This week has been amazing so far! Right off the bat I felt like I belonged, and felt at home. I've spent the past few days in Joplin, MO with a group of Bike and Build alumns rebuilding houses that were damaged or destroyed in the tornado last year. We started volunteering right away. Most pf us arrived Saturday, and Sunday we started working with the Americorps St. louis Emergency Response Team who coordinated the original disaster response, and has committed to the long term recovery efforts. They sent us to Wanda's house where we spent the day building a deck and a grape trellis. Then Monday and Tuesday they sent us to work at BJ ad "Grumpy's" house where we planted trees and humg drywall. Intent on finishing the work we had started, we stayed past 8:30 on Tuesday to finish as much ad we possibly could. The go-getter, not-leaving-until-we-finish attitude is something I truly love and sorely miss. It just brings back my love for the enthusiasm of bike an builders, and a little bit of frustration at my Americorps team. BJ and grumpy even fed us dinner because we missed the dinner the church provided.
Today we started working with Rebuild Joplin (Lynea, my former corps member is working for them now) and they sent us to work at Tiffany's house with the task of sanding the drywall in the bathroom, and installing laminate flooring. After we finished those tasks we made our way over to a nearby house where Rebuild Joplin was training a new batch of the Armericorps site supervisors. That house was in the process of being drywalled, so we used the skills we've cultivated over the past couple days to catch them up.
This whole week has felt more like real life to me, than my actual life does. I love hanging out with these people who were strangers 5 days ago, but now are friends; ad having and instant connection. Not only have they all done Bike and Build, but half of them are NCCC alumns as well!
Catherine installing drywall!
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