Planting the Seed

Upon initially hearing the phrase "Habitat for Humanity," visions of Jimmy Carter hammering away naturally come to mind. However, as we began our second day in Guin, we learned an entirely knew meaning. Mama T, director of H for H in Guin and our "mom away from home," instilled the importance of adding a human face to our work. By learning everything from the application process to move in day and the subsequent programs that have allowed for a lasting community, our views of what was once a seemingly corporate system had drastically changed. Mama listed story after story of lives they had impacted, telling of families that had continued on to be college graduates, successful business owners and financially stable. Mama T sat at the head of our table, with tears brimming her eyes, that we "plant seeds. We may not see them now, but out of the seed comes life, regardless of what you do." With these concepts in mind, we continued on to the more physical aspects of the day - cleaning up broken trees from tornado damage and cleaning up the yard in the Habitat office, we really emphasized the "poco a poco" principle. Our team split into two groups, the first of which made friends with the local park cleanup crew that left a slightly comical but memorable impact throughout. Our participants, mostly from big cities, were surprised by the elderly couple that had made cleaning up the park their own job instead of it being the city's responsibility. Our team made an impact on them as well; the third member of the team, Rick, was teary-eyed after giving Maddy a hug goodbye. As for Mama T, her excitement was evident after seeing our progress and visualizing the possibilities for the local habitat community that had arisen from our arranging of a picnic area. One thing had not changed from our first day to our second, and that is the unconditional love that was radiating from the people of Guin. As we shared a moment of prayer with the local Pastor before he served us their favorite local pizza place, our locked hands symbolized a sense of community that we have already come to love throughout our first two days. The Southern hospitality did not stop there: we ended the day at the house of the President of Guin's Habitat Chapter, watching the National Championship football game while eating endless amounts of homemade Rice Crispy Treats. Despite a minor setback in getting lost on the windy roads of Guin in the dark, we arrived back at our camp and commenced a heated game of Jenga. The team looks forward to the adventures to come tomorrow, and hoping for a large supply of coffee to greet our 6am wakeup call.