BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. (WTVA) -- Around 30 members from Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Huntsville, Alabama are in Mississippi for the first time volunteering on a service project.
The task is to transform an old house into something new.
"Well, we're trying to maintain the Victorian style, so we're going to keep that as much as possible," said Jerry Sims, Missions Committee Member. "Some of the timber and nails, the doorbells, windows and hardware all date back a long long time ago."
With the original structure of this house first completed shortly after the conclusion of the Civil War, a lot of repair work needed to be done on the inside and outside.
Now that Blue Mountain College owns the house, plans are in the works to use it as a welcoming point for visitors when they arrive on campus.
"[It] definitely will help them give them a first impression as they see the front entrance of the college [and] the campus here," adds Stan Irwin, Blue Mountain College special projects. "[You can] see what all these volunteers have done to assist us."
The volunteers who enjoy spending a week or two away from home say the sacrifice is all worth it, knowing a positive difference will be felt.
"It's wonderful to go out and help your community," adds Kim Blaxton, volunteer. "This is a difficult economic time and I think we should all try to work together to improve our schools, our churches, [and] just our communities in general."
Those who are spending a week laboring on the project say so much is being learned and will never be forgotten.
"I'll remember all the great people that we worked with, their influence on me, people I got to do things for and the impact I had on them," added Sara Beth Turner, volunteer. "More importantly, [I'll remember] the impact they had on me."
A second and third team of missionary groups will arrive at later dates to finish what was started on this project.
There is no firm timeline on the house restoration project since the work is being done by volunteers but Blue Mountain College is hopeful to have the Victorian style house transformed by next year.
