MLK Day: Day Of Service

Today, we awoke bright and early in the morning, leaving after a nice and hearty breakfast at around 8:00 a.m. Michelle ate her oatmeal in the car, experimenting with some dried cranberries stirred in. Leslie had Special K for the first time! It was a great day for everyone. It truly was.

We gathered around 8 a.m. with the Landers in the kitchen, and discussed the plan for the day of service ahead. Piled cozily into the two vans, we followed Jim Lander in his pickup truck to the site. If I speak for everyone, we were all astounded by the progress of the house! It was quite the feat. Upon being introduced to the volunteers, we were all surprised to learn that the average age was between 65-70. Wowzah! They were all in such great shape, despite their age. We then split into two groups, one to build a shed, the other to organize the restore shop (similar to a Goodwill). We met Ms. Madie, a vivacious little women around 80 years young. She was quite something, price gun in hand, she shuffled around the store “organizing” various donated items. In the back of the store, we organized other donated items, including Christmas and Halloween goods. Michelle and Frankie Tomato cleaned window panes and found a cluster of baby spiders chillin in the corner of a pane. This prompted the many photo shoots, featuring a life-sized hashtag #chris #frankietomato #hashtag and multiple attempts to spell out “Gaston” with our bodies. At around 2, we wrapped up the tasks we had been working on, and after enjoying the wonderfully warm weather outside for a bit, came back into the shop for lunch. Not expecting much, we all oohed and aahed at the Crockpots full of steaming vegetable stew and chicken pasta. When the boxes of colorful cupcakes, baked goods, and an artfully decorated cake were brought out, we might as well have melted of happiness. As we ate, a teacher from the Cornerstone Christian School came for a bit more discussion on the differences in the local school systems. She spoke about how people in the community feel about KIPP and the curriculum differences. We then departed from our service at habitat excited for the afternoon ahead!

Once we got home, we gathered a group of seven brave souls to go for a nice January polar plunge in the Roanoke Rapids Lake. Even after being submerged for only a few seconds, we emerged shivering, our skin felt as if with millions of tiny needles. Peter followed up with a second plunge, staying in for a full minute, a feat we agreed was equally courageous and insane. After, the girls followed up with a group shower.

Later that evening, Jim took us for a ride in his boat in groups of five. We learned a bit about the area. Apparently, Roanoke Rapids Lake is only one of three lakes formed by the dams, the other two being Lake Gaston and Kerr Lake. 






After the boat ride, we hung out on the block and enjoyed the sunset, motivated by the glowing pink sky to greet the last boat group with our own rendition of the Lion King’s opening scene. Queenies was chosen without consent to be our Simba.

That night we dined like kings on breakfast foods prepared by Sophia and Peter, assisted by Annie, Kristina, Queenies, Michelle, and several others. As always, it was delightful.

For reflection, we discussed things that we have in our life, both material and abstract, that we take for granted in our daily lives. As our trip has progressed, we have been able to have real and frank discussions about sensitive subjects, and last night was a great example of our ability to communicate with respect. We ended on a light note with a game of STOOPID! A game that left me (Leslie) in tears, fortunately from laughing. We then ended the night on a dark note. Our staff advisor, Tricia, suggested we have a 24 hour no phone challenge. Also, we became angels, secret angels. Brendan took a video of him scaring Tricia. The end.

Yo fweinds

Michelle n Leslie <3