Can't believe our week of "spring break" is over. It seems like just yesterday I was packing at 11:30pm to go to Oklahoma for alternative spring break. What a life changing week this has been; I have learned more than I ever imagined I would learn during this week, I have meet Oklahoma citizens who are some of the most amazing, resilient individuals one would ever meet, I had the opportunity to see firsthand what the tornado did to the community, and so much more.
Spending time getting to know Donna, her daughter, and her dog, -- the homeowner of the roof we worked on this week -- rebuilding her roof, hearing her powerful story; has 8 kids, and 8 grandchildren. She is beyond inspiring and amazing. 3 years ago she invited a man who was homeless into her house. He ended up beating her up, knocking her unconscious, she a majority of her teeth, and was in a coma. During the time she was in a coma, the man who was staying at her house, set it on fire. She hired a contractor to rebuild her home from the damage; the homeowner then needed to file contractor fraud. In May the tornado caused damage to her home, windows and doors knocked out, roofing damage etc... She hired a contractor to repair the damage; she then had to file contractor fraud again. Throughout this rough time, she attempted suicide multiple times.
Two moments from our last day of service (Friday) stand out to me the most: 1) We had a gift card to use to buy something for our homeowner -- as a way to say thank you for letting us be in her yard and house all week -- all week she was saying how she wanted to build a dog house for her dog Jane. We decided it was only fitting to use this gift card to buy her a doghouse. Seeing her tear up with excitement when we presented it to her was heartwarming! 2) As we were getting ready to leave her house she gave us the most inspiring speech "My heart has been open and you are good people. You brought together so much happiness." We all had tears in our eyes. She has impacted us more than she will ever know.
I am so thankful for this experience and opportunity. So glad that MSU, GVSU, WMU, and Temple could all come together as The Oklahomies 2014! I can't thank our staff: Adina, Samantha, Dirk, Trisha, Ben, Jimmy and Larry enough for all they did for us this week. Thanks for trusting us to go on roofs, use the nail gun, staple hammer etc.
I can't wait to see what we all do with what we have gained this week. We are changing the world. Until we meet again...
I have so much more to write about. Once I get all the pictures together I will be posting more about my trip!
**The JDRC posted my reflection as a JDRC blogpost; here.
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