Hi, we are the sophomores of the St. John's Mission Team of 2013! We have Mackenzie, Olav, Ryan, Wyatt, Will, and Remi. But this year we are lucky enough to have two new additions, Jamie Badeau and Bridget Dixon. Each of us have done different jobs in the past few days. Starting on Monday Will and Ryan went to Schaumburg Elementary School and co-taught in 1st grade classes, while Olav and Remi worked as dry-wallers at a house in desperate need. Bridget landscaped at the APEX Youth Center in the heart of New Orleans. Mackenzie and Jamie worked as dry wallers and sanders at the house of a previous Senator. Wyatt helped building a shed for a woman. Today we were re-sorted into seperate groups and sent to new worksites for the day.

Remi and Wyatt, along with 20 other people, went to Rescue Ranch www.rescueranch.net. The woman who owns the ranch is named Miss Lori, who has a passion for animals. Miss Lori shared with us the story of her childhood: Her mother was mentally unstable, and her father was in the army. One day her mom dropped Lori and her sister off at a beach and abandoned them there. She came back from this tragedy and feels like she has been blessed with life. After talking with her at the beginning, we were given jobs to do. Remi had the messy job of cleaning horse stables. After this she was able to walk the horses, groom them, and then help build a small beautiful garden. Wyatt had the task of straightening the barn wall that was tilted out. He had to dig out the bottom of the wall and push it back in place. Then Wyatt and two others put logs against the wall to hold it in place. This really pleased Lori and she loved it. Being at the ranch with Lori was an unforgettable experience, and she was a very inspiring woman.

Will and others worked at an old persons house near Lake Pontchartrain putting up sheetrock There were a lot of laughs throughout the day! They also mudded the household. They ended up finishing the whole house except the kitchen. All in all they had a very productive day at the dry-wall house!

Mackenzie, Ryan, Olav, Jamie, and Bridget went to the house of a former senator, and helped to finish his house, as it was only half complete.  He previously had it finished, and ready to live in, but found out that the drywall that he had purchased to use was tainted and couldn't stay in the walls as it would corrode his electrical systems, and cause problems.  In the beginning of the day, Mackenzie worked on finishing mudding a closet that she had started the day before. It took a lot of screws, mud, and work, but she eventually finished it. Olav was working on putting up boards in an unfinished bathroom.  It was extremely hot in the bathroom, as there were no windows to let in a breeze. It took most of the day to complete, and he worked extremely hard on his project.  Bridget and Ryan worked on putting in the foundation of a shed.  They had to level the ground, and place cinderblocks to create the first layer. It was extremely hard work to make sure the ground was entirely level, and the heat was terrible. Once the other smaller projects had been finished, everyone came together to mix cement to pour into the cinderblocks. We also had reinforcements come from another worksite, which included Jamie Badaeu.  With the extra help, we finished the work in no time at all and got a lot done.  We managed to finish the foundation of the shed, and mudding the bathroom and closet. In general, the sophomores at the retired senators home had a very productive day!