Bethesda Presbyterian Church

Personal — Passionate — Progressive

Habitat for Humanity in Alaska

BPC's Mia Tong: Habitat for Humanity in Alaska

Mia (right, with Ghislaine from her host family) is a 17-year-old senior at Walt Whitman High in Bethesda. Read her Moment for Mission at BPC Worship on September 6 about her two-week Anchorage, AK outreach in July! Link is found below.  

"Habitat for Humanity in Alaska"
Moment for Mission at BPC – September 6, 2009

During two weeks of July, I was given the opportunity to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity in Anchorage, Alaska. Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization that is aimed at helping provide people with affordable housing. Although the houses are not for free, the prices are significantly lowered mainly because the people who work at the site are all volunteers who come from all around the country to help build homes for families. 

When I volunteered for Habitat, I volunteered in the Global Village program which is designed to provide volunteers with opportunities for a week or two week trip to volunteer.  I was part of a team of 17 that came from all around the country, such as up in New York, around the DC area, California, Illinois, and even Alaska. Every weekday morning, we would wake up and head to the worksite. In the morning, we were briefed as to what the goals were for the day and were assigned different jobs. The jobs varied from putting up roof trusses, siding on the walls, and even indoor framing. Since there were so many different jobs at the worksite, I learned a variety of new skills when it comes to building and carpentry.

While at the worksite, we not only worked with other team members, but also with the future homeowners. We worked on two homes while there. One home was built for the Mabudu family, which was a family of 5 children ranging in ages 2 to 19 originally from Togo who had immigrated to the States only a year ago. The other family was the Vangs, a Hmong family with four children with their ages ranging from 12 months to 10 years. The two families are people that I can never forget in my life. Meeting them gave the whole job a purpose, since I don’t think I’ve met people who deserve their homes more than them. While there, I was able to become close friends with Ghislaine Mabudu, who was only a year younger than me. The whole idea of meeting someone who was so similar to me but living in completely different circumstances gave the whole mission even more purpose. It gave me a purpose to not only help people, but also to help the two families.  

Not only was the experience of learning new skills while helping people a great feeling, but the opportunity to meet people are some of the moments that I never will forget. The people in the community were some of the nicest people I have had the opportunity to meet. Almost everyday we were invited to having dinner at people’s homes. Of course, this also meant that every night, we were treated to their spcialty dinners, which was always a combination of salmon or halibut, but nevertheless, was amazing. 

I am hoping that this will not be my last Habitat trip, and I definitely plan on volunteering with the organization again, whether it is in our community or outside it. I also encourage people to help volunteer in many ways, whether it is with construction or by donations. Giving in time for stewardship is truly one of the best feelings in the world. 

Last updated by Bethesda Presbyterian Feb 1, 2010.

Blog Posts

Education Opps: "Social Healing"

Our new Church Vision is "A Place for Healing". In step with that, we conclude our Adult Education year with a four-Sunday focus, "Social Healing" (9:45 in parlor, behind Wilson Lane playground), & Wed's Jesus on Tap.

 

 

Posted by Bethesda Presbyterian on May 16, 2012 at 4:00pm

This Sunday at BPC (5/13)

Here's our ever-colorful bulletin. On this Mother's Day, we explore Christ's wildly inclusive mandate of altruistic compassion -- translated in John's gospel simply as love. Message: "From The Love of the Law to The Law of Love."

Pre-Worship. Per our church's new vision, "A Place for Healing", adult Christian education kicks off a five-Sunday module on Social Healing. Yenny Delgado & Rob Rivers, our Social Action Ministry co-chairs, engage us in a discussion of our outreach efforts at BPC. Church Parlor, 9:45a-10:45 a-- come join us!

 

Posted by Bethesda Presbyterian on May 12, 2012 at 10:00am

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