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June 26, 2009
Celebrations in Mississippi
Here is our report from Mississippi from Sue Schuerr.
More pictures have been added to the photo album. See them HERE.
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Greetings from Bay St. Louis. Today was a day of celebration. Again we woke up at 5 AM for a quick breakfast so we could be on the job by 6 AM. Our hottest day was 108 and today was a balmy 97. We worked like a productive bee hive---each having our own jobs. Today Patty taught me how to put up trim and use a trim gun. During the afternoon we all had paint brushes in our hands---some of the high school kids painted each other. During break time we had watermelon spitting contests. Patty was the winner. When the house was completed we all broke out into dance---singing "Sweet Caroline". Just like Miriam and David in the Bible we broke out into dance and celebration--------the desire accomplished is sweet to the soul. This is a week we will never forget---we sweat together, sleep together, ate together and BUILT A HOUSE TOGETHER. Thank you God for created so many beautiful children. We have learned to love each other and may this message be a testimony to his glory.
Manual Labor Never Felt So Relaxing
A Little Chat With Miranda
One of my favorite parts of being on any Habitat for Humanity project is the chance to get to know the homeowners who will be living in the houses we build. This year's homeowner, Miranda, is no exception to this. So today I took a few moments with her to talk over some of her dreams, her family, and her involvement with Habitat. (Note: I'll be referring to Habitat for Humanity as "Habitat" for the rest of this post").
The first question I asked her was, "What statements do you live by?" as a kind of ice-breaker. She laughed and said that there really weren't any, since any time anyone asks her that question, she tends to forget some of the things she's heard and liked. We both laughed over this.
We moved on to who she's closest to, talking about her family. She mentioned her dad quite a bit, since her parents divorced when she was 7, and she has always been really close to her dad, Woody. She called her dad a big part of her support system, telling me that she had moved in with her dad at the age of 15.
The next question was about life in Bay St. Louis. She didn't hesitate on the first part: her least favorite thing. She easily said "hurricane season", and we shared a good little chat about how nerve-racking it can be living so close to a coastline. When asked about her most favorite thing, she cited the friendliness of the people (and this is something I've seen; the people down here, by and large, treat you like family). She told me that she'd lived in Memphis for some time after the hurricane, and found it very similar in friendliness.
She didn't find the same story in Austin, Texas, though. She said that the people there were very unfriendly, that if, for example, she'd say hi to someone she didn't know at the grocery store, the greeting wouldn't be returned, and she'd be looked at as if she were strange just for saying hello.
We then turned to more Habitat-related matters: how she first heard about Habitat, and what she most enjoyed about her involvement.
She first heard about Habitat from a co-worker about a year ago. At the time, she lived about 40 minutes away from her job, in substandard conditions. Where she was living was not convenient to either her job or her family, so she applied to be a Habitat homeowner in January. She told me that she had been drawn into the Habitat project by hearing her co-worker's excitement in the updates she gave about the house that Habitat was building for her, and that was what compelled her to apply.
Secondly, she has also enjoyed the people involved with Habitat, both staff and volunteers. She told me that she considered what Habitat does to be an "amazing thing", and one that inspires her. She was clearly moved by the effort and good will that were going into her home, and grateful to us for what we were doing for her.
As our conversation started to wind down, we moved to what she was most looking forward to in her new home. She said that what she was most looking forward to having something to call her own, and know that she'd helped build it. She obviously took a great amount of pride in the work that she was doing, and appreciated the fact that the time she spent in doing the work was so meaningful for her. She said that she didn't really feel that when her dad built his home, and couldn't imagine hiring someone to build a home, since there's then no chance to make "your own mark" on your home.
Finally, we talked a little about her dreams. She told me that she was going to college in January, with a probable major in marketing. She'd been in the marketing club in high school and had done well in those classes and was looking forward to getting into it. We both joked around about how sometimes you think you're going to love something as a major and end up hating it, so she did offer a little room for her major to change. Her plans of going to college had to change after Katrina, she said, so this January will be her first chance to take classes.
She left me with a parting thought that had been one of her dad's favorite things to say: "You can never know too much; you can always know too little". Those wise words have helped me to reframe some of my understandings, and have reminded me that wisdom is found almost anywhere one seeks it.
So there you have it. This was just a little of Miranda's story, written so you have an idea of who we're working with. Sitting down with her reminded me again that each home is connected to a person, a family, and a story. Hopefully getting her story out will help you understand a little more about what we're doing, and that ultimately, what we're doing is making a difference, and helping write beautiful chapters after the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina.
