Friday, March 8, 2013

Habitat/YMCA Wrap-Up

Thursday, March 7th

Hi guys! Jacob here. Today was our third and final day at the Habitat for Humanity worksite. We started off the morning with more hard work on the house. The progress we made in three days was absolutely incredible! After lunch on site, the teamed performed for all of the other volunteers on a makeshift stage near the house. Despite a few technical difficulties (our piano blew a fuse!), we were still able to give a wonderful performance, and our audience seemed to really enjoy it. But amongst all the joys of performing and finishing our work on the house, there was a rather sad moment. We learned that Mike, our Habitat supervisor, will not be joining our team next year. He will remain in our hearts and thoughts as he journeys on to law school. Good luck Mike! We will miss you dearly.

Before we all left the site, we signed our names on different parts of the house. I felt as if I had left a part of myself there within the house, and I knew that all the blood, sweat, and tears I had put into my work were worth it. This was also an enlightening moment for me. I realized how blessed I was to be a part of this group. Much like a house, each individual is crucial to the structure of the whole. We are all tremendously supportive and bring out the best in one another. And it was at this moment that I realized we weren't just building a house. We were building a home.

Today was also our last day with the kids at the YMCA. Throughout the week, our kids worked on skits, games, songs, etc. to perform for their classmates, and today was performance day! All the groups did a fantastic job, and I felt incredibly inspired by all the teamwork and collaboration between the teachers and students.

In various group meetings, we have talked about "planting seeds" as a metaphor for what we are trying to do for these kids. We don't expect nor aim to transform their lives in four days. Rather, our goal is to give them tools -"plant seeds"- that will later allow them to blossom into strong, educated, inspired, beautiful men and women. This week, we planted seeds. Now they can blossom.

Before a delicious dinner at the Praline Connection, we wrapped up the night with a reflective group meeting, where everyone shared their personal experiences in the past week. It was incredible to hear what this week has done for the various team members, and I am so glad that I got to share this journey with them. This week has been life changing for me, and I know that many of the other team members feel the same way.

That's it for today! It was definitely my most memorable day thus far. More tomorrow!

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