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Olivet College’s first trip to Port Austin, a city at the very tip-top of the thumb, was a success. A team of 20 set out to serve the area as needed. A large portion of the group helped to restore what were once buildings of the Port Austin Air Force Base, by scraping old paint off the exterior walls, applying new primer, and painting a fresh new layer.
These buildings are now a part of the Port Austin Bible Campus (PABC), which serve to shelter and offer emergency services to anyone in need. Unlike most shelters, which accept only women and children, PABC accepts men as well.
All of the staff at PABC are volunteers, most of the food is self-grown, and the campus depends on service such as Olivet College’s commitment to upkeep the campus. A separate group of students cleaned out a barbershop that is being donated to the Port Austin Area History Center.
Another portion of the students worked at the History Center. The students mowed and cleared a field, moved rocks, leveled a pile of dirt, cleaned gutters, and moved displays. The History Center greatly appreciates Olivet’s service, especially because the center is run by elderly people. Without the labor, much of this work would go undone or take a long time to complete.
The center offered the group of students a place to stay while they visited to serve the community. While there was no set location for the students to shower during their stay, on their full day of service a generous woman offered the whole service group to use her three showers.
Janet Galochowicz kind gesture is best explained through author Sunday Adelaja’s writing, “You will surely be rewarded for every seed of good deed and godliness.” One of the various advantages to going on a service trip such as the Port Austin was being able to watch acts of kindness turn into larger acts of kindness. For several years , Olivet has been going to Port Austin to help people in need and has many more trips to set out on.
Tatum Oxford was a volunteer on the trip.
