Day 30: Paint Dodge

July 5, 2022 in Dodge City, Kansas

Today was my favorite build day of the trip so far!

After waking up around 6, the team went to two different build sites with a local non-profit sponsored by the city which helps people maintain their homes in order to promote upward mobility.

I went with the smaller group to an older couple's house. While we were waiting for an intern to come tell us what work needed to be done, we started talking to the husband, Louis.

Louis and his wife (who didn't speak English) are immigrants from Mexico, who came to the United States to work in California. After some time there, Louis explained that his sister encouraged him to come to Dodge City to open a Mexican restaurant, which he worked at until he retired.

It was incredibly moving to be able to interact with the people we would be helping, and it was a great reminder for me of what I can learn if I just ask.

I ordered coffee for the team, and it was delicious and a huge win.

Soon after the coffee arrived, the intern came. Her name is Rocelyn, and she's one year younger than me. Rocelyn told us about the Paint Dodge program, which allowed for couples like Louis and his wife to get their home repainted entirely for free.

With that explained, we picked up our paintbrushes and rollers and got to work! Rocelyn and I worked together all day, and we ended up exchanging contact information to stay in touch! I feel very lucky to have connected with someone so quickly during a build.

Once we'd painted the entire house, Rocelyn and her boss took us all on a trolley tour of the city, specifically pointing out the projects their program had completed and hopes to complete in the future.

The tour was really awesome. We hadn't gotten such a holistic view of an organization's work yet, and what they were doing for their community was remarkable.

We all went back to their offices, where we had snacks in addition to the Jimmy John's sandwiches they'd provided for lunch earlier. Their office was in an old hotel, and we got to see one of the rooms set up as it was in the 1800s, and it blew my mind.

Once we'd left our build, I spent most of the afternoon hanging out and talking with my close friends in a common area. It made me feel very loved and whole, and I hope we can continue to just sit together and bond more often.

Around 7, a group of us grabbed some pizza to go and headed to a local waterpark, which was by far the best we've been to. And we've been to a lot.

The slides were huge and very fast, it was clean, and it even had a wave pool! We stayed there far longer than any of us had planned, so it was straight to the shower and to bed after that to be rested up for a 52 mile ride tomorrow.