Posted: 3/30/07
| DBU students Adrienne Anderson (left) and Kayla Jones (right) install the plywood decking for the roof of the Habitat House in Sumter, S.C. (Photo by Gilda Alvarenga) |
DBU students build homes
in South Carolina & South Dakota
By Blake Killingsworth
Dallas Baptist University
DALLAS—Forty Dallas Baptist University students loaded into six vans before daylight on a recent Saturday to participate in the school’s annual Habitat for Humanity spring break mission trip.
One 21-member building crew headed east to Sumter, S.C., where the DBU team partnered for five days with students from the University of Wisconsin-Stout to work on a home for a young family with two children.
| Students Minister at Spring Break • Beach Reach volunteers immersed in missions service • Baylor fraternity brothers serve God in the Ozarks • DBU students build homes in South Carolina & South Dakota • HBU students take local & global missions plunge • ETBU nursing students put training into practice in Mexico • Students find missions calling through BSM • More than a day at the beach |
“Although most of the students had no experience in construction, each one poured their hearts into this build and were amazed to see the progress as the walls went up, the roof went on, and even some plants took root in the yard,” said Jay Harley, DBU dean of spiritual life and sponsor for the South Carolina trip.
“I learned a lot from this trip,” student Gilda Alvarenga said.
“I learned how to properly use a hammer, the details that go into houses, the hard work of Habitat, and even gardening. “Also, I learned so much from the people who surrounded me, especially the Wisconsin group and our DBU group who had heart of servants. I am looking forward to my next Habitat trip.”
The second group of DBU vans headed northwest to South Dakota.
Those 19 students journeyed to Eagle Butte to complete major interior work needed on a house on an Indian reservation.
“When we arrived at the house, it had graffiti all over the walls from local gangs, and it had remained vacant for a while before Habitat was allowed to start working on it. The house needed lots of work,” said trip coordinator Chris Crawford, DBU director of apartment life.
The crew patched sheet rock throughout the house; replaced both the front and back doors; sanded walls, ceilings, baseboards and windows; raised the front porch of the house; and cleaned the front yard.
Working on a reservation presented its own benefits for the DBU students, Hendricks noted.
“The Native American way of life was so rich and interesting, and the evenings together allowed us to be able to sit back and soak in their traditions,” he said.
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