Life Changing...

I've been back from Houston for a just over a week and I still can't put into words the things that I saw, SMELLED and learned. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to go and help the people in Texas that were cleaning up from Hurricane Ike.

APX Alarm took 90 employees down to Texas we spent 31 hours on a bus on the way there. It definitely wasn't as bad as it sounds. We watched movies, we laughed, we told stories, we played games, we slept (or tried)... When we arrived in Texas on Thursday afternoon we were ready to work. We helped the Red Cross in handing out water and supplies to residents who desperately needed them.

On Friday, half of our group went to Galveston, TX and the other half helped the Red Cross. I was able to help the Red Cross in a town called La Porte. It was amazing to meet the people and talk with them. There was a lady there helping who had been without power since the hurricane (which was about 2 weeks) she was about my age; one of the first things that she and I talked about was "What do you do about your hair?". It was awesome to be able to make connections with people whether it was about hair, boredom, family or basic needs. We got done on Friday exhausted however, ready to help more people.

Saturday our whole group went to Galveston, TX, this was the hardest hit area. It was incredible to see the amount of destruction that was left in the path of Hurricane Ike. The smell was really awful. It was the worst thing I have ever smelled, a combination of sewage and mold. There were entire blocks throughout the city that had piles of people's belongings (couches, mattresses, clothing, pictures, drywall, etc.) in the front yard. There were two moments that touched me and will stay with me forever...

***My "team" was helping a lady clean out her garage. It had been easy the whole day to be in "work mode"...but as we were cleaning out her garage we were throwing out baby photo albums and baby clothes that she had saved. It moved me to tears to realize that we were not only throwing away moldy stuff, we were throwing away people's memories...the things that meant so much to them. It was so touching to take a moment and realize the impact that the hurricane had on the individuals.***

***The last home that we helped was one where 5 teams met and worked. There were about 25-30 people there helping. When our teams arrived at the house the family told us that their home had been under 67 inches of standing "water" for at least 3 days. They let us know that they would need to tear everything out in order to start over. We went to work demolishing their home...in about an hour and a half we left the home in studs. We took out drywall, insulation, doors, sinks, toilets...everything. After we completed our work in the home we were able to give this husband and wife some money to help them start rebuilding. The money and the help that we had given them moved them both to tears. I don't think there was a dry eye as we left the house.***

I am so grateful for the opportunity that I had to help in Texas!!!

PICTURES ARE HERE!!!! :)