This fall break, I had the opportunity to travel with CCM to serve with other students in a community outside of Charlotte. Specifically, we were working in the Holy Angels facility in Belmont, NC. This organization, sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, takes in many differently-abled people of all ages and backgrounds from across the state of North Carolina. We got the privilege to meet and work with many of the residents, but our service was mostly in beautification of the facility, which was exciting because this felt like it was through this type of work that we could help the organization most. We cleaned up and closed down their summer center, Camp Hope, which had activities like boat rides and barbeques over the summer but needed to be shut down for the winter. Next, we stained a deck of one of the group homes. This project took a majority of our time; we spent around eight hours over the course of two days covering the entire surface.

We had the opportunity to explore downtown Charlotte as well as the town of Belmont. This was an awesome adventure because we had an experience of learning more about the area we were serving. We tried different foods, went to a Latin festival and explored Belmont Abbey (Catholic) College.

We closed the trip with a wrap-up with Dennis Kuhn, chaplain and executive vice president of Holy Angels. He expressed his gratitude and we discussed how, even though the situations can be viewed as being trapped in a tragic and unfortunate life, we can view them as God views them. We are all made in God's image even when it comes to people who appear to be in woeful conditions, and God loves us all unconditionally.