COASTAL OBSERVER

A vision the Rev. John Culp once had in a field of cotton now carries tradition across the state and into Murrells Inlet.

“He said the other night, which I’ve never heard this, that he felt God call him. He just felt the calling to do it,” said Chris McIntyre, Culp’s daughter.

Culp, who was a minister and a volunteer firefighter at the time in Hampton, reported to a house that had burned down due to faulty wiring. He went to the funeral service, and once he saw three children in one casket who had died in the fire, he wanted to take action. 

That vision he had was the Salkehatchie Summer Service, a Christian-based weeklong camp that started in 1978 to make homes warmer, drier and safer.

“Now it’s gone from one camp to 30 camps across the state with over 60,000 people who have been involved with it,” she said.

This summer was the eighth year for Belin Memorial United Methodist Church in Murrells Inlet, which hosts the Creekfront Salkahatchie service ministry. There were 61 adults and teenagers who spent a week of their summer vacation repairing four homes off of Wachesaw Road.

Wendy Brown, 61, lives in the same house where she was raised. She applied to Salkehatchie’s Summer Service to get work done on her porch, kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms. The only requirement is to be the owner of a home needing repairs.

“I needed the help because I work so much, and by the time I get home, I’m so tired. I don’t have the strength,” Brown said. “The Lord has blessed me with all this help.”

The homeowners don’t have to pay for any renovations. All they’re expected to do is relax, just as they told Brown, but some go beyond expectations and provide water, Popsicles and sometimes a home-cooked meal.

“Their hearts will give back because they see what they’re doing,” said Whitney Buckner, the spiritual connector for the campers. “So some of them will come through and provide special things on-site for them.”

After four days of work, Brown said the campers already felt like a family to her. She gave a necklace to Maisy Herring, 14, for helping out.

Maisy came from Charleston after she heard about Salkehatchie from her brother who participated a few years ago. She brought her cousin along, Vivian Garcia, 16, of Murrells Inlet.

“I just love helping people. It makes me feel good, and it makes people feel good,” Maisy said.

Each year, Belin incorporates a theme and a scripture which the camp is built around. This year was to “show hope,” echoing Hebrews 10:23 which reads: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

The campers, including the adults, sleep on cots and air mattresses in the church throughout the week. They wake up at 6 a.m. and are on the way to their work sites by 7 a.m.

Each camper pays $250 in order to participate at the camp, which goes toward building supplies.

“They paid to come, and that’s what’s so mind boggling. A youth is going to pay and give up a week of their summer?” said Kim Oakley, the director of children’s ministries at Belin. “But it’s life changing for them.”

The local Home Depot donated some construction materials as the campers were preparing to build decks, repair roofs, paint walls and lay down tile floors in bathrooms.

Reagan McIntyre, 15, Culp’s granddaughter, grew up coming to the Salkehatchie camps. She said she forgets about all of her thoughts on “wasting” her summer once she gets to Belin. If she wasn’t there for the week, Reagan said she’d be laying in her bed.

“It’s honestly one of the best times of the year for me. I love the idea that we’re impacting these people’s lives for the better,” she said.

Reagan said she enjoys it so much that she will join Columbia’s Salkehatchie camp next summer in addition to the Creekfront.

“Their purpose is to be the hands and feet of Christ,” Buckner said.

Jackson Richardson, 15, of Murrells Inlet, came back for his second year at the Creekfront Salkehatchie. It was the first for Blue Gibson, 15, of Murrells Inlet, who was invited to participate by Jackson.

“I learned how to use a bunch of saws. I learned how to make a deck, how to mix concrete, how to take out cabinets. All that. It’s pretty cool,” Blue said.

“I met a lot of good people here. It’s kind of heartwarming helping people, and it’s doing God’s work,” Jackson added.

Belin also sends a group of up to 20 people to Guatemala each summer to construct a house in four days, according to the Rev. Will Malambri, the senior pastor at Belin. Buckner said Salkehatchie aims to help those in their own “backyard.”

“The need is right underneath your nose,” she said. “You love your neighbor, and so we are right here. There’s so much need even in our own community.”

They ended their week of renovations by installing wooden crosses that were painted and signed by the campers, along with the grand finale – a feast at Belin.

“The other thing, too, that is so special about it is that the kids can sit down with the homeowners and get the history. This land over here has been in their family for generations and generations and generations,” Buckner said. “The stories that they can tell, it’s just amazing.”

“It’s God’s way of putting us together even if you don’t expect it,” Reagan said. “I would have never met them if it weren’t for this camp.”