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