The Matter of a Minute by Taylor

The Matter of a Minute by Taylor - April 2022 Scholarship Essay

In the summer of 2019, I was given the opportunity to share the word of God through mission work. Similar to the past two summers, I was going to be volunteering at Carolina Cross Connection. The summers prior to 2019 consisted of laborious work in the mountains and foothills of North Carolina, repairing the exterior of people’s houses who typically couldn’t afford the repairs on their own. However, this year in particular was going to be different. In the early months of 2019, we were informed that instead of volunteering in the mountains of North Carolina, we were being reassigned to the coast of North Carolina to volunteer for a week to help the victims of Hurricane Florence. Hurricane Florence made landfall in September of 2018 and said to have caused more than 5 billion dollars in damages at the coast alone.
The time came to make the nearly 8-hour trek to Manteo, NC in the church bus. The giggles were contagious, the sleep deprivation was real, and the sights were unforgettable. Even though we arrived in July, the damage was unlike anything I had seen before-roofs were non-existent, homes were obliterated, and families were still misplaced. Over the course of the following week, Carolina Cross Connection was able to help nearly 50 families with varying tasks such as repairing wheelchair ramps and painting the exterior of homes. Although the damage to their homes were incomprehensible, they remained positive. They were happy and grateful that their families were okay-regardless of the status of their homes. It reminded me to be grateful for the health and wellbeing of my family and friends rather than materialistic things. Although we were there to help with repairs nearly a year after the original hurricane, people were beyond appreciative for people like us who helped repair the roofs over their families’ heads. Beyond being appreciative of the materialistic things I have, I also learned to enjoy every minute I have with my family because you never know what could happen in the matter of a minute; especially now since I am heading off to another state for college in the fall.