From the Spine of the Virginias: Paul Broyles and Aaron Elizabeth Broyles, Rock Camp, WV

Paul Broyles is pastor of the Rock Camp Baptist Church. I watched as he baptized his daughter, Aaron Elizabeth, in nearby Indian Creek in the middle of winter when there were four inches of ice on the stream. A few days before the ceremony, he chipped a path into the stream, but it had frozen over in the meantime with another half-inch of new ice. So for the baptism, he started by inching his way into the flowing water chipping the ice again with a mattock. He returned to the bank where he took the hand of Aaron Elizabeth Broyles, and they waded into hip-deep water together. In front of perhaps 30 people, he spoke a prayer. He held one hand in front of her, clutching her hands, and the other on her back, and lowered her backwards until she was submerged into the icy water. Instantly, they scampered to the bank where they threw on dry jackets.
After a pot-luck lunch in the basement of the church, Paul told me about his life. He said he was born and raised in Ballard, in western Monroe County. He is fifty years old. “I graduated from Peterstown High School and went to work in the coal mines in Mullins, West Virginia. The next year I met a little girl from across the border near Narrows, Virginia. We dated for six months, and then we got married. I was 18 at the time and she was 19.
“A month after we were married, my brother asked me if I wanted to go fishing with him. I said being a newlywed I would stay with my wife. He and my father went without me. Within a couple of hours they had capsized their boat, and both of them had drowned. I could have easily been there and drowned with them. You will go crazy doing those what-if’s.
“Within 18 months I learned that I was going to be a daddy. The next thing I knew the coal miners went on strike. So I lost my job and my income. My mother moved away to live with a brother in Oklahoma. So I was the only family member around when our first son was born.
“The next thing I knew my wife was pregnant again, with Aaron Elizabeth. I made $8 or $9 per hour working in a coal mine. When I lost that job, I found another job bagging groceries for $2.85 per hour, so we were having a hard time.
“I got a better job at a rubber factory for a while and things began to improve. Then I got a job at Celanese in Giles County. Sometime later, Celanese laid me off. Soon my unemployment insurance ran out. I was desperate. I had a wife and two children. I knew that Celanese had a program where I could hang on to my seniority if I were in the military. I decided the Army was my best bet. I was 22 years old. Two weeks later I was at Fort Lewis in Texas. I went from having long hair to having this,” he said, pointing at his head, which he described as being a “Telly Savalas.”
“My drill sergeants and all my fellow soldiers made fun of me with my accent and being from West Virginia. There have always been a disproportionate number of people in the military from West Virginia. For one thing, there have been limited employment opportunities here. For another, we are patriotic, and we are not afraid to serve our country. True, joining was partly about doing my patriotic duty, but the bottom line was that I needed a job. The Army shipped me overseas to Germany for three years. After eight months my wife and kids moved over to live with me. I had a wonderful experience and matured a lot.
“After I served my time, I came back to the states and resumed my job with Celanese. I saved $3000 in the Army. I began to attend the Church of Christ on Wolf Creek, where my wife was from. But within a short period of time I reverted to my old ways, drinking and smoking a little pot.
“After a couple of years being back, I got saved. I had joined the church when I was young and had been baptized, but I think I did it just to fit in with my friends.
“Then I had an experience that changed my life. We used to do a lot of camping. There was a children’s home near where we camped, and they brought many of their orphans to the campground. We spent two weeks camping near them. I wanted to take some of them home with me. I had had a vasectomy, but I wanted more children. So I talked to my wife about adopting a foster child. We submitted our paperwork
“Our first foster child was a baby, just six months old. That was just the beginning. In the last 20 years, my wife and I have raised 52 foster children. At this point we have eight grandchildren. It is a miracle what God has done with us.”
He told me his job at the church was only part time. He continued to work in the Celanese factory. He looked at his watch. “I work shift work at the plant. Right now I am working a 3 p.m. until 11 p.m. shift. As soon as I leave here I am on my way to work.”
As he departed, he said, “I am a servant. I am a pastor, but I am a servant to the people. I am a servant to you. If we disagree, that is fine too. Now, if you ask me to do something to help you that is not in God’s will, then I cannot help you. My first master is God. My second master is my wife. My third master is my children and my foster children. My fourth master is my parishioners.
“I am proud of who I am. We are patriotic people. We stand by our convictions. We are not perfect. There is theft and corruption in this state. If people want to laugh at us that is fine, but there are many great people in West Virginia.”  
Aaron Elizabeth Broyles said, “I have always forged my own way in life. I am 27 years old. These have been 27 years of hard life. As Dad told you, I grew up in a large family with one biological brother and lots of foster siblings. When a child has to share her parents and her house and her toys with lots of other children, it teaches her not to be selfish. It was hard sometimes, but my parents continually reinforced to us that they were not trying to replace us. We always knew we had our place.
“Christmas at our house is still huge. We visit each other when we can and we have stayed a close-knit family. Some have married and now have babies who consider my parents to be their grandparents.”  
Aaron admitted she was a hard-headed person. Once she graduated from high school, Aaron got married and had two kids, but the marriage failed. Then she had a second unhappy marriage and divorce, along with serious physical problems. “My parents have always stood with me even when I have made mistakes. I have been really lucky.
“Before, I was living just for me. I got to the point where I had been through so many bad things and I had to ask so many people for help... I would go to my dad and ask him for help and finally it occurred to me that I was asking the wrong person. All along, I should have been asking God.
“To an outsider I’m sure my baptism appeared to be really crazy. That water was crazy freezing cold. But it was something to me... I just felt that I was going to be okay. Today was probably the coldest I have ever been, but I felt happy.”
Her eyes began to get moist. “I have been carrying a lot on my shoulders for a long time. I have been through a lot.”
She took a deep breath. “But not anymore. I am rejuvenated. Now I believe I can handle a lot more than I ever felt I was capable of. Today was the easy part. Now I have to commit my life to His work.
“I will be all right. I will go to heaven. I’m not afraid about that. Regardless of what I do for the rest of my life, everything will be all right.”