Throughout my existence, I have made it my goal to include helping others as a part of my life-style. In my attempt to achieve my goal, I have participated in a missions trip to the Bahamas, spent a week in Mississippi working with the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, as well as spending time helping my own community with their needs. When you help your community, you are showing the people in need that nothing is impossible.

The summer prior to my eighth grade year, I accompanied the youth group from the First Church of the Nazarene on a trip to the Bahamas. When we arrived at the Bahamas, we split ourselves into two separate groups. The first group attended a little church in Nassau where we helped put on a bible school for the children of the community. During this bible school, we also provided a meal for each of the children because most of the families there were very poor and malnourished.

While the first group was conducting the bible school for the children, the second group was working at an orphanage on the other side of town. At this orphanage, the children were locked in their rooms behind steel bars at nighttime because there was no place for an adult to stay and supervise them. It was the job of the second group to remodel an apartment at the orphanage so the children would be able to have adult supervision at all times.

At the conclusion of the bible school each day, the first group would come and take over the construction on the apartment while the second group performed a bible school for the children at the orphanage. The children enjoyed this very much because they did not experience a lot of interaction from anyone outside of the orphanage. While working with both the children from the church as well as the orphanage, we tried to encourage them to set their goals high because nothing is impossible.

A few short years later, I accompanied the Union Chapel Church Youth Group on a trip to Mississippi were we worked with the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. On this trip we worked to complete many tasks assigned to us by God’s Katrina Kitchen. The tasks given to us ranged greatly. Some examples would be cleaning up houses, painting, making food, mowing, digging up bushes, planting trees, and even laying brick. While in Mississippi we not only worked hard trying to improve the environment of the storm victims, but also aimed to give them hope that with time their lives would soon be peaceful again.

Finally, since I was in Junior High, I have been active in many different activities in an effort to help improve my own community. One effort I made was tutoring elementary students at the library twice a week. One Saturday a month I helped my 4-H group with our recycling project. My sophomore year I spent multiple weekends cleaning up side ditches on the county roads. Through my school, during my senior year, I have also taken part in helping the assisted living with their spring cleaning and gardening.

When we are active in our community it shows those in need how much we care. I believe that it is vital that everyone who is capable steps forward and does their part to help. In doing so, we can show those in need that, although at times our hardships may feel unfeasible, nothing is impossible.