The Value of Service

Our merry group of twelve are split into two service sites. Four of us are doing drywall on the house of a woman named Gwen. The other eight of us are working with Mack on The Village, the Lower Ninth Ward Community Center. When the bell rings at 5 p.m. each day, we meet up to dry back to Camp Hope. The four coming from Gwen's house inevitably show up with particles in their hair complaining of fighting over tools with the caddy girls who are also at their site. The remaining eight of us typically greet them while lounging in front of The Village talking with Mack. The drywallers are always upset that they've done "more work" than we have. Their complaining has become a joke; today we told them that Mack gave us money to go to the zoo after lunch.

All joking aside, it has got me thinking about the value of service. So many people feel like if you aren't sweating profusely or haven't pulled a muscle by the end of the day that the work you've done isn't worthwhile. And while I wish we had a bit more consistent of a flow at The Village, the work we are doing is laying the foundation for what will be the heart of this community. Isn't that worth just as much? I'm hoping I can get this group to see deeper than the surface labor to see what the bigger picture is of our work. And hopefully, this knowledge can be taken back to LMU so when they are considering service projects with their organizations, they can look beyond just where the biggest muscles are needed.