Just a lil' something extra, I suppose :)

Hello all!
So I just wanted to post a little bit about my experience participating in Habitat For Humanity over my February break (yes, we have February breaks at my school!). I just want to emphasize the importance of Habitat For Humanity, and for organizations similar to it, because I find the mission of HFH to be so significant. I encourage everyone to participate in something like Habitat AT LEAST once in their lifetime.
For anyone who has not heard of Habitat For Humanity, it is a nonprofit organization that depends on the effort of volunteers to build simple yet durable housing, and the finished houses are sold at an affordable price to individuals and families in need. I went with my temple youth group, which includes a total of about thirty 11th and 12th graders from my congregation, and we spent the week in South Carolina, working on houses in three different locations.
I can honestly say that my experience at Habitat was one of THE MOST incredible experiences of my life. The trip was a great bonding experience, and it left me with a greater sense of appreciation for life and I was, and still am, thankful that I had the opportunity to give families a substantial place to live and create better lives, new memories, and experience so much happiness.
On one of the days we were at this one housing site where this woman stopped by and introduced herself to our group. She said that her name was Richardina, and she had found out, just a few days earlier, that she is going to be the proud owner of the house we were building come April. Richardina said that she has been living with her mother and her three children-- one of whom is about to have a child of her own-- and she told us of how she has been working two jobs to keep her family happy and well. She shared with us the joy that she felt upon hearing that her application to Habitat had been accepted, and the whole time she was in our presence, not even for a moment did a smile leave her face. She laughed and hugged us all, and she shared with us how happy she is that the school where she works just moved from Unsatisfactory State Grade Performance into Satisfactory, which means that her school will now be receiving more funding from the state for resources to better the quality of education at her school and enable students with more opportunities to succeed.
Hearing her story, and seeing, in front of me, a real person who is going to benefit from a house that I helped to build-- it is just an experience that is too amazing to describe in words. All I can say is experience it yourself if you are ever given the opportunity-- I promise it is a life-changing and rewarding experience, and I can assure you that I will be participating in more Habitat trips in my lifetime!