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ATTLEBORO - The Second Congregational Church in Attleboro and the Old Colony affiliates of Habitat for Humanity recently joined up to co-sponsor a mission trip in Alderson, W.Va.

Fifteen members of the church, 12 adults and three teens, made the trip down to Alderson to provide help in various construction and home improvement projects.

This trip was originally initiated by the church and was later accompanied by Habitat for Humanity, which included some members of the church, and was there to help contribute financial support.

The priority of the mission trip was to improve homes that were in poor conditions and to help build new housing, or "decent housing for people who are need," said Glenn Weidner, a church member and mission participant.

There were two main goals of the trip, he said. "One was to assist the local people and the second was to educate ourselves about the conditions in which people, in the last year are living. And also, about the impact on the economy and on the environment of certain industries in West Virginia," Weidner said.

For Emily Ferguson, 15, an Attleboro resident, this was her first mission trip with the church. She had what she described as a wonderful time. Her most memorable moment of the trip though, was having the opportunity to meet the people she was helping.

"It was amazing when we got to speak with one of the ladies whose house we were working on - just being able to hear her story," she said.

Diane Deseopoulos, another first-time mission trip attendee had similar feelings about her experience.

"My overall experience was really incredible, I would definitely do it again," she said. "I knew that I was going to be getting personal satisfaction being able to help somebody else."

Upon the group's arrival in Alderson, they were split into two teams. Deseopoulos worked on a job site that consisted of building a new roof for a mobile home. "It had been leaking, and they couldn't repair it anymore - they kept repairing and patching, so when we got there the roof structure had already been built and we were going to finish the roof and shingle it for them," she said.

But not only did she take away the memory of helping others less fortunate than herself, she also had the opportunity to form new bonds with people that she didn't know up until just recently.

"I didn't know anybody from the church that was within this group, but living in such close quarters and being in a car for 12 hours both ways, you really get to know people," Deseopoulos said.

"There's a bond that developed there - it was unexpected but a pleasant surprise," she said. "Those are the bonds that no matter what, every time we'll be able to look at each other and go, 'Hey, we were there.' That's one of the things coming out of this trip that stood out to me the most," she said.