can't believe I'm here (Sarah)

I knew coming on this trip I would see devastation, experience something I have never experienced before, test my limits both mentally and physically, and learn things about myslef and 15 other practical strangers that I never knew. It is day 2 and all this has come true.

While waiting to go through security at the airport in Los Angeles we met a couple and their children who live right outside Biloxi. In her southern drawl she told us that the people of Biloxi really needed our help, and she thanked us for going down and doing our small part to fix a devastating situation. We were about to embark on something that would take us completely out of our comfort zone, and sure enough, my comfort zone has been broken.

When we arrived in Gulfport the airport was under construction, the people moved slower, talked slower, and looked different. I still consider myself a northern New England girl and pretty down to earth. I feel as though I have seen, and done a lot through past experiences but even for me it looks like and felt like I went back in time 10 years. On the drive to the hotel which is on Beach Blvd I saw nothing. NOTHING was there. Unfortunately there once were things there. No houses, no gas stations, no businesses, nothing. Every few miles we would see a pole to a fast food restaurant, or the cement bases to where a house used to be. The saddest spot was a graveyard where the graves were damaged, turned over, and basically the graveyard was completely ruined.

Sunday we drove to New Orleans (quite the city) and on the way we saw a bridge going over the gulf that was broken in 5 or six places. I can not even come close to imagining what it would have been like to live here during the hurricane, or even the few months following.

We arrived at the house we would be working on all week on Monday morning. The frame was finished, and we would be roofing. I was excited to roof, and have never done any work of the sort in the past. After we met our group supervisor, the woman (Miss. Lisa) who will the homeowner arrived. She thanked us for being there, and told us how much she appreciates our hard work. Her thanks led to tears, which resulted in tears for the rest of the group. Her appreciation really makes me thankful for everything I have. It makes me realize the small things in my life that are not going the way I want are so miniscule in comparison to how harrowing the situation is of the lives of the people down here. I need to realize how lucky I really am more often. I need to be more appreciative, and I need to be more thankful for the things I have and the people who have helped me achieve the things I have done. (thanks mom and dad).

The roofing was a lot of fun and a lot of hard work. My forearm in extremely sore. My nailing ability has improoved ten thousand times from the first nail Monday morning. (It took me 5 different nails to finally get the first one in). I am afraid of heights, yet by the end of the day you would never know. I felt comfortable on the roof, and like I was really accomplishing something. I have learned more about construction these last 2 days then I have in 22 years combined.

To wrap things up- (sorry so long, there is so much to say, and even more to say that I am sure I am leaving out) this experience has been extraordianry and it is only day 2! I cant wait to finish out this week, and see how the house looks from the time we started to the time we leave. There are only 3 days left- I wish we had more time down here! Goodbye for now.

thanks for reading.

Sarah :)