Emilia Savini
@ESaviniCourant
Features Editor
The NCHS Courant spoke with YGers before they embarked on their 2015 mission. To learn more about the trip’s objective and the YGers hope for the trip, check out the preview article which can be found at: https://nchscourant.compreview-to-youth-groups-annual-february-service-trip/
YGers worked closely with a program called Raise the Roof whose objective is to restore houses in impoverished local communities. “For this trip we are working with a program called Raise the Roof whose goal is to re-roof houses for the less fortunate,” junior Caroline Gordon said. “We are also refinishing an old church as well as fixing up a few bathrooms and kitchens.”
While mornings were spent restoring local churches and houses in Mobile, Alabama, the Youth Group (YG) program spent their afternoons going to local events or participating in bonding activities. Whether they spent the afternoon catching multi-colored beads being thrown in the local Mardi Gras Parade or playing with kids in the community, the YG participants certainly balanced work and play on their 2015 Mission Trip.
Senior Erik Burns and his team worked on restoring the New Generational International Church, so that the churchgoers could resume masses and other religious events. “The New Generational International Church was a very worn down building, which we worked to repair so that its loving congregation could put it to use again,” he said. “As a religious program, our goal is not just to restore the physical buildings, but also to restore the community’s ties to the church.”
Throughout the workweek, YGers were able to interact with the people of Mobile that the YG mission was impacting. For Caroline, getting the chance to play with kids from the Mobile community was fulfilling and fun. “Everyone we met in Mobile was extremely nice and grateful,” Caroline said. “We all had an especially fun time playing with the kids.”
Erik had a special connection with one of the kids on his worksite and found this relationship to be one of the highlights of the trip. “There was this little 10-year-old kid named Joseph who loved to help us out during the workweek,” he said. “He also loved to wrestle with all the guys on my team when we took snack breaks.”
As the work week wrapped up, it came time for the YG team to celebrate their accomplishments with the Mobile community. “The final celebration was on the last day of work and we celebrated with the families and the community that we spent the week getting to know,” junior Jarrett Torromeo said. “For me, this was the most memorable part of the trip because I got to see how much joy and happiness we brought to so many people in just a week.”
Erik also found that the final celebration was a standout moment of the trip because of the lively environment and his ability to talk with members of the Mobile community, one on one. “There were bouncy castles and cotton candy machines, but the best part for me was probably getting to talk to the local homeowners,” he said. “We chatted about a lot of stuff, but mostly they talked about how grateful they were that we came to help them, and how much of a change we created in their lives.”
