Mission Trip Narrative

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Straight Outta Compton? Or Straight Outta Gratefulness? Back in 2012, I went on a trip that put my life in danger. Who would have guessed that I would be going to Compton, California, one of America’s most dangerous cities, for a mission trip. My experiences and interactions there changed my view on life completely. The trip to Compton changed my lifestyle actions and made me realize what life in poverty is like and how grateful I should be to have the life I have. On July 17, 2012 I woke up to my alarm buzzing letting me know today is the day I go to Compton, California for a mission trip. I was full of emotions because it was my first mission trip, my first time away from my parents, but I was also going to one of America’s most dangerous cities. I went to church to meet up with the other students, and eventually we were off to …show more content…

Each morning of the trip I stepped onto the worksite where we were repainting and cleaning a pink colored house. I was assigned to work on cleaning out the backyard. When I walked back there, I saw not a neat and manicured lawn like the ones back home in Oostburg, Wisconsin, but a small, yellow, dry, and patchy yard littered with garbage. There was everything ranging from old McDonalds bags to molded wood crawling with spiders that can make a grown man scream like a girl. Once we finished cleaning the yard, our group helped with painting. Throughout the workdays I saw the progression of the house turn from a faded pink to a new light tan. Once the whole house was tan with no pink in sight, the owner of the home came out. She was overwhelmed with joy and gratefulness because of the work we did for her house. She said how her ninety-year-old mother was struggling with depression because her son had just died a couple weeks ago. Watching us teenagers work together and have fun made her so much

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