On July 14, 2011 my sister and I joined a group of people from our church to go to help build and fix up houses for Habitat for Humanity in Ripley, West Virginia. It took all day to drive there, on the way in our rented van we got to know each other. Some people looked familiar and some were new to me. We stayed in a nice place where we slept and ate our meals. Early in the morning we would head out to the job site after having our breakfast. The first day I helped spread tar on the parking lot of a house that helps people. Most of the tar went on the parking lot and some of it ended on my clothes and sneakers. That was ok because I had come prepared with clothes and sneakers that I could throw away when I was done. The following day my job was to help lay down laminated flooring in a Habitat for Humanity house. It felt good helping people and working hard. It was hot in West Virginia in July but because we were together trying do some thing good for people who needed it, we felt much joy. On our trip back,we made jokes and laughed a lot together and became very close to each other. Now when we see each other at Church, we feel like we are good friends. I am grateful to have had this experience and thankful for my sister and my church family for including me in a great venture.
