Today we continued our work at the same house as yesterday, except we spent the majority of the
day building and installing rather than deconstructing. We measured, cut, placed, and secured
more siding on the house for much of the morning. After that, Eric gave me the task of scraping
old paint off of the trim around the garage and on the roof. I then helped one of the other
volunteers move the scrap piles into the dumpster and tidy up around the site before lunch. We
went to Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler on our lunch break. I talked to the cashier while she was
taking our order, and she told me that she lived right in the middle of one of the neighborhoods
that was greatly affected by the tornados. She thanked us for our service and said it meant the
world to her and her community that there were people like us working so hard to rebuild from
the devastation left by the tornados. It was very moving to hear from someone who experienced
the tornados first hand. Her words made the work we have been doing for the past few days so
much more real and meaningful to me. Even though we only worked on a couple of homes for a
few days, I feel as though we have made a difference, and we have been part of a bigger relief
effort to restore the neighborhoods of Oklahoma City and Moore, which is pretty amazing if you
ask me. After lunch, we returned to the site and split up into different projects. I worked with
Nicole and Dani on one of the bathrooms inside to replace some of the drywall and fit new sheets
of linoleum tiles for the walls and shower. Once we were finished, it was time to clean up and
leave for the day. I can’t believe today was our last day of volunteering. I say again: it went by
so fast. Tonight, we went to the Oklahoma City Thunder game and watched Kevin Durant score
his record-high points in a game! The tickets were provided by the generous folks at Habitat for
Humanity, and it was a terrific way to end our time in Oklahoma City and our Alternative Break
experience.
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