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
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
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)
Monday, August 10, 2009
Culture Shock
Since the team arrived home Saturday night I have been in my car a lot. On Sunday I drove to Bremerton to have lunch with my family and today I drove to Seattle for a seminary class. As I've been driving around I've found myself reflecting on the scenery. The most remarkable sight has been the normal (yet always beautiful) views of the evergreen trees that give our state its nickname. In New Orleans, the most remarkable sight is quite different.
Of course you would expect that, as it is a different climate and region with its own vegetation, but the sight that stuns me when driving in New Orleans is not beautiful, but sad. Every where you go there is still destruction. Houses that used to be homes are now empty uninhabitable shacks. Sometimes there isn't even a house anymore - the demolition has already taken place, so all that is left is an empty lot with a foundation. One street my team drove down every day had five such empty lots in a row and that wasn't all.
Hurricane Katrina destroyed homes without prejudice, so from affluent neighborhoods to the lowest of slums, New Orleans is still a city that cannot escape the results of the storm. People have asked me several times why we keep going back to New Orleans. They seem to be wondering why the city isn't finished being rebuilt or if there is still work to be done. There really is. These people need us to remember them, to pray for them, and most of all, to keep coming back to them. Though we have only been home for a few days, I am already counting the days until we get to go back...
Peace, Hannah
Of course you would expect that, as it is a different climate and region with its own vegetation, but the sight that stuns me when driving in New Orleans is not beautiful, but sad. Every where you go there is still destruction. Houses that used to be homes are now empty uninhabitable shacks. Sometimes there isn't even a house anymore - the demolition has already taken place, so all that is left is an empty lot with a foundation. One street my team drove down every day had five such empty lots in a row and that wasn't all.
Hurricane Katrina destroyed homes without prejudice, so from affluent neighborhoods to the lowest of slums, New Orleans is still a city that cannot escape the results of the storm. People have asked me several times why we keep going back to New Orleans. They seem to be wondering why the city isn't finished being rebuilt or if there is still work to be done. There really is. These people need us to remember them, to pray for them, and most of all, to keep coming back to them. Though we have only been home for a few days, I am already counting the days until we get to go back...
Peace, Hannah
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Reflections...
Today is our last day in "Nola." We slept in until 7 am this morning - that is one more hour of sleep than usual! Now we have had breakfast and are in the process of packing up. Soon we will spend a few hours debriefing and revealing our "secret pals!" Every year we assign secret pals before the trip. Once on the trip we give our pal a gift every day and today is the day we do the big reveal! Expectations are running high! Its a silly little part of the trip, but we all love it! Then it's off to the airport and back to Washington.
Meeting the people of New Orleans and hearing their stories of the storm has a big impact on us this week. One person's story that had a big impact on Jasmine was that of an army officer who was away on assignment and came back to a ruined home. It was also tough to see Charlie, the home owner of one of the houses we worked on all week, living in a trailer in his front yard. He has been in there for a long time now - about three years.
When we come home tonight we will all be excited to sleep in the comfort of our own beds, but we won't forget that the people of New Orleans are still waiting to come home. It has been almost four years since Hurricane Katrina destroyed this city, but the people here are still filled with hope. We hope that soon they can all be back home.
Post brought to you by Jasmine Walsh and Hannah Snelling.
Meeting the people of New Orleans and hearing their stories of the storm has a big impact on us this week. One person's story that had a big impact on Jasmine was that of an army officer who was away on assignment and came back to a ruined home. It was also tough to see Charlie, the home owner of one of the houses we worked on all week, living in a trailer in his front yard. He has been in there for a long time now - about three years.
When we come home tonight we will all be excited to sleep in the comfort of our own beds, but we won't forget that the people of New Orleans are still waiting to come home. It has been almost four years since Hurricane Katrina destroyed this city, but the people here are still filled with hope. We hope that soon they can all be back home.
Post brought to you by Jasmine Walsh and Hannah Snelling.
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