We just did that
Our journey with Habitat for Humanity.
“Habitat for Humanity is our service learning project this summer” says our professor the first day of class. My mind immediately lit up. Back home my church gets involved with Habitat for Humanity every summer and it is one of my fondest memories of high school. Working for this organization back home, brought me and my friends so much joy, and I could not wait to start a new chapter with different people and a different environment.
Our journey begins on a particularly hot day in Athens. The location was somewhere in Athens that I had never heard of before. A street called Magnolia Terrace. This was where the Habitat for Humanity crew was ready for us to work. The road was very long and narrow with limited spaces for cars. There were rows of houses on both sides of the street, with one side of the street being houses that were all very colorful. The colorful houses ranging from, blue to purple to orange were the houses we were going to be making an impact on.
Tools were everywhere, workers were everywhere, sun was shining, loud sounds were happening. No time to waste once we got up the hill to the houses. Everyone was seperated into different working groups, each working on a different task. I personally got put into the painting group where we would be painting glaze on some decks that the workers had built around the houses. Other people’s groups completed tasks such as, digging a ditch for easier water flow, some gardening around the house, and some touching up on the paint inside the house.
Each group had a person that was in charge of them, just to make sure they were getting the task done right. Our guy was named Caleb. When it is all said and done he was honestly one of the reasons I wanted to keep coming back every Thursday. Caleb told us his story and how he got into the Habitat for Humanity organization. I, and anyone in my group can tell you that it was honestly so inspiring.
He was into stuff he should not had been in, and one day he asked himself why? Why was he doing this to himself and what good was it doing for him and his life? He told us that soon after he knew he was doing bad he got saved, and it was the best moment of his life. Right then he knew it was time to turn his life around. He explained how Habitat for Humanity helped him turn his life around. His message truly inspired me and made me realize it is never to late to make a change.
Not just him, but everyone that worked for this organization was so passionate about their work. I never once saw them complain about anything. Instead they were all looking for ways to improve something or get another task done. They were constantly shouting words of encouragment and asking us if we needed anything. They would bring waters to us constantly, and towels and wouldn’t care if they didn’t get some for themselves first. They were never sitting, but instead always up and asking their boss what to do next.
Hours passed, sweat was pouring down everyones faces and we were all covered from head to toe in dirt. No matter how dirty or stinky we may have felt, we all still managed to create a smile. Why? Because everyone knew. Everyone knew what we were working so hard on. Everyone knew that we had just accomplished so much for such an amazing cause. We were creating nice houses for people who may could not afford one. We were doing this out of love. Out of the goodness of our classes heart, we were working together to create a home that would be lived in by a family. If that’s not something to smile about, then I don’t know what is.
Athens Area Habitat for Humanity brings families and communities in need together with volunteers and resources to build decent, affordable housing.
I want to take a minute to thank this whole organization. It gained me so many friendships with people that I only knew from a face. It brought me so much laughter and pure joy. It taught me to stop stressing about the simple stuff. Take life a day at a time and make the most of every second. It could be worse. Thank you Habitat for Humanity, and thank you Freshman college for giving me this amazing opportunity.
