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Summer
Mission Trip 2008
June 20, 2008
Hi All,
I believe as of right now, everyone in this group has been
around town in some way to see the devastation that still
exists. Last night, I had my first survey of the area and it is
unbelievable to me that much of this area has been forgotten by
the media. These people are still struggling so much with an
enormous amount of work ahead of them to even bring their lives
back to “normal”. Yesterday morning before leaving for the
jobsites, the pastor of this church talked to the entire group
and reminded us to be thankful of everything we have because
life can change in the blink of an eye. Something as simple as
flipping a switch in your bedrooms, if the light turns on, thank
God. If you open your refrigerator and there is food in it,
thank God. If you have clothes on your back, a bed to sleep in,
a pillow under your head and a blanket to cover yourself with,
thank our Loving God… So much happened so quickly that children
lost everything in one day – homes, friends, schools, furniture,
activities, social hangouts all of these things disappeared.
Today, we were told how so many people come to this area and
leave feeling so guilty for all they have and want to sell
everything they have to help those in need. He called it the
“sell the farm” mentality. Pastor Randy said it isn’t necessary
to feel guilty for your blessings – thank God for them, but
never forget that there are those worse off than you and instead
of selling the farm, sell a cow every now and again to help a
brother or sister out. With all that said, we’re continuing to
make differences all over this parish and at this church.
Here at Adullam, the tool shed is coming along nicely and the
nursery mural will be finished today.
The newest project we have is an elementary school where a crew
of 12 went to clean out classrooms. The kids were excited to do
this for the community.
The families that had work completed on their homes (not all the
way done) were as follows:
Ms. Elaine – fence installation
Mr. Richard – Drywall installation
Ms. Dona – Drywall installation and mudding
Mr. Sandy – various projects – mostly exterior painting
Ms. Janie – Tile throughout the house
Ms.Sharrell – Drywall installation, plumbing and furniture
moving
Mumphrey Street House – Insulation, plumbing – pipe removal
There were some jobs that tried to be worked on but when crew
went to the site, it wasn’t prepped as it should have been, so
our crew had to come back and be re-routed to another house.
We had a Mass last night that was wonderful and we will be
celebrating another one tonight. After Mass & dinner, some of
the adults toured the French quarter. The kids stayed behind
(with much adult supervision of course) and were treated to a
free concert put on by two bands at the skate park next door.
They had a wonderful time.
We have a wonderful group of mission trip volunteers from St.
Timothy’s. They are becoming very good friends and are learning
how to live in community. We have a large clean up project here
at the volunteer center before we vacate the premises. We are
looking forward to coming back and having each of the kids tell
their stories of their experience. Hopefully, we’ll be able to
get that together for the next Companion.
Pray for us as we make this long journey tomorrow. Thank you for
your support.
In Christ,
Mary
June 19, 2008
Hello Everyone,
Well, it’s hard to believe we are already well underway with day
3 and I haven’t even reported on Day 2. You must know that I
spent at least an hour writing Day 2 and lost it all because my
e-mail server timed out and when I went to send it, it went into
e-mail la la land.
We are working on many projects simultaneously and as these
crews get deeper and deeper into their project, they are
becoming excited to see their particular projects come to
completion. Many of the crews have worked together for 3 days
now and know instinctively what to do and how to work well
together and are growing in faith and friendship as they spend
so much time together.
To begin with, we have had 4 crews working here on the Adullam
Christian Fellowship building to help them bring their church
closer to what it once was. Our first crew (their first request)
was to build a shed to house the tools to get them out of the
building so their building can once again be used to educate
their children in Sunday school classes. Right now, these
classrooms are housing tools and supplies for the reconstruction
projects going on in the area.
Rich Franxman & Tom Herbstreit have been at the helm of this
crew designing and building the structure (it looks like a mini
house). They have had much help come and go – but their steady
is Larry Carr. Some of their help consisted of Billy Bob
Boemker, B ill Boemker Sr., Logan Dorne, Chris Brzinski, Matt
Kahmann, Fr. Jacob, Scott Stuckenschneider, Scott Harvey and
Stephen Boemker.
We’ve had a crew painting classrooms and leveling floors in
those classrooms to help them get back into shape for the return
of students sometime in the near future. Those people have been
Sr. Cathy, Matt & Mark Kahmann, Sarah Funke, Lauren Humpert,
Sarah Makowski, Megan Shefchik, Michael Danahy (the best floor
leveler ever) and Marianne Blythe-Reske.
We’ve also had some very talented ladies working on the nursery
painting a mural of Noah’s Ark which is absolutely gorgeous.
Those ladies are Lisa Helmer, Laureen Shefchik, Ginilynn
Philbrick, Megan Shefchik, Sarah Makowski, Sarah Funke and
Lauren Humpert.
Kudos to Scott Harvey for immersing himself in a freezer with
Coca Cola and mopping it out. The gals couldn’t handle the task
and Scott Stuckenschneider helped Scott Harvey get this job
done.
Sparky Merk and David Makowski led two crews building a SnoBall
Shack on this site for the neighboring skate park. The Snoball
Shack has been taken to a point where it needs an inspector’s
approval before any further work can be done. Sparky & Dave
worked with Sarah Makowski, Sarah Funke, Duane & Drew Frolicher,
Michael Danahy, Lauren Hester and Tyler Humpert.
Since the kids were on site and there were many jobs to be done,
we tried not to have too much down time. If there was a point at
one project where there was nothing for them to do, they came
inside and painted, cleaned, picked up trash, washed paint
brushes, made lunches, on and on. I promise you, your kids were
working this week.
Now, out in the field, we’ve had a few jobs going on too.
Mr. Eddie L’s house needed lots and lots of drywall work. Dave
Shefchik and Marney Bresser worked side by side with this family
and their crew of Matt & Mark Kahmann, Billy Boemker, Olivia
Franxman, Marianne Blythe-Reske and Kayla Herbstreit. The word
on the street is that Dave & Marney really took these kids under
their wings and taught them the fine art of hanging drywall and
mudding too.
Miss Janie’s House needed flooring throughout. Rick Harvey &
Tony Brzinski have really worked hard with Megan Helmer, Wes
Fowler, Spencer Shefchik, Jackie Brockman and Kristin
Schauberger, Ginilynn Philbrick & Sue Helmer for a day. These
guys said that it began slowly like a dog chasing it’s “tile”
and would be a “mortar” sin if they couldn’t finish this job.
They are sooooo corny…
Mr. Sandy needed a bunch of work done and is working side by
side with Jim Rolf, Bill Boemker Sr., Anna Helmer, Scott Harvey,
Sr. Cathy, Megan Shefchik and Kayla Herbstreit.
Ms. Dona’s house needed a lot of drywall mudding done. So, Linda
“Puddin” Herbstreit led a crew of Sue Helmer, Sarah Brockman,
Sarah Franxman, Emily Duggan, Tyler Humpert, Michael Danahy,
Duane & Drew Frolicher, Elena Herbstreit, Lauren Humpert, and
Fr. Jacob. She rocks! You go Puddin’
David Makowski & Sparky Merk are building a fence today around
Ms. Elaine’s house. They took Sarah Makowski & Sarah Funke along
to set the posts.
Mike Johnson & Jim Sholar have worked at Sharell's home doing
various odd Jobs. Those working with them have been Ariel
Blythe-Reske, Jenny Helmer, Chris Brzinski & Scott
Stuckenschneider.
Mary & Charlotte have been keeping the group in line – Mary –
administratively, Charlotte – emotionally & physically - she’s
been having to get up to take care of the few who have
contracted a 24hr virus. Mary has been organizing daily work
crews. John Benton & Barb Fowler Johnson have been transporting
them along with Harry the bus driver. Lesley – we really miss
you this year and have a whole new appreciation of what you did
last year.
Last night, our group went out to dinner through the generosity
of a couple of parishioners. We had a wonderful evening of
laughter and fun. This trip has brought this group so much
closer together that we left St. Tim’s somewhat strangers and
are returning a close knit group of friends. I wish all could
have this experience.
You need to ask the youth group about full-contact spoons. You
may ask yourself – “Are we talking about the sweet card game –
trying to get 4 of a kind?” Yes, that card game. Guess who won?
You got it, Mary did and only one bruise.
Fr. Jacob, along with learning the ropes of construction – wall
building, drywall mudding, cut a lawn with a walking mower. He
wasn’t quite sure how to use it so Tom Herbstreit was helping
him out and giving him all sorts of grief. The grass was tall,
so he had to go slow or die out. He did a fine job. The pastor
took the time to shake Fr. Jacob’s hand and thank him for
mopping their sanctuary floor and mowing their lawn.
Our kids got the opportunity to slap Sparky around a little last
night. For those of you who don’t know, Sparky is suffering with
some kidney stones. He needs a treatment 20 minutes 2x per day
of being slapped on the back with cupped hands to help break the
stones up and move them so he can pass them. The John & the boys
were given the opportunity to help one of our own. They did it
willingly – laughing at first, but it brought them to some great
conversation afterward. Thanks Sparky for allowing yourself to
be ministered to.
Well, that’s it for today. Be blessed and continue to pray for
us as we bring Christ to those we encounter down here. We know
we are representing the larger community of St. Timothy’s and
are taking that very seriously. We know we are being blessed by
this experience.
In Christ,
Mary
Hi All,
Our first day begins with a little history on the church we are
staying. It is called Adullam Christian Fellowship. The name
comes from 1 Samuel 22:1-5
" David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father's household heard about it, they went down to him there. All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him.
From there David went to Mizpah in Moab and said to the king of Moab, "Would you let my father and mother come and stay with you until I learn what God will do for me?" So he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him as long as David was in the stronghold.
But the prophet Gad said to David, "Do not stay in the stronghold. Go into the land of Judah." So David left and went to the forest of Hereth."
As David had to leave his fortress, or stronghold or place of refuge, we must also go out into the community and leave our comfort zone and help rebuild this city and bring peace and God's love and mercy to those we encounter.
We are doing many things:
- We are building a secure tool shed here on the property of the Church which will be converted for regular use once the rebuilding is complete.
- We are assisting with the construction of a SnoBall shack which will provide refreshment for the community and the neighboring skate park which they (this church) constructed specifically for the youth of their community.
- We have laid flooring in one home, did insulation work in another.
Tomorrow, many more will have the opportunity to see the massive destruction that still is visible. We learned this morning that Katrina has been reclassified from a national disaster to a catastrophe. The difference between the two is the national disaster is usually cleaned up within 3 years and a catastrophe will take 11 years to complete the rebuilding.
The church of Adullam has lines on the walls that reveal it was almost completely submerged with the floodwaters of Katrina. This parish (St. Bernard Parish) is the only parish/county in the United States that was completely destroyed by a natural disaster. There is not one person in this county who hasn't lost a loved one or a friend in Katrina. EVERYONE was affected.
We truly are blessed to be able to be here and witness, serve and pray for this community. Thank you for your support and prayers. We are blessed to have you back home lifting us up in prayer as we do God's work in another part of our country.
Thanks again,
Mary & Charlotte