Last week I went on my second Habitat for Humanity trip down to Ocean Springs, Mississippi with our group from Luther. It was another great experience similar to the first one but also vastly different in many ways. For example when we got to New Orleans it was still interesting and exciting but a lot less so (this is illustrated by the fact that I only took about 12 pictures in New Orleans compared to about 60-70 last year.) Well I still had lots of fun and it was a good way to relax and enjoy our break from schoolwork.
When we got to Camp Victor, all the good memories I had made from last year came flooding back. The place just has a good vibe or something. You can almost sense that God is present here, with all the good that Camp Victor does for its community members. Anyways it felt good to be a "veteran" and to know where everything was even though Camp Victor had been changed around a bit. We were given a tour of its facilities and then got a chance to put our stuff away and make our beds.
Later that night we had a meeting where all the jobs available for that week were announced. I originally wanted to be on the roofing crew, but it was full so I went with a group headed by Dale (probably a good thing too, I would have gotten so burned up on that roof). I was the oldest student in this group and took charge of getting tools and talked with the other group members.
The next morning after a pretty good nights rest and a decent breakfast of biscuits and gravy, Ross, Eli, Jessica and I went into the tool storage room. Dale had been unsure of what tools we would actually need but we were told to get a few basic things such as hammers, a circular saw, a few crowbars, and a couple ladders.
When we got to the work site, we found out we would be tearing down rotting Fascia and Soffit board. I didn't have a lot of experience in tearing things down, but we all jumped on ladders and began ripping down the Fascia first and then the Soffit last. We accomplished this using a combination of hammers and crowbars/wonderbars(sp?), it was tough work because some were very stuck and stubborn.
The group I worked with really surprised me in their wiliness and as the week went on their skills in accomplishing tasks. They all did what they were told and even while working we were laughing and having a good time. I was the "veteran" and they were the "newbies" but I really learned a lot from them and it was fun getting to know them by working and talking with them.
I loved this years trip I think more than last year because of the new people that came on the trip, hanging out with them, talking with them, and working with them. I am definitely going again next year, and will be trying to recruit my friends or whoever will listen to come too. This is a great trip because you learn new skills, make lots of new friends, get to escape cold tempatures in Iowa, and you have fun everyday of the trip. Can't wait till next spring.
Sam "SMG" Gaylord
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