My experience

Working in Mississippi for the past week has been an incredible, meaningful experience for me, and one that I will never forget. In addition to meeting so many fun, interesting, and talented people from Geneseo, I enjoyed talking with other people staying at the camp from different areas of the country, as well as the locals. The physical work was surprisingly refreshing, and I always woke up each morning feeling a little sore from the previous day's work. I learned new skills such as putting up popcorn ceiling paint, painting from a ladder, and building a railing for the front porch. I thought it was neat that we decided to continue working on the same house for the whole week. As more things needed repairing or painting, we decided to do the work ourselves instead of leaving it for another group to take up. This made for a beautiful finished product that we felt pride in. To finish off the house, we even bought hanging plants for the porch and put a house number up. A "welcome home" sign was waiting for Paulette when she entered her repaired home.
Despite the amount of time it has been since the storm, there is still considerable damage in the area, and I think it is important that people know that there is still a great need for recovery help. It was encouraging to see so many enthusiastic volunteers, especially college students. I would whole-heartedly recommend an experience like this to anyone. It is challenging both spiritually and physically, and in both areas, I feel I have grown.
One of my favorite memories of this trip was washing dishes after dinner at the camp with Colin and Trevor. With gospel music to keep us motivated, we spent over an hour cleaning and chatting with Louis, the cook. Through his thick southern accent, I could discern Louis telling us to "keep smiling." And that, I will do.