I know I haven't updated in a while, but the reason for that is because I've been volunteering in New Orleans with Habitat for Humanity. I went down with a group from my school, and the experience was absolutely mind blowing and mind opening. I'm still coming down from the trip and wish I was still there.Obviously too many things made my heart smile during the trip, and this post would be incredibly long if I were to go into each individual thing, so I'm going to do this mostly point form, and then expand on two of the things that really did it for me.
My heart smiled...
- when we were given homemade Jumbalaya
- eating sno balls
- when I learned how to hammer, and smiled even more when I finally became a better hammer-er
- when I got to explore the French Quarter
- during our mixer with students from the University of New Orleans
- when we were at a smaller Mardi Gras parade
- when we finally got to New Orleans after our 20 hour bus drive
- when we finally arrived back from after our 20 hour bus drive
- during my showers after working at Habitat for the day
- every time we met a local
So that's the basic break down. There were more things that made my heart smile, but those are some of the more big things. But like I said, I want to expand on two of the smiling heart moments.
Working at Habitat for Humanity made my heart smile. The vast majority of people in our group didn't know how to even hold a hammer, let alone hammer down a nail, but the staff from Habitat who were on our site were patient, willing to teach us, and never gave up on us. The sheer amount of encouragement that we all received day after day was amazing, and I truly believed helped us stay motivated and positive. Also, when we arrived the house was nothing but a frame. We filled in the frame with joists and boards, added the floor, raised all the walls, and put in place the stairs for the front of the house. What originally appeared to be a daunting task, quickly turned into a recognizable house. While we all wished we could've stayed longer and seen it completed, I know that all of our hearts smiled when our last day was over and we were able to look back at all that we had completed.
We were a large, diverse group filled with strangers when we went down, but quickly we all got to know one another, work with one another, and ultimately become friends. We kept each other motivated, helped each other on the build site, and entertained one another when we were back at our lodgings. I still find it amazing that we all came together, were willing to open up, and become what I consider to be my "New Orleans family." My heart smiled each time I remembered a name, got to know someone new, and when I think back to all the great things we did together. I really hope that we will keep in touch and our friendships will grow, leading to more smiling heart moments!
