ServeUP 2018 - Houston, TX
Howdy y'all!
I just got back from Houston, TX doing some service work with the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship of Vermont (which is why I didn't post last week. Don't worry, I didn't forget to post. I am posting once a week as promised!). And although my sleeping schedule is off (I woke up at 12PM today!), I'm physically exhausted and sore, and I have sooo much work to catch up on before the start of the new semester, it was all worth it for this amazing experience that I will always remember. For four out of the six days that we were in Houston, a group of students and I worked with the St. Bernard Project, SBP, to help rebuild the home of Ms. Margarita – a single mother of three. Ms. Margarita's home was damaged after Hurricane Harvey, and although, thankfully, she wasn't in the house during the storm, she had to evacuate the home because it was no longer habitable after the water damage. It was great meeting Ms. Margarita and her family; her story and resilience reminded me a lot of my own mother. Ms. Margarita's home was her first home, and before it was destroyed by the storm she had worked long and hard to restore it to something habitable and safe for her children – a home for her family. So, when Ms. Margarita lost her home to Hurricane Harvey it was devastating. Not only because she lost her home, but because she lost a dream – something she worked towards, something she built for her children, something that was hers. Ms. Margarita wasn't rich. She didn't have the money to pay for the restoration of her home. So, when SBP came along and gave the gift of rebuilding her home for free, it was a blessing. For myself, getting to be a part of that rebuilding process was also a blessing. Seeing how grateful and moved Ms. Margarita was for our work and the work of SBP, made it all worth it. Putting a face to the work we were doing was moving and gave me the motivation to keep going when I felt tired at work.
On the last day of the trip we got to help out at a food pantry and hand out bags of food to an immigrant population in the area. This was one of the best moments of the trip, for me personally, as I got to meet the people of the community and speak with them (I’m a people person, what can I say!). The people I met reminded me of my family as someone coming from an immigrant family and community. The older women especially reminded me of my grandma; they were so bold and weren’t afraid to ask for seconds, something I imagine my own grandma doing when she visits the food pantries, even though she knows the rules! This experience was just very humbling as it reminded me of my family and home. And in fact, I felt at home at Houston, although it was a different state and region of the United States entirely, because it reminded me of the city and in some ways it was similar to NYC.
Overall, my trip to Houston was super rewarding and humbling! I did some amazing work, and met some amazing people. I was out of my comfort zone A LOT, building a house and discussing Christianity – something I haven't really explored a lot in my lifetime. Nonetheless, after my trip to Houston, I'm more open to these experiences (I want to do more service work!) and I'm at a place where I want to explore my spirituality and religion. I got my first Bible, and I'm excited to read it! And although I may not get any "result" from reading the Bible (maybe I'll realize that I'm not a Christian and that's okay!), I know I'll get something out of it and I will become a different person from reading His* work.
*His (capital H) work as in God's work. It is believed that the Bible was written by God through man in the Christian religion.
Xo, Naydeline