Thoughts from the New Orleans Airport...

Vanessa – The best thing about this week was getting to know everybody and getting to work with a great group of people. I’ll never forget gutting the house on the last day. The trip was so much fun.



Joanna - My favorite memory was meeting Miss Cora and working on her house. The best thing about her was her colorful personality. I had a fantastic time and I would do it again in a second.



Jensen – It’s been a really fun week and we all meshed together as a group. It’s sad to leave, but we leave with a feeling of accomplishmnet as we get back to our own lives.

Lindsay – I thought it was sad, but it made me feel better that I could help. I had a really good time.



Torrey – This trip was amazing. I learned many new skills that helped me to help people of New Orleans, which I really enjoyed. I’m really sad to leave and I wish I could do more for the city. I hope to come back as an intern sometime soon. The end.

Brittany – I finally accomplished my goal of helping New Orleans and I feel like I made a big impact on their lives.

Nicky – I think that the most important thing was that we just got to meet each other and know each other really well. And we got to know each other helping the people of New Orleans. It was just a great experience.



Heather – There are too many memories and great moments between all of us because we all got to bond and become really close. The most rewarding thing is leaving at the end of the week and seeing the physical change – leaving it behind you.



Rachel – I had an amazing time this week meeting new people, especially our chaperones (Mommy Kim & Aunt Sarah) and all of the youth on this trip. My favorite memory was the awesomely awesome sod roll (three times bigger than Rachel herself :) which we rolled up off of the street.

Katie – It was an amazing trip, and I’m glad to have been able to help plan it. It came off as well as I expected it would. I can’t wait for the next one!



Sophie – I had the best trip of all, and I met amazing people, and I feel like a better person because of this trip.



Corey - Best trip ever.



Ellen – It’s been real, but it’s time to go home. I had an amazing time.



Alyssa – Pain is temporary. Pride is forever.



Kim – If I ever hear another person say that kids today are apathetic I will point to these 16 youth and consider myself proud to be an influence in their lives.

Hank – Our one team with one dream far exceeded our goals and expectations. It was a pleasure working with seventeen young adults and the other adult leaders of the group. I look forward to seeing everyone and working with everyone in the near future.

Sarah – I am so proud of how hard everyone worked, and how well the group worked together and supported one another. I can’t wait for the next trip!!

Brian – If you parents are even remotely thinking of putting your children up for adoption, I get first dibs.

Joan – Me too. I’m so proud of all of these kids. They accomplished so much and made a difference for other people and for themselves.

Demery - New Orleans is a better place because of this talented, bright, joyful, strong, committed group of teens and adults! All over the city people thanked us for coming to be present with them -- not only the people we worked for and with, but strangers on the street, waiters, car rental associates, airline ticket agents, diners in restaurants, fellow worshippers at the Cathedral. But truly the work we did was just a drop in an ocean (as I heard Joan say this week). The people of New Orleans want for us to remind the world that New Orleans is still here - still a wonderful place to be and still very much in need of help.

Thanks be to God for a rowdy, joyous, safe and transforming week!

Day of Rest

Today was glorious in a not doing strenuous work kind of way, although we missed helping people and being with our interns. We still had a very busy day and everyone thouroughly enjoyed themselves. We slept in really late (9:00 in the AM) and started our day with the world renouned Hampton Inn continental breakfast. Then we started out towards the Nawlins zoo. It was a scorcher but we enjoyed the animals nonetheless. The gorillas are surprisingly human-like. We enjoyed lunch at the zoo, which made about half of our group ill later in the day. After we had discovered the animal kingdom, we headed out to the I-Max to see the showing of "Hurricane on the Bayou". The movie was very powerful, not to mention big. It was interesting to see the hurricane beginning to end, especially after we have spent the week witnessing all if the lasting effects. Afterwards we headed diretly to the aquarium. Our group favorites included the otters, fish, sharks, and Burger King. When we had fully submerged ourselves at the aquarium we headed back to the French Quarter for round two. We shopped and all enjoyed kinds of tasty food at Cafe Du Monde. Next we ventured to Cafe Roma, which featured fantastic pizza and the world's most "garlicy" salad. Mints were enjoyed by all afterwards. We headed back to the hotel and started our last evening devotion. Everyone reminisinced on the trip and got pretty mushy. Gosh we all like each other so much and had a great time. The brave hearted enjoyed a late night swim, which included story telling by Alyssa. But don't worry, no one fell asleep in the pool. Presently we are pretty tired, and going to make the most of our last day in New Orleans tomorrow. We will see you all tomorrow, try not to burst with excitement.
Heather, Jensen, Sophie, Alyssa, Katie and Rachel :/

Last Day of Work!

It was a fun day had by all. We were all thrilled to finally get our last day of work done, although we really enjoyed helping out everyone down here in Nawlins. The older group minus Kelly worked on gutting a house. We were able to finish all the walls through the course of the day, but the ceilings were left undone. Heather sustained a rough nail through her leg and Brittney hurt her wrist. It was kind of a crazy day, but it was fun. Heather and Ellen were pretty much awesome...they had an amazing wheel barrel system going. I really enjoyed that everyone was extremely grateful for the help we gave. After the 4 days work, I know it really does feel good to know we're helping so many people.


Today the younger group plus Kelly went to the Beacon of Hope. We landscaped, and picked up trash. We had a great time bonding one last time with the crew and also the Millar six pack. After a hard day at work, we went over to the Dragon Cafe (soup kitchen) and set up for dinner. It took about an hour, and then it was time to serve. We met a policeman named Larry, who handcuffed the gang for fun. Once the older group came, they relieved us so we could go to the hotel! The hotel is very nice, with awesome showers :D Everyone is ending their day chillin’ in their hotel rooms and having a blast.






















We look forward to a fun-filled day tomorrow...going to the zoo and aquarium. Check back tomorrow to see how that goes.

We love Nawlins =]

Ellen and Kelly

Wonderful Wednesday....(or sleepy wednesday)

Today we had very lovely continental breakfast with many options of cereal that was quite exciting!!!

Today we only split up into two groups to go the work sites. One group went to go gut/re-build houses...and the other went to work with the Beacon of Hope yard work group.

The group that went to do work in houses had tons of fun!!! Vannessa, Brittany, Joanna, Heather, Lindsey, Matt, Hank, Demery and Scott and did painting work. We sanded all the walls of a small guest house first...then we primed and painted the first coat of lovely butter yellow paint on EVERYTHING!! We enjoyed meeting the owner of the house Miss Denise, she bought EVERYONE ICE CREAM YAYAYAYAY!!!!! Some from the group went to do other work: Brian, Ellen, and Nikki went to two different houses to grout newly laid tile, and they also helped a group from California gut an entire duplex. Torrey and Joan went to a house to put up green board in a bathroom. College interns volunteering with the Diocese of Louisiana have supervised our work each day - it's been fun to get to know them.

The group (Kim, Sarah, Kelly, Katie, Corey, Jensen, Sophie and Rachel) that helped out with the Beacon of Hope landscaping organization also had a ton of fun working on a street corner cleaning up yards!!! We met the Miller 6 pack (a family with 5 boys and 1 girl) who helped us with the work..they were cool!! When we got back we toched up the paint on Teddy's House (in the church playground) and did some LAUNDRY for everyone!!!! That group got showers and then took LONG naps (well some of us did!!)

At night we then went to a jazz dinner at St.Anna's Episcopal Church!!! Everyone there was very nice and excited to hear that we were helping rebuild New Orleans for them!!!! Several diferent people performed for us and they were all very good!!!!

Tomorrow is Lindsey, Vanessa, and Hank's SPECIAL DAY!!!!!!! Happy Special Day to them!!!!

When we got back to the church we had devotions and then everyone was sent to bed straightaway so that everyone can be rested up for tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By:Katie Kolepp and Vanessa Segaline (and Demery :)

We love Nawlins!

Today was our second day of working in Nawlins! Some of our group went again to help out a school that's hasn't been opened in two years because of Katrina.The principal of the school (Carmel Mires) and Sister Elizabeth told us that because of our hard work, the school will be open in time for the new school year! They were super appreciative of our work and made us fell warm and fuzzy. The second of our groups was involved in cleaning out a house and working on some landscaping with the Beacon of Hope organization. Today they also scoured Nawlins for postcards to send to our share holders. The last of our groups went to help refinish a house that belonged to a quiet but nice older lady in the Lakeview District. In the house they installed doors, caulked walls, put in shelves, painted window molding and put up trim. For the first time for a lot of this group, we got to use power tools and learned a lot of handy tricks! Our week is getting increasingly fun, and we love helping out the people of Nawlins! Tonight we went to a public pool, but sadly there was a thunder storm = [ so we couldn't swim. The three new people we celebrated tonight were yours truly and KIM! Woot Woot! We miss all of our families dearly. Hope everything is well, be safe!

Love,
Corey and Joanna

P.S. What did Alyssa eat and where did she eat it?!?!?!

ZATARAIN'S in NAWLINS! = ]
hahahaha

PEACE!

First Day of Work

We all got up really early and ate breakfast and then left for work. And guess what? We didn't even take showers until AFTER we worked. We split up into three groups to go different places to work. There was a construction, landscaping, and a school group. The construction group installed three cabinets and two doors and some trim.

The landscaping group cleaned up a yard and a sidewalk to make it look more like a neighborhood again.









The school group helped take textbooks to another school for the sixth graders and also moved desks and computers up and down three flights of steps.








After we worked, we took showers, had devotions, and got ready for a baseball game. And oh man! The game was a BLAST.









Now Matt and Brittany are here writing this blog and need sleep because we are really tired. So, good night! =)

Lazy Sunday

Waking up at 7:30 is not eveyrone's favorite thing to do, but it was made up for by an excellent breakfast of cereal and bagels. Soon after a long waiting line for the showers was formed by the ladies of the trip. About an hour and a half later we loaded up into our vans and headed out to Christ Church Cathedral where we were warmly welcomed by eveyone in attendance. Alyssa walked the wrong way back from communion, she was recieved with odd stares from the regular members. Much to our surprise a "coffee hour" had been set up, but it was much more than just coffee. The hall was filled with delicious food that everyone seemed to enjoy wholeheartedly. A few chats, and a few wrong turns later we were off to lunch at The Praline Connection. We all ate some real "soul food" if you could call it that. And Alyssa actually tried some gumbo! Exploring the French Quater in half and hour is not the best way to really enjoy the city, but we all still got a little taste of the excitment that is Nawleans.
A few wrong turns after that, half of us were off to the airport to pick up Scott, while the other half were on our way back to use the bathrooms. Some hours went by with the girls passing the time by playing some games (which Heather won). Dinner was delicious thanks in part to Joan's posse. Klondike bars were served for dessert, and after that we "flooded" the queens with some words of encourengment. Now it's off to bed for all of us, wish us luck on our first day of work tomorrow!

Alyssa and Nicky