Juniors

Working at the tile house today, I continued to seal the brick kitchen tiles. We finally finished putting all the tiles in and sealing them all, which was an accomplishing feeling. A man from our camp, Bruce, comes to camp restore every April to volunteer. While cleaning up our site I got the chance to talk to Bruce. He told me that he's been coming here ever since the Hurricane hit. He first came six months after Katrina to help out. The most interesting part he told me was his experience at this time. He told me that the entire city was bare. Absolutely nothing was in sight. He didn't see one person besides who he was working with. All the businesses were nonexistent and the street lights were powerless.          
The part that struck me the most was that he told me every single tree was bare and not even the birds were to be found singing. New Orleans was equivalent to a ghost town. I got a much better picture of how everything was around here and this conversation will definitely stick with me.
"For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see" Psalm 134
-Heather Dorn


This week as well as last year I have been working with Mr Kellar doing the tiling. This year has been significantly different then last year because in general there has been more stuff to do and more people to help at the house. Today Dream Team (the people that have staying at tiling all week) took on finishing the tiles in the kitchen of the house we were working on. I was in charge of the grouting in the master bathroom and helping lay down the mud in the master bath for the rest of the tiles to go in. I have loved working with the tiling and seeing the progress. Then at the end of the work day the group that hadn't gone on Monday to a churches after school program got to go and play with/tutor/mentor inner city kids. Before this year I hadn't really gotten to talk to the people in New Orleans and hearing how the 6 year old kids had to get searched in school today because there was a kid who brought a knife and how they were not phased by it was something that I wish could be stopped. This program gives them a safer place. Today was a good day.
-Becca Hanlon

Everyday on the mission trip has been a great learning experience. Today I met kids that live in New Orleans and it was very emotional. They all had huge hearts and loved to smile. When a kid named Taji's face lit up, I couldn't stop myself from smiling. I love working on the mission trip and I can't wait for next year.
-James Mattes

When I heard about the mission trip a few months ago, I had an idea of what was waiting for me in New Orleans. I thought I would be helping people rebuild their homes, or helping kids with their homework. I was not expecting the impact these things would have on me. Today, I sanded and mudded a room I had been working on all week, when I realized this was somebody's home, that someone had lost everything they had and that we were helping that person get some of it back. I can't describe how grateful I am to have had this opportunity and these memories will stay with me forever.
-Mia Pattison

Today I continued at the tile house, as I have been doing since the start of the week. I, along with the "dream team" had another amazing day. Everyday I have helped another worker, Bruce, lay down the bricks and then seal them. To see the kitchen floor which initially only had a corner of bricks laid down, to the entire room covered in a brick floor really impacted me. To see all of those days of work come to completion. The tile house crew aka "dream team" has honestly made my day, everyday. We always are laughing and singing along to country or Whitney Houston as we spend the day tiling away. Today I also got the chance to visit and mentor a group of kids from New Orleans. When they saw us waiting for them after school they immediately became giddy, jumping up and down asking us a million  questions on who we were and our home. To hear the stories from children under the age of 12 about their daily lives, school, and experiences was heart breaking but inspiring. Each of them with a bright smile on their face. An amazing experience.
-McKenzie Walker

As a Mission Team, we keep tossing around the point that meeting the owners of the house we are working at brings so much more meaning to our work. Today, while at the Flake House, two of the owners of the house (it will be a four-generation household) came in to see our progress. While I was in the middle of mudding one of the hallways, the man came up to me, and the first thing he said was "thank you." That made me think for a second: we do not come here to work for the thank you's, we do not come here to work for our own personal gain, and we do not come here to work because it is 'the right thing to do'. We come here to help the community of New Orleans and improve the lives of our fellow brothers and sisters. We are blessed to be as fortunate as we are and we see that everyday while here in New Orleans. But hearing a heartfelt "thank you" connects you to the house you are working on. It connects you to the people you meet here, to the city, and to God. That is mission.
-Matt Griffin