Initial Thoughts from Marion County Alabama

Unbelievably, the AWBama trip left right around 8 this morning, with its 12-passenger van filled to the brim with bags and blankets and 11 excited Mizzou student volunteers. It was soon evident how much a tightly packed vehicle adds to the cohesiveness of a group. A lot of the drive was spent sleeping, disclosing who submitted which song to the Bama playlist (including guilty pleasure, favorite Disney song and best song from the 80’s) and competing with the other winter trip over who has the best tweets. By 1pm we were starving and the lovely town of Portageville in Southern Missouri seemed the perfect place to satisfy our hunger. We chose Katie’s Diner, which, according to the employee who we talked to on the phone before arriving, was located just past the junkyard. We slowly but surely found the Diner and upon walking in, received a full restaurant of stares. We were definitely an odd group of individuals to the city of Portageville. But despite our initial discomfort, our server Misty was excited to have us and recommended any of the burgers on the menu… but not the catfish. Katie’s Diner was our first taste of Southern cooking on our trip; we tried fried okra, fried pickles and fried apple sticks. If it was fried, Katie’s had it. The welcoming atmosphere of Portageville was only a glimpse of what we were to experience in Alabama. Our lovely Habitat director, Teressa, had told us that we should plan on food being provided and that we would not have to worry about the majority of our meals. Regardless, we still planned on needing to purchase groceries. However, once we walked into the kitchen of the facility we are staying at, we were shocked to see the counters piled high with fresh fruit, soups, homemade bread, junk food and our dinner for the night- Pizza Hut. Although it seems appropriate that Habitat would offer its volunteers some food, it was not Habitat that was providing it. The community members of Guin and Hamilton went out of their way to purchase food for us- complete strangers. Each lunch will be provided; each dinner will be made for us by people we have never met; even the mayor and local restaurants are contributing to feeding us. On top of the endless food, our lodging was completely free and organized for us. It is our first day and we are already so touched by the strength of the community around us. We had pictured it this way, but now we can visualize it and see it in action. It is hard to imagine being here without any support. With the recent shootings that took place in Connecticut, it is very gratifying to come here and be reminded how good humans can be. We cannot wait to meet more members of the Alabama community and start work on our Habitat House. With love, Mizzou Alabamily