My name is Jennifer O’Rourke. I have been a parishioner of Resurrection Parish for 15 years. I have been an employee      of our parish in our Religious Education program for ten years. My family has been very active in our parish in many capacities, but our favorite is the week we spend in West Virginia for our yearly Appalachia mission trip.

My husband, Sean and my son, Nick started going ten years ago. My daughter Julia and I have been going for eight years. Our youngest, Meghan will be going for her fourth year this July.

We look forward to a week of us working together and helping others in need.

Many of you donate to this mission and it is very much needed and appreciated. There are approximately 85-100 adults and teenagers that travel to Elkins, W.V. We stay at Davis and Elkins College. Elkins and the surrounding towns are used to seeing us every July and welcome us with open arms.

We start every morning with Mass together, breakfast, and then we head off to approximately seven home sites. We spend all day at our home site; building handicap ramps, replacing roofs and siding, and building and repairing decks. The teens are taught safety and how to use the tools properly to finish these projects. They are 100% involved in everything we do. A big part of our week is meeting and building a relationship with the homeowners. We have gained such pleasure in meeting them and learning their stories.

In the evenings we have different actives planned every night. The kids look forward to playing Catholic trivia with Fr. Mike or praying the rosary outside in the grass. We are all exhausted physically but rejuvenated spiritually by the end  of the week.

We are grateful for your support of this ministry. Thank you for helping us help others like God intended us to do. Please keep all of us in your prayers.

God Bless,
Jennifer O’Rourke
Resurrection RE Program Manager