Bluffton to Biloxi: A SOUL Service Trip Story

Hey all, Mark here.  I figured it was about time that I blogged so that it actually seems like I'm on this trip.  I'm not going to give a run-down of the last three days because everyone else has already talked about everything thus far.  Read their stuff... it's much more funny and witty than I will ever be.  

Anyway, today was our second day of work and both were a really good time.  It's amazing to see where the house has come in just these two days, and I'm learning a lot about building houses in general.  We actually got to do some things today without the supervisor babysitting us the whole time.  To be fair, he did come by later to tell us what we did wrong, but for about 30 minutes we were totally flying solo.  I got up on the roof a little the first day, but quite a bit today.  At first I felt like a wuss because I spent more time trying not to fall than actually doing work, but after I figured out that being more vertical was better for balance I started to get my "roof legs".  I was on the roof a little, I helped with cutting plywood a little, I was on a ladder nailing stuff up a little.  I never seemed to do one thing for very long, which is ok because I would probably have gotten bored.

Other than work the trip has been a good time as well.  We went out tonight as a whole group to get something to eat that was a little fancier than Wendy's.  After walking around Ocean Springs for about 45 minutes complaining the entire time because there was no where good to eat we hopped in the van and headed up to Biloxi to a place that one of the locals recommended.  It was a barbeque place called "The Shed" and usually I'm not a big can of barbeque places, but it was real good food, and a really fun atmosphere.  It was great to just sit around as a group and not be working or driving.  

I realized today that we spend a lot of time on the trip looking forward to getting breaks or getting off work a little early, but also that we chose to come do this.  It's hard work, but it's good work.  Giving up the first week in a long time that I've had free of all stress was a huge decision which I probably made on a whim, but I'm still glad I did it.  It's hard to go back to my nice house and fancy things knowing that there are families out there who don't even have a decent house to live in.  This year at Bluffton I've heard a lot about standing in solidarity with the poor, and in a way I think the tired muscles, the early mornings, and the offering of time throughout this week are all a small way that that happens.  We do this for others, but we also do this to remind ourselves that we live in a broken world.  

Too deep...pull it back out!  This trip is great and I'm learning a lot and having a lot of fun.

xoxo

Mark