Milnesand- Environmental

It was our first day on the job in Milnesand, New Mexico! Today we broke up into groups, sanded and painted a stock tank (water tank for the chickens and other animals), and tore down a barn. It was a relatively short day but also a very fun and exciting day. My group rode with Tish, our main contact for this trip and in my opinion, the main lady in charge.

Riding in the truck with Tish and three of my other team members was a great experience and also really brings to light one of the ASB principles. There are 7 principles and the first one, which we talked about tonight, is "Serve Don't Help." This means that when we interact with these people, these environments, "We go to humbly serve them. We share our gifts with them and they share their gifts with us. It's a two way street on an equal plane, an exchange between two groups of people that brings a positive change to everyone."

So here I am in Milnesand, New Mexico painting a stock tank, tearing down a barn, removing a snake trap…these are things that seem kind of small. It doesn't necessarily seem like I'm helping to save the ecosystem, if you catch my drift. But these are the things that we've been asked to do and so we do them. Maybe that's the difference between helping and serving. With helping, you go in and do what you think is right, what you think will help. But with serving you do whatever they need most even though it may seem little, unimportant, or if you don't feel competent to the do the job (not exactly a tree hugger here). And then they give right back…

Today I learned so much because of riding with Tish. She was so eager to teach us not only about the prairie chickens, but also about the land, plants, and ecosystem of New Mexico. Leading up to this trip I knew that I would learn some things. That sounds vague, but I knew that I would be taught about Prairie Chickens and about why they need our help. However, for some reason I thought the learning would stop there. I guess I was pretty wrong. Today I served Tish, but she also served me with her complete willingness to tell us whatever we wanted to know and more. I think this illustrates that serving is a two way street. And on that note let me just say that I am so glad to be here.

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