Last but not Least

Although this weekend was my last here at the Mish, it many ways it was similar to all the others I’ve spent here. I woke up at 7 this morning to see off the volunteers who have toiled all week to bring Gulf Coast families that much closer to reclaiming their homes. This week’s group, from Pennsylvania Dutch country, had left behind bags of gently used work clothes and sleeping bags, which I hauled over to the food pantry at the office. Then at 7:45 a friend picked me up and we drove to a nearby Habitat for Humanity site, where we spent the morning installing windows and nailing down tar paper alongside the soon-to-be homeowner Miss Laverna and her granddaughters. Picture all of us humming along to Christmas carols on the radio as we sweat in the 75 degree, 90% humidity air—utterly disorienting for a native Midwesterner!

At noon I headed back home for leftovers from last night’s staff Christmas dinner, then spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the house for the long-term volunteers who will replace me in January. As I write this, I am dog-sitting for some Floridians stationed at the local Air Force base; tonight we’ll all get together for some more good food and a few games of bean-bag toss, an Ohio favorite imported to the Coast by volunteers from Cincinnati. Tomorrow morning will find me worshipping at an Episcopal church, since there are no UCC congregations down here, and after church I’ll head back to the office to help put together Christmas baskets for our clients. Then I’ll try to catch a few hours of the Bears game and work on some lesson prep for the ESL class I teach to local Spanish-speakers—part of my new job helping to open a Latino community center next year—before welcoming this coming week’s group of volunteers from Texas.

Looking back on these past 9 months, I realize how often I’ve been swept away by the enthusiasm and grace volunteers bring to their work; how much I’ve learned about client casework and the realities of low-income and homeless living; how surprised I’ve been by the peculiarities of, and my own preconceptions about, the South—and most of all, how much I’ve learned about faith. Thinking about the moments of transformation I’ve witnessed—when a client’s needs are met beyond all their expectations, or when tears well up in a volunteer’s eyes as he or she reflects on a week of service—I can’t help but know that God is here laboring through the hands and hearts of our staff and volunteers, and working in the hearts and minds of our clients, homeowners, and local community members as well. It has been an absolute joy and privilege for me to be a part of this, and I will miss it deeply.
Your prayers and good wishes for the people of the Gulf Coast over the holiday season and into a new year filled with uncertainty—and hope—are truly appreciated.

Wishing you a Christmas of joy and a year of rebirth and rebuilding in the new Christ Child (after all, Jesus was a carpenter!),
Leah