Extreme Build is the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship’s annual summer mission project in McCreary County that brings together churches, individuals and local agencies to build a new home in 10 days for a low-income family.
Shawna and Malachi Barnett (and son Easton) are the Extreme Build home recipients for 2013 and the 8th Extreme Build family. On June 9-15, a team from the Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship will travel to McCreary County, Ky. to assist Extreme Build. Learn more here.
The following post is from Josh Speight, Associate Coordinator for the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship.
Malachi, Easton and Shawna Barnett on their Extreme Build property.
Kentucky Baptist Fellowship visited McCreary County last week for our final site visit before the build. Sharon Davis and her daughter Lilly, KBF intern Phillip Davis and I had lunch at local favorite The Dairy Bar with Shawna Barnett during our visit.
During our lunch with Shawna, we learned more about this 20-year-old’s inspirational story that is filled with courage and resilience.
Shawna and her husband Malachi married early in life (right after high school) and she soon gave birth to their son, Easton. While raising their family, both have worked and gone to school to advance their careers and ability to make a better life for themselves in McCreary County.
Shawna began taking classes at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Ky. studying nursing. She commuted 3-to-4 days a week, often with little sleep as a new mom who also worked hard to study.
On the morning of September 14, 2011, Shawna was commuting to class when she fell asleep at the wheel while driving. Her car crossed the center white line, colliding virtually head-on with a commercial refrigeration truck.
Shawna’s Ford Focus at the crash site on September 14, 2011.
Shawna was airlifted to a Tennessee hospital with life-threatening injuries which included multiple broken bones, head trauma and lacerations. She spent more than two weeks in the hospital before being downgraded to rehab and recovery care.
Shawna, who was just 18 at the time of the accident, has spent the better part of the last 18 months recovering from her injuries. Her broken leg did not recover as well as doctors initially had hoped and eventually required a bone marrow transplant from her own hip to stimulate growth in her injured bone. According to Shawna, the pain was awful until she had this bone marrow transplant.
Despite this significant trauma, Shawna and Malachi have stayed faithful to their goals of loving one another and making a strong life for their family. Shawna kept up with school during her healing by attending a nearby community college. She is planning to work in pediatric nursing and hopes that her experience with trauma can be a source of hope and healing for others along the way.
Shawna, Malachi and Easton embody the “Miracle” of our “Miracle of Partnerships” tag that we in the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship use with Extreme Build. Shawna realizes that it is a miracle of healthcare and service providers that she is alive and walking today after her accident.
Following our lunch, the four of us who traveled to McCreary County were so impressed by the gentle spirit and beautiful life that Shawna presents.
Shawna’s smile is contagious and her courage is inspiring. Kentucky Baptist Fellowship is proud to come alongside Shawna and her family to support them as they achieve one of their goals of becoming homeowners.
We look forward to what the future has in store for Shawna, Malachi and Easton!