Page 42 - Harnett Life Winter 2019
P. 42

CCCC Welding Student Dylan



          Smith Uses Training To Assist



                                        Missionaries







































                         Dylan Smith enjoys the scenery during his summer visit to the Ethiopian highlands.

          During the weeks between high school graduation        lage of about 10,000 residents in the Ethiopian high-
          and his first semester at Central Carolina Community   lands. The village surrounded by a rugged landscape is
          College, Dylan Smith could have done just about any-   more than an hour’s drive from the nearest city, Arba
          thing. Make some money with a summer job. Spend        Minch, and even that community isn’t especially large,
          time relaxing at the beach. Or maybe hang around       with a population roughly the size of Gastonia without
          with friends before everyone scatters to begin a new   its suburbs.
          phase of life.
                                                                 Making It Work
          What he chose was taking skills he developed in the    Welding wasn’t part of the initial plan. “I was really go-
          two-year Caterpillar Welding Apprenticeship Pro-       ing over to be an extra helping hand to help Jonathan
          gram halfway around the world to help some mission-    do whatever he needed to do,” Dylan said, describing
          aries with local ties. So Dylan got his travel papers in   how his agenda took shape. “They had some projects
          order, boarded a plane and began his long journey to   set out, but things over there get delayed sometimes
          an East African apple farm.                            waiting for paperwork.” He noted that you’ll be sitting
                                                                 for two or three weeks and then all of a sudden things
          The idea took root earlier this year, when missionar-  fall into place.
          ies Jonathan and Jessica Bridges were back home in
          Sanford for a visit and stopped by Flat Springs Baptist   Dylan’s welding skills were sorely needed. So as the
          Church to talk about their work in Chencha, a vil-     month passed, he found himself welding a gate, build-

          Page 42                                                                          Harnett Life ~ Winter 2019
   37   38   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47