During my junior and senior years of college, I participated in two mission trips that transformed me. In my junior year, I went to Beaumont, Texas, a town not far outside of Houston. I went there with 14 other students and three chaperones, just five months after Hurricane Harvey had struck back in late August 2017. I had always wanted to explore more of my home country and I felt that this would be a great opportunity to not only explore the second-largest state in terms of land, but I could also maybe learn about Southern culture.
But I also kept an open mind and reminded myself that I was not going for a vacation. More than anything, I was going to help those who desperately needed it. I’ve been blessed with a family, home and clothes and food, and sadly, many people lost those gifts that too often I and others take for granted. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to not even wake up in the morning without even having my head rested on a pillow. It really struck a chord inside of me knowing that the storm had wiped out so much of family’s homes. The toughest thing for me to comprehend was people losing personal memories, whether it’d be items that they’ve kept for years or photo albums containing printed images that cannot be recovered because they were taken during a time when you couldn’t take a picture with a phone.
The work we endured was horrendously painful, not physically but emotionally. We virtually had to tear out walls of houses to get rid of the disgusting mold that had built up after the storm. The houses were in such a dilapidated state that some of the walls probably would’ve given way within the next month. Additionally, there was flooding emanating from the bathroom toilets, and it’d soak up rugs and spread all over the floors. If that wasn’t enough, I remember we had to tell a home owner we had to literally take out a wall in the house, exposing it to the outside. I’d probably break down and give up if I was that owner.
In spite of all of that struggles I witnessed, I will say that I was inspired by the gracefulness and resiliency of the people of Beaumont. Every owner I spoke with touched me. They are strong individuals and were appreciative of the tireless amount of time and effort we put into resolving any kind of situation the best we could. I knew throughout the entire trip, that eventually I’d be able to have my house to return to and my education. This trip really taught me to think twice about complaining and having sympathy for myself. Compared to this, my problems aren’t even close, and I feel guilty when I look back on it. The people of Texas are still struggling in this aftermath and it’s up to us to reach out and provide the help they desperately need.
I realized that travel is more powerful than I had originally thought. At the end of that same year, I went on another mission trip to Puerto Rico, which had been struck by Hurricane Maria in September of 2017. Just as Harvey had done to the people of Texas, Maria wiped out a lot of Puerto Rico. It was a Category 5 storm and according to Mercy Corps, it was the worst natural disaster to strike the island in nearly a century. Many people were thrown into poverty and the island’s population suffered accordingly. Mercy Corps also stated that by 2024, Puerto Rico’s population is projected to fall another 8%. https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/united-states/hurricane-maria-puerto-rico
The people of Puerto Rico were also incredibly inspiring. I remember vividly one house I worked on, which was being renovated under the tutelage of a girl around my age, if not younger. It was at that moment that I realized that anybody has the potential to do anything regardless of their age. It’s all about experience and putting yourself forward. You are able start early if you’re able to. The family we were helping out involved a woman who was still living by herself, but was suffering from ALS, which is a horrific disease that kills the motor neurons in the body.
But the fact that this woman was not letting a disease take her down also captivated me. It’s astonishing sometimes to think that here’s someone who won’t be able to speak or move, still doing her best to live her life to the fullest. That’s the mentality I realized you need to have through life. I don’t know if I have that strength just yet but hopefully I do develop it some day. I hope I develop it through the lessons I’ve learned and continue to learn from these kinds of people down the road regardless of where I may be.
The World is Yours 