By Candice Wadell

Day 1 

As we unloaded the van, ready to take on the second house of the evening, we soon realized this house was different. It wasn’t dry, and we weren’t knocking walls down, or moving tree branches. The rooms weren’t empty.

 In this house we were told to throw possessions away, to pick up everything they had; books the kids used to read, clothes, home videos, and photo albums, then put them in a pile out by the side of the curb. Someday a trash man will pick it up, and everything will be gone forever.

 I watched as two of the kids who called this place home walked around the house and picked up the things that were still salvageable. Were we really helping them, I had to ask myself. I overheard a conversation between team members, reminding each other that stuff is just stuff, and so I realized we are helping. We are helping this family turn a new leaf, a clean slate. And I know they appreciate it because they asked to take us to dinner when we were leaving. I’m looking forward to finishing up their home tomorrow morning so that they can have their fresh start.

 Day 2

 The human condition always takes me by surprise. There is something in every person that when given a task that challenges them, there is a determination that rises and pushes them to fight. I was able to witness this today in my team. We were presented with many different situations; each house was a new adventure. Some more daunting than others but all a little over whelming. Each person reacted differently but there was one common denominator, determination.

 A since of responsibility for each room took shape, each doing what it took to finish while working as a team. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that although we may not remember every house, we will always remember that bedroom or the kitchen where we made our stand.

 Looking around the kitchen I saw the remnants of a family. Memories covered the walls, sat on every shelf and filled every cupboard. I cannot help but think of my family and all the time we have spent in our kitchen, cooking and laughing. It is evident they too loved their kitchen.

 Today I had the honor of giving them back just a little of what they lost. I can only hope that if this were my house, someone would do the same for me.

Tags: Candice Waddell

This entry was posted on Friday, October 24th, 2008 at 11:03 am and is filed under Disaster, North America, OBI Volunteer Blogs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.