy and cancellation agreement.

12. How do I select the ministries we desire?

Each group leader will have a missions consultant from Thirst Missions assigned who will go through ministry opportunities in detail. All group leaders have scheduled conference calls to discuss the trip and are welcome to contact their trip consultants about any other questions that arise.

13. Who will the staff be for Thirst Missions?

Each trip will have a Thirst Missions trip leader, as well as project coordinators to help on site.

14. Are any ministry materials provided?

Ministry materials are up to the teams to provide. Examples would be curriculum for VBS, sports equipment for sports outreach, and so on. Alaskan churches will have some resources that the group can use on a case-by-case basis. Most ministries require little in the way of materials. You can ask your missions consultant about suggestions for materials and ministry plans.

15. Are construction supplies included in the cost of the trip?

Funds will be set aside by Thirst Missions toward construction costs. Your missions consultant will give you some project and cost options—if you want to stay within the funds set aside you can, or if you’d like to do a larger project you can donate extra. All the money for supplies will be used to purchase materials which will be onsite when the group arrives.

16. Are there any additional costs?

Besides your trip cost, the only things you’ll need money for are souvenirs, church offerings, extra snacks, and money for meals at the airport.

17. How do we pay for recreation?

Payment and reservations for upgraded recreation are made by your team before your time in Alaska. Please work with your Thirst Missions Consultant or Trip leader to confirm your specific reservation.

18. Can you tell us about the food provided?

The food provided will, for the most part, be food Americans and Canadians are quite familiar with. We’ll have healthy breakfasts provided in the guest house, lunch most days will be a bagged lunch on the go, and dinners will be hearty meals served at the guest house, at the church, or at a local restaurant.

19. Can I stay in contact with people once I return home?

Yes! You can use Facebook and Instagram or email, call, or text just like you do with your friends back home. Staying in touch with new friends in Alaska is such a blessing and benefit to going and serving.

20. What are some outreach ministry ideas?

Movie nights, worship celebrations, community meals, or sports tournaments are good outreaches. If you have good outreach ideas we are certainly happy to help you make them a reality! Check out our blog for more outreach ideas.