Now that I have graduated college, everyone I talk to seems to want to know what I plan on doing with my life. And for the most part, I tell them I don't know. But that isn't entirely true. I have a bunch of ideas about what I would like to do after I graduate. It's just a matter of putting my thoughts into action, and turning them into a life experience.
When I was freshman, a friend of mine asked me if I would be interested in going on a trip to Biloxi, Mississippi. At first I was wary. I'd never done a trip like this before, and I didn't really know very many of the people going on the trip, so I was worried I'd be alone the whole time. But the more I talked with him, the more exciting it sounded, and I soon talked to my parents about finding the money to go.
The trip was what we at Heidelberg call an alternative spring break trip. Since we used to have two weeks for spring break, Heidelberg offered multiple trips where you could spend one of the weeks of break traveling and serving others. Biloxi, Mississippi is just one of these trips. There have been trips to Milwaukee, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, the Mexican Border and many more. The trip to Biloxi happened to be the one I went on my first year, and it was one of the single most life changing experiences of my life, as were each of the following year that I went back.
The trip started early on a Saturday morning. We all met in in the Parking Lot behind Fireside, ready to load all 21 of the team into vans and start our adventure towards Back Bay Mission. We drove south all day, stopping for the night just outside of Birmingham, Alabama. We stayed at a cheap hotel, and went out as a big group to a southern restaurant named Jim 'N Nick's Barbecue. Some of us went on a walking tour of the town, others were ready to sleep before the rest of our drive the next day.
We arose early the next morning and arrived at Back Bay around noon on Sunday, and were given the next few hours to explore, unpack, and relax for a bit. That evening around dinner time, we were introduced to the members of the Back Bay Mission staff that we would be working with for the next week. Some were full time, some were part time, but all of them were there because they had a passion for serving the needy and those less fortunate. Everyone was very welcoming and friendly, making all of us feel at home right away. Our project for the week was a house that had been destroyed by fire. The owners had lost everything they owned, and the house was unfit to live in. The father tried making some repairs himself, but eventually money ran out and they just couldn't make ends meet. They spent weeks couch surfing among friends, and sleeping in tents in yards. They were allowed to stay on their own property and were unable to find help. Back Bay decided to step in and take charge. With the help of volunteers, the house was gutted and stabilized. By the time we got there, the house was ready for siding to be put up and painted, and for the new electrical wiring to be installed.
Monday morning, we arrived at the job site and split off into groups based on what needed done, and who felt comfortable helping with different jobs. I painted for the first two days of the trip, and helped put of siding on one side of the house. There was music playing, people laughing, jokes being told, and laughter everywhere. We filled that house with so much joy during that week. It was amazing to watch how much some siding and a fresh coat of paint did to take it from a dilapidated building into a home.
On the Thursday of our trip, we only worked in the morning. When we went back to the mission, we all had lunch and then got ready to travel to the French Quarter in New Orleans for a night out on the town. Now, if you've never been to the south, you should put it on your bucket list, and you should make sure you have New Orleans as a top place to visit. Talk about a rich and thriving cultural experience! As soon as you walk into the city, their is music, jazz, dancing, singing, tantalizing smells of food in the air, sidewalk art everywhere you walk, shops filled with clothing, post cards, candies and souvenirs. I've discovered over my multiple trips to New Orleans that my favorite places to go are Café du Monde, The Gumbo Shop, and Bourbon St. The cafe has the most amazing beignets drowned in powdered sugar. The Gumbo Shop has the tastiest Gumbo and Jambalaya that I have ever had, and their Bread Pudding is world renowned. As for Bourbon St...well, it speaks for itself. It is populated by bars on every side, with people constantly flowing in and out, listening to music, dancing and drinking, and just having a large time. We walked around for hours, taking tons of pictures, eating and drinking to our hearts content, until we could all just about take no more and stumbled back to the van to go back to the mission to sleep before another full day of work.
On the last three days of the trip, I was selected to work on the door for the house. The owners wanted to keep the original door of the house. As I said earlier, the house has been ravaged by fire. This door was cracked from the heat, caked with soot and ashes, warped and worse for wear. I spent those three days with two other girls scrubbing, washing, power sanding, hand sanding, filling cracks with wood putty, refilling them when they split again overnight, painting layer after layer of white paint until it actually began looking like a door again.
On our final morning at the house, we took a group picture. After our picture was taken, I got to put the door on its hinges, set the door into the frame, and then locked the house for he first time in over a year. I cannot convey how powerful an emotion it was, knowing that because of my small part, and the hard work of my team, this family was one step closer to being able to come home. Words cannot describe the feeling.
This year, I get to be the trip coordinator for the trip to Back Bay. Every year I have gone on this trip, it has been life changing in a whole new way. I hope that this year I am able to take a group of students down and help change their life in the same way mine has been changed. What an experience that would be.
