by Heidi S. Schoonover
Twenty years ago, I was like all 16 year-olds and thought I had the world figured out. But I thought I was special because I acknowledged that even though I had the ideas and goals of the world figured out, I knew I didn’t have the methods to achieve those goals. Then I lost a close friend to suicide and things really got turned around, but there were still a few things I thought I understood. I thought I knew what the words ‘selfless’ and ‘generous’ meant. I thought that while a 6-day mission trip might affect me, it wouldn’t affect me so much to say it changed my life twenty years later.
“I thought I knew what the words ‘selfless’ and ‘generous’ meant.”
My first SSP trip was to Big Pine, and I had no idea what to expect. There were only four of us from our church that year, and we all kind of went into it blind together. When we got out to site and the process of things was explained, we stuck pretty close to each other since we were such a small group. We were pretty intimidated by the fact that we would be split into separate work teams. But as that first night moved along, we started to learn the names of other campers and soon the names of the adults who would oversee our teams. I found the anxiety being replaced with excitement and curiosity. I liked the idea of doing something for someone else and getting to use power tools to do it.
“I found the anxiety being replaced with excitement and curiosity.”
On the way to our work site, we were told we would be building a small addition to a home. No other details were given about the homeowner or need for the addition. When we got there, we were met by a wheelchair-bound woman in her forties with some of the kindest, most gentle eyes I’ve ever seen. There were no wheelchair ramps to be seen, so I assumed any work we were doing had to do with making her house accessible for her. It wasn’t until lunch of the second day that we learned any different.
“In that homeowner, I saw what true generosity and selflessness was.”
Every day, the homeowner cooked a full meal for us, then spent time talking and sharing with us. She had not asked for the addition to her home for herself or even wheelchair accessible needs. She had experienced an abusive relationship and had nowhere to go for a very long time. So she requested an addition that was large enough for bunk beds and dressers so she could provide temporary housing for people leaving abusive relationships. There were clearly things she could have requested that would have been more beneficial to her personally, but that thought never crossed her mind. In that homeowner, I saw what true generosity and selflessness was. I’ve never forgotten that woman’s devotion to her community over herself, and think about it often. It’s changed, I hope, the way I make decisions and how I fit into my community.
Editor’s Note: Heidi attended SSP in 1996 with Rolling Hills United Methodist Church, and is living proof an SSP experience can impact someone’s life for years to come! Consider participating in a transformational summer trip for your youth group in July or August of 2017 at one of our five locations.