Hi my name is Madeleine McGill, I am a rising sophomore at Walt Whitman high school and this year was my second mission trip.
Expectations. The human mind naturally creates expectations when completing tasks. So instinctively when embarking on a journey to New Jersey, my mind went crazy with expectations. Well I should probably say high expectations; I had really high expectations for the trip. As I waited for June 14th to arrive my brain filled with pictures of me building houses and talking to families about their heart wrenching experiences.
It would be an understatement to say that after three days of what seemed like simple yard work that my expectations were not met. One day we dug a hole and then filled it with dirt; another day we picked up garbage on the side of the road, weeded, and spent countless hours raking. My body was filled with a surge of disappointment and a part of me felt regretful. Why couldn’t they rake their own yards? We drove by empty lots and halves of houses. Why were we not fixing that kind of disaster? The trip was not at all what I expected. I was stuck in my own head telling myself that I was not doing disaster relief but that I was being used to do other people’s gardening.
It wasn’t until day 4 that my eyes and many of my work groups, were opened. We pulled up to a park that did not look damaged at all, and my feelings of disappointment seemed to resurface instantly. We met up with a woman, named Brita, yes like the water filter as she explained, who worked for a volunteer committee that helps with the environment in New Jersey, and were informed that we would be spreading mulch in the park’s community garden. Brita began to tell us about her story of loosing all of her businesses and how it wasn’t until 12 weeks ago that she got a working kitchen in her home and not once did she shed a tear. It was when she began to tell us about how our work, spreading mulch, was such a big deal to the community and sense of normality that she began to cry. The moment she got emotional was the moment I realized that I was doing disaster relief.
When people think of Hurricane Sandy they think of ruined, homes, bridges, schools, and communities. Honestly, that’s what I thought of too. And when people think of disaster relief they think of building, repairing or painting homes or shops. That’s what I thought of too really. But the truth is, disaster relief has a lot to do with building, repairing, and painting hope for those affected. So while most of the people that went on the trip to New Jersey did not directly help an individual or build a new home for someone, we did so much more than anyone could ever believe. As the victims of Super Storm Sandy try to forget about the disaster that happened on October 29, 2012, their worst fear is that everyone is going to forget them. For them, looking out the window and seeing that some trash was picked up from the abandoned house across the street, is a place to start. It is a glimpse of hope. After learning how much of an impact we were having we began to notice how truly thankful every local was.
I set myself up going into this years mission trip with the preconceived thought that disaster relief is helping repair a home or actual structure and my expectations were not met. When I got home I looked up the definition of disaster. Disaster only means a sudden event, such as an accident or a natural catastrophe, that causes great damage. The dictionary does not specify whether the damage is to a garden, house, road, or person. Our disaster relief was the repair of anything that was broken by Hurricane Sandy. After I realized that I had the wrong conception of what I was “supposed” to be doing for the whole week, I realized that my expectations had been exceeded and that I had been doing disaster relief all along.
In John 4 versus 7 through 14 Jesus teaches a woman about the living water that God gives to his children. Water is vital to human life. We need water to drink, and provide crucial nutrients to our cells so we can live. Water also bathes and cleans us, after a day of working hard and getting dirty. In the bible the concept of living water is a metaphor for God’s love for his children and how it is essential that we have God’s love as we go through life. John compares God’s love to the most important substance in the world: water, to show that God’s love is just as important. If we drink this water, we shall never be thirsty. Jesus tells us to embrace him, follow his teaching and we will be fulfilled.
While in New Jersey our mission team helped to spread living water, as well as accept living water. During our trip, we helped to spread the love of God to everyone in the community. While spreading mulch and picking up trash we revealed to the community that God’s love is everywhere even when you think you can’t see it or have lost all hope. We received God’s love everyday when people on the street asked us where we were from and thanked us for just being there. Even when our group felt like we weren’t doing anything for them they showed us that God’s love is strong in how it works: in subtle ways. I was thirsty when I based the work I was doing on my own expectations. Once I was able to reframe the idea of disaster and think from the resident’s perspective I was fulfilled and no longer thirsty after my one drink of the living water, and my one taste of God’s love.
Expectations. The human mind naturally creates expectations when completing tasks.
Expectations. God’s way of teaching us new things about ourselves, others, and most of all Him.
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