We all touched down in the land of the longhorn and immediately discovered common ground by playing some excellent icebreakers. Then our convoy giddy-upped to our home on the beautiful University of Houston campus-Go Cougars!

We have a great set up here that makes us feel at home, including a kitchenette and bright dorm rooms. We’ve also taken advantage of two lounge spaces, which are big enough for games like The Human Knot and The Sheet Game– where AJ took us all by surprise with his great technique!

On our first night together we headed off bowling, where everyone had fun cheering for their bowling partners at the top of their lungs, and never missed an opportunity to give it all they’ve got. Also, a quick shout out goes to the scavenger hunt dominators – Brukie, Megan, David, Spencer K., and Nic! A special mention goes out to Sam for earning a big bonus point.

Yesterday we headed off to start our contribution to rebuilding Houston, and like our partner organization, SBP, we want to help wholeheartedly! We were graciously invited into Mr. Mike’s home, where he was rescued by a boat after Hurricane Harvey struck. Our team listened intently to him retelling his experience with volunteers from AmeriCorps and it truly allowed us to consider how we might feel if forced out of our own homes by a natural disaster.

Watching these program members in action is truly inspiring because they work diligently without complaint. They genuinely care about the finer points of home repair like dimpling a screw and filling it with mud, or measuring out drywall and lifting it as a team to install. That’s because they believe that a well-built home matters! The group is already excited to see changes in the home’s appearance in just several days.

Stay tuned as we definitely anticipate more learning and bonding next week…

The Westcoast Blogger

Do you want to help rebuild Houston? Check out our 10-day Hurricane Relief Community Service program!