A WORLD OF CHANGE

WASILLA — Karla Rathbun’s multiple sclerosis is progressing quickly.

Five years ago, she could navigate through her home with ease. Still she knew she had to prepare herself for the inevitable. Rathbun said her doctors informed her she would eventually be wheelchair bound. Today, Rathbun uses a cane to get around, but is prepared for the next step.

In 2004, Rathbun signed up for disability grants offered through the Alaska Community Development Corp. (ACDC). This past week, a group of volunteers from World Changers arrived at her home in Wasilla to build her a new wheelchair ramp and deck. Her grant came through and will pay for future garage renovations and widening of her home’s hallways, making her home wheelchair accessible.

Rathbun is one of 13 homeowners to receive free renovation services from World Changes, a service-based mission group sponsored by the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. More than 130 volunteers were recruited to the Valley by World Changers, many from southern states, and donated labor to eligible Mat-Su Valley homeowners. ACDC provided the materials for the projects.

“It’s cold today,” Rathbun said Thursday afternoon, adding the volunteers were “enjoying a fire pit they built outside.”

Rathbun said her disability plan won’t cover many of the physical upgrades she’s requested for her home. Living with a progressive disease, she said the quicker she can have the work done, the better.

“It’s been a long wait,” she said. “It took three years on a waiting list to get to this point.”

World Changers volunteers began working on Rathbun’s home this past week and are finishing her new ramp and deck this weekend.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for these kids to meet new people and spread the word,” she said about the volunteers.

Volunteers, many in Alaska for the first time, are here from Lighthouse Community Church in Nikiski; Mountain Park First Baptist Church in Lilburn, Ga.; Westside Baptist Church in Jasper, Ala.; Sabino Road Baptist Church in Tucson, Ariz.; and North Fork Baptist Church in McIntosh County, Okla.

As hammers and saws worked in and outside of her home, Rathbun did what she could, even though she was encouraged by several teens not to.

“They won’t let me do anything,” she said. “I get them all soda and candy for their hard work. It’s a wonderful thing and I’m so grateful for them.”

The junior high, high school and college students worked on 13 projects in the Mat-Su area over the week, resting nightly at the LaVerne Griffith Youth Recreation Camp at Kalmbach Lake. From early morning until dinner they worked alongside 50 adult chaperones installing vinyl siding, building decks, constructing ramps, painting and performing other general construction duties.

All the volunteers were responsible for purchasing their own airline tickets and supplying more than $300 for food and accommodations, many accomplishing this task through church-organized fundraisers.

Matthieu Wilson, a missions communications specialist for World Changers, said that while the work is hard, the important challenge for the young southerners is learning a bit of humility.

“It’s Christian youth camp meets summertime job,” Wilson said. “But we are having fun between the workloads.”

Volunteers took Wednesday off to enjoy various trips around Alaska, with many driving to Seward for a day cruise around Prince William Sound.

“This is my first trip to Alaska,” said Erica Peterson, 16, of Atlanta, Ga. “I’d always wanted to come up here, so it worked out perfectly.”

Peterson, a first-year volunteer, said she wanted to do what she could to be of service to God and her church.

“I wanted to help out those in need, so when the youth leader at my church suggested I sign up for World Changers, I did,” she said.

On Thursday morning, Peterson was busy working on retention walls and outdoor insulation at a home in Big Lake.

“We kind of learn as we go,” said Jake Tapley, a World Changers crew leader from Nikiski. “You sign up and don’t know what job you’ll be doing.”

Tapley, a youth leader at his father’s church in Nikiski, drove a busload of youths last week to the Valley to help with the projects through his church.

“We want to help further God’s kingdom and hopefully when they get back home, they will have had a humbling experience,” Tapley said.

Terry Turkington has lived in her two-story home off Knik-Goose Bay Road for 12 years. She also signed up four years ago for an ACDC grant, feeling the pressure to catch up with compliance codes.

“My place is falling apart and it’s not getting any better,” she said.

This past week, World Changers began painting the exterior of her house. The eucalyptus green-and-black cedar trim was finished within hours. It was just the beginning.

“They’re putting a porch on the back and waterproofing around the foundation,” Turkington said. “It means a lot to me and my daughter. As a single mom, it’s financially and physically impossible to get it done otherwise. I’ve been on the list since my daughter was 9, so this is a wonderful.”

The Turkington home sits in a subdivision off Settlers Bay. Last year, when she was issued a ticket for maintenance non-compliance, Turkington wondered if she would ever be approved for her $25,000 grant from ACDC.

“These kids have been wonderful,” Turkington said. “I’m at an advantage where I’m able to help out, to a point, so we’re having a ball.”

Tapley, Wilson and Peterson all said helping homeowners in need has helped volunteers appreciate what they have in life and what to be grateful for, all through hard work.

“These guys are losing a part of their summer to help people for free,” Wilson said. “We teach them through this program and their church that this is about the homeowner, not them.”

Monica “Bliss” Ockwig, a care coordinator for ACDC, said she is thrilled to see her clients pointed in the right direction with World Changers. Three of her clients, all disabled, met criteria to receive services from ACDC and World Changers.

“This is fantastic,” Ockwig said. “That’s a big arm to reach to have these people come out and help.”

For Rathbun, her future looks a little brighter with the work that’s been done on her home and the help from World Changers.

“I can’t give back what they’ve given me,” Rathbun said. “It’s a blessing.”

Contact J.J. Harrier at valleylife@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.