This year the trip is more like a marathon than a race. In years past we would have been home by now; sleeping in our own beds, showering in our own bathrooms, doing the mountain of laundry that follows a mission trip. We stayed this year to take part in an event called Feed The Multitudes, which feeds and cares for thousands of homeless and needy people on the 4th of July every year here in NOLA. I am really hoping it will be an amazing experience for the students and leaders alike.
Right now we are getting ready for church and eating breakfast. It feels like a luxury that we slept in until 7:45 this morning. When we come to New Orleans we are hosted by a church here that we have come to love: Celebration Church. Five years ago Celebration lost their building to the Hurricane Katrina and they have not been back to their main campus since. They have been very fortunate to have an alternate church campus - the Lord really provided for them. Anyhow, today is their homecoming. The building renovation is finally done and today is the first service back home. I could not be more excited to be here for this day.
As I have been reflecting on Celebration's five years away from their church, I have been wondering what it would be like for us at home. Where would Marine View meet if we lost our entire campus? What would church feel like if we lost 80% of our regular attenders? I just cannot imagine. It would be so hard. Celebration has made it through, however and they have even grown as a church. Most of their regular attenders have never even been to this new/old campus becuase they became a part of the congregation after the hurricane. They way that God has restored this congregation and this building is such a picture of the work He is doing in this city. It is Sunday - the day we remember the resurrection of the Lord and the day that this church is being resurrected. Let us worship.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
LAST WORK DAY!!!
Good morning Washington! Today was probably the hardest day to get up and out of bed. The girls in my room have gotten really comfortable with each other, so we were up super late last night doing the usual girly things. It seemed super fun at the time, but no effense to the girls, I am regretting it now! Just kidding, I love the girls in my room. The mission trip this year has been so awesome. We haven't had any major drama, no little cat fights; everyone has grown together as a group! It has been really cool.
We are leaving in about an hour to go to our work sites. I work at the home of Mr. Lu Grange. He is always around his house, so we have had the pleasure of getting to know him, along with his family too. My group at the site is Team Win, consisting of myself, Kirin Fostor, Grace Shinn, Courtney Davis, Tyler Foster, Nathan Laske, and "Big" Mike Clark. This group is by far the best work group I could ever ask for! At first I thought that the guys would go off and do their own thing leaving us girls to ourselves, but we have all grown so close. Some may argure that we are too comfortable together now, but it has been a blast. We even have a team cheer, so ask us to show you when we get home (: Besides the best group ever, I was also blessed with the best site supervisor ever too. Thad (his full name is Thadius Maximus!) has been so great with us. The first day, we split up boys and girls, and Thad took us girls to work with him. From the very beginning, he was super funny and friendly with us. And he has been more patient than we could even imagine. We have been working on putting up dry wall, which is EXTREMELY hard if you have never put it up. Us girls are pretty weak, so we struggled a lot with it at first, but he was always willing to help us at any time. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to him Wednesday because he had to switch houses with another person, but he will always be the coolest supervisor ever!
Last year, I honestly couldn't wait for the last work day to come, but this year I am kind of dreading it. I am going to miss my group and getting to work with them all day! But we have already planned some more missions for when we return, so you will see more of us(:
After working, we will come home, shower, eat dinner, and hang out until bedtime. Also sometime today, we will be delivering our secret pal final gift and revealing our cover to them. I have Jeff Baklund and he has NO idea, so this should be fun >:)
I have 2 minutes until devos and I haven't had breakfast yet! I will check in with you when I get home!
Love,
Katelyn Dilworth
ps HI MOM AND DAD! I LOVE YOU!!!
We are leaving in about an hour to go to our work sites. I work at the home of Mr. Lu Grange. He is always around his house, so we have had the pleasure of getting to know him, along with his family too. My group at the site is Team Win, consisting of myself, Kirin Fostor, Grace Shinn, Courtney Davis, Tyler Foster, Nathan Laske, and "Big" Mike Clark. This group is by far the best work group I could ever ask for! At first I thought that the guys would go off and do their own thing leaving us girls to ourselves, but we have all grown so close. Some may argure that we are too comfortable together now, but it has been a blast. We even have a team cheer, so ask us to show you when we get home (: Besides the best group ever, I was also blessed with the best site supervisor ever too. Thad (his full name is Thadius Maximus!) has been so great with us. The first day, we split up boys and girls, and Thad took us girls to work with him. From the very beginning, he was super funny and friendly with us. And he has been more patient than we could even imagine. We have been working on putting up dry wall, which is EXTREMELY hard if you have never put it up. Us girls are pretty weak, so we struggled a lot with it at first, but he was always willing to help us at any time. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to him Wednesday because he had to switch houses with another person, but he will always be the coolest supervisor ever!
Last year, I honestly couldn't wait for the last work day to come, but this year I am kind of dreading it. I am going to miss my group and getting to work with them all day! But we have already planned some more missions for when we return, so you will see more of us(:
After working, we will come home, shower, eat dinner, and hang out until bedtime. Also sometime today, we will be delivering our secret pal final gift and revealing our cover to them. I have Jeff Baklund and he has NO idea, so this should be fun >:)
I have 2 minutes until devos and I haven't had breakfast yet! I will check in with you when I get home!
Love,
Katelyn Dilworth
ps HI MOM AND DAD! I LOVE YOU!!!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Senior Thoughts
Today is July 1st. My best friends birthday, and the 4th work day here in NOLA. I am doing drywall. Sanding, mudding, sponging, sweeping, and odd jobs. This is my first, last, and only year to be here in Nawlins with Marine View. I am very regretful that I didn't go before but I am using this chance to its full potential. This is an amazing experience. The people here are amazing, they are all thankful, all friendly, and all have a story to tell. On Tuesday we found a stray pit bull, I named him Sniffles, then Geoff Stowe and I found him a home. Today Tank, the pit bull at our work site, got loose and I had to chase him down, catch him, and use my bandanna as a leash. It was exhausting.
Everyday there is something special that happens, normal insignificant things that seem extraordinary here. I have felt closer to God, closer to the team, and closer to the real me, ever since standing in that airport at 6 am. Time here goes by really strange, sometimes it feels like we have been here forever, other times it feels like its only been a few hours.
The food here is great, I'm more full than I can remember, and after a few hours the weather doesn't really bother you. On Monday it started pouring down rain, it was like a mini monsoon, but it was still warm, it was great.
I honestly feel like we are one big family, we are living together, eating together, sleeping and sharing and conversing together, its a wonderful experience.
I really didn't plan any of this, I just typed what I thought, but I have to go, its almost worship time, and Dave Martin, the birthday boy, is going to dance, ha ha.
I love you Mom, Dad, and Kayla.
Post written by Josh Adrian
Everyday there is something special that happens, normal insignificant things that seem extraordinary here. I have felt closer to God, closer to the team, and closer to the real me, ever since standing in that airport at 6 am. Time here goes by really strange, sometimes it feels like we have been here forever, other times it feels like its only been a few hours.
The food here is great, I'm more full than I can remember, and after a few hours the weather doesn't really bother you. On Monday it started pouring down rain, it was like a mini monsoon, but it was still warm, it was great.
I honestly feel like we are one big family, we are living together, eating together, sleeping and sharing and conversing together, its a wonderful experience.
I really didn't plan any of this, I just typed what I thought, but I have to go, its almost worship time, and Dave Martin, the birthday boy, is going to dance, ha ha.
I love you Mom, Dad, and Kayla.
Post written by Josh Adrian
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The Work
This year, the work is different. None of us are doing mold remediation, which is a process where you scrape the mold from the studs in a house while wearing a mask that covers most of your face. After scraping all of the studs are painted with a special primer that seals the posts and makes them resistant to future mold. It is one of the first steps in the rebuilding of a home. It is a hot, stinky, sweaty job. Last year, most of us did mold remediation at some point.
This year, the work sites are further along in the rebuild process. Mudding and sanding, scraping floors, installing flooring, floorboards, and finishing work is different. We feel like construction workers. Mudding has to be done super carefully and precisely. If we don't do it well, it has to be to be redone, so we are working hard on making it right the first time. Using the big saws to cut floorboards is scary and loud, but it's a new experience that helps get people home.
The work may be different but the feeling of accomplishment is the same. When we meet the home owners, people who haven't been home for 5 years, the work that we are doing takes on a bigger meaning. Suddenly it's not just drywall and floorboards, it's someone's home. We cannot wait to get back to work and do more to help bring people home. Finally.
Post by Jasmine Walsh, Clara Kerrone, Nadia Ratkowski, and Hannah Snelling
This year, the work sites are further along in the rebuild process. Mudding and sanding, scraping floors, installing flooring, floorboards, and finishing work is different. We feel like construction workers. Mudding has to be done super carefully and precisely. If we don't do it well, it has to be to be redone, so we are working hard on making it right the first time. Using the big saws to cut floorboards is scary and loud, but it's a new experience that helps get people home.
The work may be different but the feeling of accomplishment is the same. When we meet the home owners, people who haven't been home for 5 years, the work that we are doing takes on a bigger meaning. Suddenly it's not just drywall and floorboards, it's someone's home. We cannot wait to get back to work and do more to help bring people home. Finally.
Post by Jasmine Walsh, Clara Kerrone, Nadia Ratkowski, and Hannah Snelling
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Good Night
We have finished our first work day! All went very well and everyone is really tired, so we will save any more updating than this for tomorrow. At this point, it's fair to say that everyone is excited about the work they are doing and can definitely see the difference they are making here. Please continue to pray for us; we are so grateful for your prayers! Now, good night from NOLA!
Good Morning!
Every year the chaos of the first morning is a bit intense for the students! We wake them up at 6am, which is always a real treat for high school students in the summer. They are pretty good about it however, because they know that the work they have been preparing to do for the past 6 months is about to begin.
We are sitting in the dining area right now about to start our morning devotion time. This is a special time of the day where we get to hear from different people from Celebration Church. They encourage us as we set out and they usually tell us their Hurricane Katrina story. It is an awesome way for the team to connect with the people of New Orleans.
Yesterday was a long travel day! The first flight group arrived at the airport at 4:30 am, and the second flight group finally arrived in New Orleans just after 8pm, so it took the team a collective 13 1/2 hours to get here, but everyone had good attitudes all day! This team is made up of an amazing group of people. It is going to be really exciting to see how they do on site! We will post again after the work day, but until then, please be praying for us!
We are sitting in the dining area right now about to start our morning devotion time. This is a special time of the day where we get to hear from different people from Celebration Church. They encourage us as we set out and they usually tell us their Hurricane Katrina story. It is an awesome way for the team to connect with the people of New Orleans.
Yesterday was a long travel day! The first flight group arrived at the airport at 4:30 am, and the second flight group finally arrived in New Orleans just after 8pm, so it took the team a collective 13 1/2 hours to get here, but everyone had good attitudes all day! This team is made up of an amazing group of people. It is going to be really exciting to see how they do on site! We will post again after the work day, but until then, please be praying for us!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Soon, So Soon
It is Friday evening on July 25 and I am sitting in my office at MVPC just about ready to walk out the door prepared for New Orleans. Today has flown by. I thought I would just stop in the office for an hour or two, but I have been here for 6 hours. That is what planning this trip has been like this year. I suppose it is to be expected when you are taking a team of 70 people 2,000 miles away from home for 9 days.
Every time I see that number - 70 - I shake my head in wonder. After our team of 50 in 2009, I thought the team might grow in 2010, but not to extent that it has. The wonderful part of having a team this big is how much of an impact we will be able to have, both in NOLA and here at home. When I tell people I am taking 60 teenagers on a mission trip, they are usually flabbergasted. They had no idea that many kids would want to take time in the summer to help others in need. But I am not surprised. This generation of teenagers is just like that.
As adults, we need to sit up and take notice of how awesome this generation is! They are bright young adults ready to take on the world with a attitude of fierce courage. They really believe that if they set their minds to it, they can accomplish anything. Imagine how wonderful it will be to watch them in action in New Orleans! Honestly, I can't wait!
In the next ten days or so, the team will post a lot on this blog! We will share with you how our trip is going, the stories from the work sites, how God is at work in our midst, and more. I hope you will check in frequently. It's going to be an amazing ride!
Peace to You,
Hannah (Youth Director)
Every time I see that number - 70 - I shake my head in wonder. After our team of 50 in 2009, I thought the team might grow in 2010, but not to extent that it has. The wonderful part of having a team this big is how much of an impact we will be able to have, both in NOLA and here at home. When I tell people I am taking 60 teenagers on a mission trip, they are usually flabbergasted. They had no idea that many kids would want to take time in the summer to help others in need. But I am not surprised. This generation of teenagers is just like that.
As adults, we need to sit up and take notice of how awesome this generation is! They are bright young adults ready to take on the world with a attitude of fierce courage. They really believe that if they set their minds to it, they can accomplish anything. Imagine how wonderful it will be to watch them in action in New Orleans! Honestly, I can't wait!
In the next ten days or so, the team will post a lot on this blog! We will share with you how our trip is going, the stories from the work sites, how God is at work in our midst, and more. I hope you will check in frequently. It's going to be an amazing ride!
Peace to You,
Hannah (Youth Director)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)