Our Maine Mission
Sr. Pursuit's 2009 Mission Trip to Maine
Be sure to see the great pictures below this text

From August 2nd - 8th, twelve members of Senior Pursuit and three adult advisors traveled to Portland, Maine, to work on houses being built by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland (HFHGP).  The group  worked at a site in Portland on which two Habitat houses are nearing completion.  The work included putting up roofing shingles and vinyl siding, installing window trim and door handles, modifying long gravel drainage paths, seeding and watering the yards, painting walls and ceilings, lugging wheelbarrows full of rocks, sweeping the road in preparation for a final asphalt layer, and cleaning up construction debris.  The group also did yard work and repairs at the Habitat farmhouse we lived in during the week.

In addition, one evening involved going into downtown Portland to help serve a meal at Wayside Soup Kitchen to almost 200 people.

The week was not all work and no play, however.  One evening, the group went to Freeport and explored the L. L. Bean stores, and another evening was spent at a Portland Sea Dogs baseball game, the Red Sox’ double-A farm team (the Sea Dogs won 9 – 0).

On Thursday, at the end of the final day of work on the sites, the Habitat staff treated the volunteers to a cookout.  Friday was a day of fun at an amusement park/water park in Saco, capped by a lobster dinner at the home of a friend of one of the chaperones.  The group  returned to Walpole on Saturday tired, happy, and with a real sense of accomplishment.

The youth and their adult advisers learned a lot about Habitat for Humanity and the important work it does in providing “Safe, Decent, and Affordable” housing for families whose finances would not otherwise allow them to own a home. The group also learned much about themselves, discovering stamina and talents they didn’t know they had, as well as learning to work together as a team for a greater good.

Photos by Liz Knox and Dan Lupfer