During the spring break week of March 4, four Milligan students and two faculty traveled to Rockport, Texas, to volunteer renovating and repairing homes after Hurricane Harvey hit mid-August of 2017.
Campus minister Brad Wallace and campus activities director Jason Onks drove 22 hours with seniors Becca Guthrie and Abby Weinberger, junior Keila Trevino and freshman Megan Buttry in a Milligan van to Rockport where they were assigned to different work sites.
Guthrie said that the trip was organized through Samaritan’s Purse, which made the trip simple. She said everything was organized, and the Milligan group could really focus on the ministry aspect of the trip. While the group worked in Rockport, they stayed at a church in Portland, Texas, and drove to their work sites each morning.
The trip to Rockport is the third and final effort conducted by the Student Government Association and Apostolos club in the Houston area after the devastating impact of Hurricane Harvey.
The first effort was an SGA led fundraiser on Milligan’s campus, which raised around $3,000 for hurricane victims. The second effort was a mission trip during the first week of winter break, where another group of students and faculty traveled to Houston.
SGA president Gabriel Logan, who went on the first trip, said, “We put up drywall and worked on various parts of a woman’s house and ended up saving her $25,000, so I think we exceeded our expectations for how much we wanted to help.”
Guthrie said of the trip, “Overall, it was worth it. I feel great because our group finished the cabinets and the kitchen. We are able to go beyond just construction, because we also connected with the homeowner emotionally and spiritually.”
For anyone interested in a trip like this, stayed tuned to SGA updates for possible trips and volunteer events in the upcoming year.
