I am not leaving...this place is too wonderful

Tiffany Here:)

This trip has been incredible.

Anyone and everyone should venture down here sometime. It is absolutely amazing.

It is now our last day and though we are sad to leave, we are leaving with memories and lessons that will continue to follow us for our entire lives. This trip has changed my life in many many ways.

The eleven of us here at camp victor have been living with people who deeply and truly care about other people. Thats hard to find in our everyday lives but here it is rare to find someone who is not willing to lend a hand. The entire town appreciates us coming here. Whether it is the woman walking down the street or the man walking his dog (whom he rescued after the hurricane) on the beach, everyone says thank you. Everyone smiles, Everyone waves, Everyone is friendly. This trip has restored my faith in mankind. We as humans CAN make a difference and there is a giant amount of people who actually do.

At the work site we work with Miles and Spikes ( both of which are awesome by the way) they taught us how to...well how to build a house in so many words. I learned the technic to pound the nail into the stud (thanks to Miles), how to build a shed, and how to shake the wood chips out of my hair(which really does not work). I, Tiffany Lehman, can use power tools!! Which is so much fun by the way. I got to cut out all the windows (I had so much fun with the router). I sneezed like seventeen times and had saw dust everywhere. There was a point in the day where i stopped brushing it off cause it was impossible to compete with it. I think I came back with an entire piece of ply wood on my body in the form of dust.

This group of 15 strangers made the best team. We worked together so well. Although we are all very different we became great friends. Through all the nailing, cutting, and building we had some great inside jokes, great laughs, and great heart to heart talks. I learned so much about these people and I learned so much from them.

Even on site I met amazing people like Mr. Lee and Jean, David and Carol, Mike, Miles, and Spikes. They are all wonderful in there own ways. Mr. Lee is retired but still can pound a mean hammer. Jean is 69 and just recently had knee surgery but she can keep up with any one of us. They both care so much for others and have so many amazing stories to tell about all their trips down here to help out. David is soooo nice and helpful, he helped me with many tasks. Carol is so pretty and sweet and hard working. They both are wonderful people who care deeply about every person they meet. Mike is awesome, he is from Canada and took time out of his life to come down here by himself to help this town rebuild. Miles...enough said. No but really he is great. He might be sarcastic and riduculous but he is helpful, down-to-earth, and is just truly a great person. Spikes the retired NFL player giving back to his home town. He wears sweat shirts in 75 degree weather, he can pick up walls and throw them around by himself, but he has the biggest heart. I am incredibly lucky that I was given this opportunity to meet all these fabulous people.

I watched a stack of wood become a house and I helped in the process. It is a great feeling of accomplishment and pride. I am proud of us our group for working together and building a wonderful house for a family that deserves it.

When you take a look at the bigger picture you realize, that it is not just a house you are building for these people it is a home. We helped rebuild someones life.

This was my first trip to help after Katrina but it will not be my last.