Education from the South

There are lots of things that could be said about our week in Mississippi. We were in one of the poorest counties of our country and we saw first hand how horribly many people live. We drove through small towns where there were dozens of one-room homes with porches that were falling apart and stairs that were missing lined up along the highway. We were in dozens of trailer homes which smelled like urine, cats, or a combination of the two. It was a stark contrast from our small towns in Iowa which we often take for granted. We also heard statistics that were devastating: one in every three babies there is aborted, only 49% of adult males are functionally literate, and recently the casino business has boomed in the area, causing many who had little money to lose it to an uncontrollable addiction. It was an educational week for us.

There was one other aspect I was educated on last week--a great reminder of why Latreia exists in the first place. On the eve of our recent announcement of our new non-profit status, I have been pondering why I am so thrilled with this news. There are several reasons, but I've decided that I am most excited not because we worked on that application for hundreds of hours over the summer, nor because it is something that will help us to bring in grant money, nor because we can join the national network of non-profit orgs, but principally because it will bring us one step closer to helping change even more lives. Last week I got to witness again how people's lives can be changed through the service trip experience. The Tyler and Jake Henkle that came down with us to MS were not the same Tyler and Jake Henkle who returned to IA, and I think that is what Latreia is all about. I got goosebumps watching their transformation during the week and now I am just itching for others to join us... Those two reminded me of why we are out here on the road paving the way for others to follow.
Kelly