"I felt it was necessary," said 14-year-old Kaitlyn Foster, who came from Amelia, Ohio, to participate. "It's something better than sitting at home on the couch."
And they were far from a couch. Foster, along with six other youth, found themselves on the rooftop replacing shingles on Thelma Mastin's house.
"They're great kids," Mastin said. "I really enjoyed them being here, not just for the work, but for the company."
Mastin said her roof leaked, and being on a fixed income made it difficult, if not impossible, for her to repair it on her own. Now it's one less worry for her, she said; no more pots and pans to catch the drips. Kirkpatrick said the shingles alone for Mastin's roof cost $600.
"You hear a lot of negative stuff (about kids) now days," said Joe Martin, crew chief of the group at Mastin's house. "Then you get a chance to be out with kids who could be swimming and playing Nintendo."
Instead, Martin said, all of the kids in every crew are up at 6 a.m. and on site shortly after. They are committed to the week-long, camp-like atmosphere of Lincoln County Changers, Kirkpatrick said.
Each night after working, everyone meets back at the Lincoln County Baptist Association for devotions and sleep.
That's where they stay for the week, Kirkpatrick said, without cell phones, pagers or e-mail.
Not only do the kids sacrifice a week of their summer vacation, they do it at a financial cost as well. Each volunteer is responsible for coming up with a $150 fee, which helps cover their food for the week and some construction materials. The money can be raised through the volunteer's church or community.
Why would a teenager want to shell out $150 to do hard labor?
"The blessings will far outweigh the costs," Kirkpatrick said.
Lincoln County Changers took shape after Kirkpatrick participated in a mission project known as World Changers, then State Changers. The premise of those groups is the same as Lincoln County Changers - helping out with odd jobs around homes that might not be get fixed otherwise.
Why not local mission work?, Kirkpatrick thought. "These people have just as much need."
That's when he organized Lincoln County Changers, which is in its fourth year.
Kirkpatrick refused to name companies or people who help make the projects possible by donating materials for fear he would leave someone out. But most materials are donated. The group collects applications from people in the county seeking help with home repairs.
Kirkpatrick said Changers don't decide who receives help, God does, by drawing them to that application.
Churches from all over Lincoln County, and a few from out of state, participate in the work each year. Kirkpatrick said churches are just names, and that's not what it's about.
"It's about the kids," he said, and the homeowners.
Josh Godbey, who turned 15 last week while helping replace a roof on Mastin's house, has been with Lincoln County Changers all four years. The first year, he said, "We were lucky to get kids from Boyle County" to volunteer. Now they have people from Ohio driving down just to participate.
"This is for God," he said, right before climbing the ladder to hammer more shingles. "I'm doing this as a witness."
