On the Saturday after classes ended for spring break, a group of 12 EMU students began the journey down to Valdosta, Ga to serve for Habitat for Humanity. After five surprisingly short hours, they made it to Shady Brook Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C. where they stayed for the evening in order to avoid driving the 12 hours to Valdosta. There was not much on the agenda for the group until Monday, so naturally they filled up time exploring, playing games, and eating way too much spaghetti. The students attended Shady Brook’s church service the next morning, stole some coffee, and headed out for the next leg of driving.

Eventually, after about seven hours on the road, the students made it to the church they would be staying at for the week. The students were quickly greeted by everyone’s southern hospitality and the warm, sunny Georgia weather. After a night of rest, the group started the next morning at the Habitat warehouse by meeting the two guys they would be working alongside for the week, and the group was put straight to work. The first day consisted of building the wall frames out of two-by-fours and plywood. To be completely honest, most of the group was clueless as to what they were doing half the time, so it was definitely a learning experience.

Bekah Mongold

Throughout the days, the students figured out how to use a hammer somewhat effectively and made themselves useful in whatever place necessary, whether that was putting up walls, fixing mistakes, or nailing two-by-fours in their marked spots. Along with the two regular construction workers, students also worked with another college group from Pennsylvania, which was a good opportunity to get to know other college students who valued service. Unfortunately, sometimes the 23 students outnumbered the tasks available, which led to lots of standing around. However, as junior Fred Flores pointed out, “Everyone seemed to have that ‘put me where you need me’ attitude,” which helped get any small or large tasks done quickly. “Not all the work I did this week was glamorous,” junior Bekah Mongold said, “but all of it was necessary.” That was an important realization for the students at times. Some of them definitely wanted to be busy more often than they were, and some did not just want to be leveling out dirt around the perimeter of the house for hours, yet even the smallest jobs were crucial to the final product.

Together, the students on the trip began to see the structure come alive with the seemingly minute jobs they were assigned; that was the beauty of it. Although it did not seem like holding up a level as others pushed on the wall was hard work, without that help the others would be blind, not knowing how far to go. This trip reinforced many students’ values of a positive attitude in every task and working towards a common goal while allowing students to connect with others through the work experience. Students came out of the trip with newfound friendships, broader knowledge of the world around us, and of course a much deeper love of good ol’ southern sweet tea.