SENIORS

Seniors: Ross Kellar, Matt Markella, Matt Dyroff, Cari Librett, Frances Anne McDonald, Christa West, and Ian Brown.

I spent my last week on missions tiling a house with my dad David (DKELL) all week. It's so crazy to think that it was my last year here, but I am thankful that I was given this opportunity. My group successfully finished tiling all the areas we were given at the beginning of the week. I couldn't be more thankful I was able to leave knowing I accomplished the task that was given to me. It was such an amazing year, wishing I could come for more, but this trip all four years has made me realize I want to keep doing community service at college, through Habitat for Humanity, or if the college goes on a mission trip somewhere. This trip has truly made a perfect ending to my soon to be finished senior year.
ROSS KELLAR

I'm not quite sure where to start with this week and the amazing journey that it has developed into. This week in New Orleans has been everything I wished for and more for my last high school mission trip with St. Johns. From playing bingo at the senior center, to mucking horse stalls at Lori's barn, to blessing a house on my last day, it has been an amazing experience to say the least. Four years ago I walked into the youth group room of our church not knowing a soul. I had just moved to Duxbury from Atlanta and was in the midst of figuring everything out. The kids in the room were so welcoming to me from the start. Little did I know, those kids would change my life. On my first trip to New Orleans I was not sure what to expect. I had heard of mission trips and St. Johns' active mission team was a huge part in my parents decision process to choose a church close to our new home. Being an only child, I did not know much of what to expect. The experiences that I made on that trip only led me to grasp for more experiences and developing friendships just like those that came out of my trip. Ever since, my experiences have only been better. This trip has introduced me to my best friends, my fondest memories, and so far the most faith-driven chapter of my life. Looking back on my last four years, I can truly say that I know that God led me to Duxbury to be a part of this trip. Thank you to the seniors throughout the years who set the example for me that I hope I presented this year, thank you to the chaperones who have been there for me every step of the way, thank you to the friends I have made through this trip, thank you to the parents and parishioners who make this trip happen for us, and most importantly thank you to my fellow seniors who have been there for me since day one making me laugh, cry, scream, and love passionately. I can't wait to continue mission work throughout my life. I am who I am today because of this trip.

Frances Anne McDonald


Missions week seems to go by faster and faster every year, but this past week went by in the blink of an eye. Whether I was mudding, sanding, painting, weeding, or grooming horses and mucking stalls, the work day seemed to have ended just as soon as it started.  I am able to say without doubt that time truly does fly when you are having fun.
As I look back through the years, I can remember being a freshman thinking of how much time I would have until my senior year. I never expected that my future would be handed to me so soon.  Just the fact alone that I will be boarding my final missions train home in less than 6 hours makes me wish that I could relive all my missions experiences over again.
The church community, missions trip, as well as the people involved in my experiences have shaped and molded me as a person and better prepared me for my future. The friendships and memories that have been made over the past four years are life long. Because of missions, I am growing into the best version of myself that I could hope to be, and for that I am eternally grateful.
- Christa West

For the last four years, this mission trip has been one of the most important parts of my life. Throughout the years, every senior has warned me of how fast time goes by and how bittersweet my last mission trip will be. Yet, until this week I never fully grasped the reality of how fast my last trip would go by. This year I was fortunate enough to work on a house completing tasks that I have done in previous years such as painting, sanding, and mudding. However, I still had a lot to learn and learned how to do flooring and priming and even got to wash and brush horses on a Rescue Ranch that we also went to last year. As much as I wish I could be boarding the train again next year to go on another missions trip, I am so incredibly grateful that I have experienced four trips and I am also thankful to those who have made it possible for us to go every year. St. John's, family, friends, and of course the missions team have impacted my life in ways that I can not even begin to describe. Missions and this missions family has changed me and helped me grow into the person I am today. I hope I can continue to grow in the next coming years through more mission work. Thank you to all of those who have supported us and made this trip possible!
- Cari Librett

Often times in our society people say that they have a "second family."  Their has never been a time in my life where I have felt so in touch with a group of people both emotionally and spiritually.  It is really crazy to me how 4 weeks total over the course of 4 years has such a profound impact on your life.  Sometimes it just takes time away from home and your regular routine to realize how much those back at home really mean to you.  Missions has taught me that love is the most important thing in your life and at the end of the day what you have and were you have been means nothing if you never were able to reach out and touch someone else's life.  Missions has given me the opportunity of a lifetime.  It allowed me to form a deep bond with the city of New Orleans and the people I have met.  Missions helped me realize my strengths and weaknesses both on and off the work cite. I have met some of my best friends on this trip.  I see God in every person involved in this week long journey and I think that speaks volumes to the kids we are working with.  To wrap this all up I want to leave you with one quote, in the words of Lee Brice, love like crazy.
-Matt Dyroff

This trip has shaped who I am today, it really has. From freshman year to today, my last night in New Orleans as a senior leader, it's all been a crazy rush, an incredible blur. The amount of good I've gotten out of coming to this incredible city home to incredibly inspiring people, it's been exhaustingly wonderful. The countless stories I've heard, the people I've met, I can't even start to list all the people who have touched me on my trips with their stories and their smiles. The opportunity to go to New Orleans during my April Vacation...  on a 36 hour train ride... for four years... I can't imagine what kind of person I would be if I hadn't wandered into this group freshman year. To come to a city that has been through a lot with people who have been devastated, deprived, hopeless, and revived. Through my four years, when I build a fence, sheet-rock a house, put up dry-wall, install a window, mud walls, tile floors, set up framing, landscape farms, volunteer at community centers, repair walls, prime ceilings, and countless other things I can't even remember, it's all for the people here. There is nothing like the former/future homeowner visiting the house you're working on and seeing a look of gratitude in their eyes, having them thank you and bless you for your dedication. People on the street have come up to me and have personally thanked me for just being here, too. They will see me on the streets of New Orleans, and will smile or say hello or thank you, because just the fact that we are there shows them that they matter. That this nation, no matter the distance, doesn't leave it's own kind to dry. With such a great group, in and out of Louisiana, I wish I could do this every year. The experience is like none other and the fact that we make the most out of every minute we are here makes this trip mean that much more. I wish I kept more pictures, maybe a journal of all the people I've met and things I have experienced going on these trips, because every single one has really hit me one way or another. And even though I haven't done that, I can confidently say that I have made the most out of every second for the past four years. And to whoever reads this, I want you to know that every year has been worth it.
-MATT MARKELLA

It is currently 2 am and in two hours we are to awake and leave New Orleans and get on a train, leaving behind a trail of hard work. I personally spent the entire time on a finishing project. At first it was two bathrooms and a series of little fixes that needed to be taken care of. Yet, today or should I say yesterday we met the owners and it was no longer a project. It was a single mother and her two kids just trying to move back into their home. My final year I was joined by my brother and sister. Much to the surprise of all involved there were no major battles and we all worked hard. As a family we grew closer together and with the all the connections made here in this city I have gained a larger extended family. NOW I NEED SLEEP! Good NIGHT!
IAN BROWN

Juniors Blog Post

Day three was absolutely amazing. Will, Ryan, and Remi spent the morning working at camp, helping paint Lorraine's (the chef here at Camp Restore) kitchen. After working on that, we went next door to the senior center and spent time with the people there. We talked to the residents, did crafts, and ended the afternoon by playing bingo with them. Everyone we met there was so grateful we dedicated our time to them, and it was so interesting getting to know them. Once we were done playing bingo, we drove down to the lower ninth ward, to visit a community center currently in foreclosure, run by Mack. Originally, Lil Wayne and Mountain Dew had funded the center as a skate park, but then had a falling out. Pre Katrina, Mack bought the warehouse to store his vintage cars. After the storm, he decided to make the space into a community center. He was truly inspiring, and told us that because of Hurricane Katrina, he found his purpose in life. He is going on a tour of the east coast in the next few weeks to raise money to prevent foreclosure. Mack will be at our very own St. John's this coming monday, April 28th, and will be talking from 6:30-8:30. Everyone bring a friend and come support Mack!!! By the way, shout out to big Sam Roberts. He's an awesome freshman (from Remi). Drew and Wyatt went to a house that is almost complete. We tiled the bathrooms so that the owner can move in. It took a long time because the people before us didn't tile right and we had to fix their mistakes with some precision cutting. Doug helped us a lot and answered many questions. It felt really good when we finished because it will allow the inspection to pass allowing people to live in the house. Tomorrow the house will be blessed and be presented to the owner. Olav finished the room he started to floorboard. Over the days we have worked and installed 3 rooms and a hallway with floorboards. It was very nice to see the homeowner and his wife stop by and just stop and smile on how much progress we achieved and thank us for our work! Jamie worked on a house with tiles today. A lot was accomplished and it was a very successful day. There were also TWO ice cream  trips during the day. There was one at lunch and one at the end of the day. The second trip was very special. Jamie and his group met one of the home owners, who's house had been worked on by our missions team. He expressed his thanks and payed for all of our ice cream. The kindness and generosity of this man signifies all that we are working for, here in Louisiana.

Sophomores

Great start to the trip. Had a great day at the ARC Community Farm. Lots of work done with the flooring and painting in the day 1 house as well. Had fun meeting all of the people working at the farm and it was great to hear a little bit about each of them. It was eye opening seeing how they were treated just the same as we were.
God Bless
Bobby Phinney, Jake Kent, Joe D., Meredythe Hanlon

Excited to be in NOLA for my second mission trip!  Both Monday and Tuesday I was the only sophomore to work at a house that needed paint on all the walls and wood laminate flooring in most of the house.  I will have to go back to finish the floor but overall it was a succesfull start to the week and I got a lot of useful knowledge.  One of my favorite parts of the trip today was when the home owner came to check on progress and he was so happy of what we did.  His happiness made me have that much more of an enjoyable day.
Mitch West


This is both of our second year on the trip. Today we hung sheetrock, sanded and mudded. All the tasks required a lot of patience and after the job was done we were really satisfied with our work. We had a small group, so working efficiently together was important. By the end of the day we had a lot of laughs and inside jokes and had a great time. Afterwards, we went to get snowballs and it made it all worth it. So glad to be here!
Dylan Simard and Lydia Brown

Even though this is my first time on this trip, I've heard such good things about it that I couldn't believe. Now two days in, I'm finding some truth in all the inspirational and positive things I've heard people say about Camp Restore. Today my group pulled weeds in a farm that sells produce to farmers markets around the city. All the workers at the farm had various developmental disabilities, but it was so inspirational how much they loved doing the work at the farm. All of the people there told us about their Katrina experiences and how they are still trying to come back to the city nine years later. Leaving the farm we drove by an abandoned Six Flags, and its sign said "closed for the storm". This really stuck out because it put the whole trip into perspective in that New Orleans still needs help even nine years after Katrina.
Cate Chase


Four days into the trip, and we have already accomplished so much!  The train ride up was very long, yet filled with joy.  On Monday, we worked on taking out bad sheet rock and putting waterproof sheet rock up on the walls around two baths.  Then, we tiled one of the walls on top of the waterproofed sheet rock on Tuesday.  Aside from the work, camp has been a blast.  Many good times have been experienced both on the basketball court and around the lounges.  The time not spent working has been used to bond and become better acquainted with those on the trip.  Hopefully everyone will remain close even after this trip is just a distant memory.
Hayden Kimbro & Thomas O'Hare


The first two days are always the most interesting because you get to learn new things at a worksite that is unfamiliar to us. These first two days we spent time tiling a house quite close to the camp. When we got there, only a few rooms had ben done by groups before us. All the people in my group were really helpful and helped teach some of us how to use the wet saw to cut tile with. In two days of work, we finished a living room space, a hallway, two bathrooms, and half of a smaller room in the back of the house. We all worked together as a group and got along really well. Days like these are the ones to cherish the time that you get to spend helping people in need, and seeing the progress and hope in the homes and people is a really amazing feeling.
Jennah Muller and Kevin Corcoran


Today I worked at the ARC Community Farm. This organization allows people with developmental disabilities who are employed and paid to work around the farm. They perform many duties such as gardening, tilling, and weeding. Watching them work beside us today was a moment I will always remember. I had the chance to talk with one of the employees named Davarian who had been working there for a little over two years. I hung on to every word he said and can remember our conversation to the first hello to our parting. The one thing he said to me that stuck out the most was "Many people don't think of us as one of them and many don't think we are capable of the work someone with the correct mindset can do. But let me tell you something, these two years have been the best I have ever had because they teach many people that we are capable of the challenge, and love it."
Catherine Jordan

Freshman Mission Experience

           So far the trip has been exciting. We have learned many thing about construction that we would have never known before. We have also met many kids we have rarely seen before, like Big Daddy Dyroff AKA Muncher (stud), Downtown, Mcsheff (legend), Joey D, Kev Cork, Kent, B Phin Squad, Qwista, Remi Demos (ish...), and many more. We had a great time shopping in the French Quarter. We feel comfortable with this group of people and we feel welcomed. We enjoyed helping the community of New Orleans, and made great friendships along the way. The train ride was surprisingly good, and we have had a great time so far. Mcsheff's promposal cake was niiiiiiiice.

          -Devin Badeau, Sam Roberts, Chris Roberts, Chris Kalous, Colin Brown, Luke Prime, Wesley Pattinson, Zach Prime, Jackson Simard, and Austin Dixon.