PVUMC Youth Mission Trip Blog Page

Fred

2010-07-15T23:10:00.002-07:00

Throughout my time in Denver, I’ve met numerous people who have changed my outlook on homelessness and how I should view/live my life. One man in particular, Fred, whom I met last night (7/14/’10) on our emersion. (Emersion = an activity where we took the role of a homeless person.) Fred is a left handed 35(almost 36) year old from Maryland who has been on the streets for a year and a half. His story is simply - he worked for Bank One who has been recently bought out by Chase, as a result, Fred lost his job. Over time, money was becoming scarce because he failed to do is finances correctly and save up money. He was never involved with drugs or alcohol. His dad became ill and was placed in a nursing home in Colorado Springs. He and his father communicate by phone every now and then, but we all know it’s not the same. [Please pray that one day, he’ll get to spend time with his father.] We approached him to purchase a copy of the Denver Times and we ended up striking up a conversation with him and he told us everything that I have just told you. We had many other conversations but there isn’t enough time or space to explain it all. In total, I think we talked to him for a good hour and a half. (We ran into him – not literally – three times.) I could attempt to explain and express how much this man has changed my outlook on life, but words will never, ever be able to explain it. I wish I could, but I simply cannot. If any of you see me or catch me under-appreciating life, or see me kind of down-and-out, just remind me of this amazing man or even bring up Leo (another incredible older gentleman I met.)
That is all for today, I’ll blog again soon… Hopefully.

Ariel Hanna ‘10

Being Bilingual

2010-07-15T20:07:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! It is hard to believe that we really only have one day left in Denver. Our schedules have been so packed with activities that it is all quickly becoming a blur. Before I came here, I was busy preparing for college and taking four-hour language placement tests. I thought I would get a break from that, but yesterday, I realized that was not the case. In one of my favorite experiences of this trip, I found myself standing with two Hispanic day laborers on a street corner, speaking entirely in Spanish. We were delivering Mexican pastries and water to a group of laborers waiting for work on the street. Our task was to interact with them, and to listen to their stories. This was a problem for most people in our group, since almost all of the laborers spoke only stilted English. Though I was initially nervous, it took only a few moments before I was deep in conversation with two laborers, who seemed relieved that I could speak with them in their first language. The ensuing conversation was fascinating. Both men were illegal immigrants, who had come from Mexico because they could not find work there. One of them had lived in Arizona for six months, but he left recently because of his fear of 1070. I got to hear about their views about corruption within the Mexican government and police. We talked about the economy, about the extensive Mexican cartel problems, and about their struggles to learn English. On last year’s mission trip, the one thing that we all regretted was that we never got to speak to actual illegal immigrants. Yesterday, I felt like I finally got to complete that experience. I am so excited that I could truly communicate with them, after studying Spanish for so long in high school, and I am grateful that they were willing to share their stories.

Meredith Jackson, ‘10

Northeast Church of Christ

2010-07-15T15:47:00.000-07:00

My group has been going to the Northeast Church of Christ every day of the week to play with the kids of the neighborhood surrounding it. The neighborhood is a little impoverished, so the church provides activities for the children so they do not get in to trouble. One of the activities that we did with them was playing with water balloons. As most people know, water balloon games eventually turn into a big water balloon fights and it is impossible to restore order until they run out of balloons. When the kids ran out of balloons they turned on the hose and soaked us completely. It was lots of fun until Ishmael, a 14 year old participant of the water games, got his hands on some more water balloons and decided to hurl them at us point blank as hard as he could. Now, I had been talking to Ishmael earlier and he said he loved to play baseball. This kid had an arm. I mean it was ridiculous. He hit me right in the chest and I had a red mark for a few days. I wasn’t his only victim though; he had hit Jack and David in the head too. At the time it made me a little angry but when I think back about it, I realize that these kids would be out on the streets in gangs or doing drugs and getting into trouble if they weren’t able to come and have a good time at the church with us. I would be happy to take a water balloon to the chest if it means keeping these kids off the streets.

I miss you Mom, Dad, and Heather!

From, Nathan Arkwright

Vlogosphere 2010 - Episode 5 - "Interview With Jon Rice"

2010-07-15T14:36:00.002-07:00

My Calling

2010-07-15T14:26:00.002-07:00

I have always wanted to go on a mission trip but I have always come up with excuses on why it wasn’t for me. But hearing at church the Sunday before the youth was to leave that they were short parent chaperones I sat there feeling as if God was standing before me saying “They are talking to you”. I almost found myself saying out loud in church “who me”. I sat there for about 30 seconds before I realized there was no turning back I had prayed about how I could be of service to him. I talked to John and he seemed to be as excited as I was that I felt as though I was being called to go on this mission trip. I was someone who had a hard time talking to people I never met before. I was going to be way out of my comfort zone but just felt a real calling to do this. Today I went to the senior services center and met a man named John who ran the place like he was proud to be there. This establishment is a center that serves homeless seniors; the requirement is that you have to be at least 55 to get a meal here. They serve three meals a day and learn all they can about every person that walks through their door to accommodate as many of their needs as possible. Usually they stand in a line and get their dinner from a window and it sometimes takes hours to serve them. Tonight since there was 11 of us to serve them they got to sit at their tables and be served restaurant style. They thought this was wonderful they were so grateful and thanked us all. When we had finished serving them we spoke to John and learned a little about the center. He shared with us how he use to be homeless, he went from owning four condos and making good money to homeless within weeks. This was due to depression from losing his son. He came to the center to get help one day and the case manager helped him with clothes a place to live a meal and gave him a job there. He was so grateful he now has been there for 4 years and even has bought himself a car. He says he works there to remind himself that none is beyond homelessness and he doesn’t ever want to forget where he came from, or the fact that God had a plan for him. He touched my heart he was so passionate about his job and showed the people before him respect like they were his best friends, all 75 of them. I left there realizing I wanted to be like him serve people in the name of Christ and hold nothing back regardless of who they are. Comfortable or not from now on I will hold nothing back, I will finish off this mission passionate about serving God instead of worrying about what makes me comfortable.

Karen McMillen

Vlogosphere 2010 - Episode 4 - "Interview With Melanie Heredia"

2010-07-14T23:09:00.000-07:00

An Awesome Day:)

2010-07-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone it's Mady again. Today was such a great day, all the kids at the Bridge Project are really starting to get comfortable with us so we're having more fun with them. Some twins today were celebrating their birthday there today and you could tell how special it made them feel to have thirty kids singing them "Happy Birthday" and playing games in their honor. I felt pretty special myself today when we were waiting around for the lingering students to get picked up. One little girl, Kelly, was very excited about the purse she was carrying that day and was showing me the contents, a ring and a bookmark. When I complimented her on her treasures she asked if I wanted anything. The fact that this child living in the projects was asking me if she could give me the contents of her purse struck me as one of the kindest and most innocent actions I had every seen. What struck me even more was that after I declined she said, "Okay, I'm going to bring you something tomorrow." These kids are amazing and I feel so lucky to get to hang out with them every day.
Thanks for reading!
-Mady

A Surprising Start

2010-07-14T16:03:00.003-07:00

This is my first mission trip and after less than three days of service I have been pushed far beyond my comfort zone. On Monday morning, our first day in Denver, my group (group 4) drove into the city and stopped in the area that is the pedestrian mall. Our CSM hostess dropped us off in front of a Walgreen’s, split us up into to groups, gave each group $8, and told us to buy some items and hand them out to homeless people on the streets. I have never done anything like this in my life and when our hostess told us she wasn’t coming with us I experienced a minor panic attack. The idea of just going up to people on the streets terrified me, but the experience was well worth it. I met many people; some were grateful and eagerly told us their life story while others wouldn’t even take a water bottle. One man, however, left me feeling inspired. As we walked down the stone street looking for someone to help, Madison Heath and I heard a man playing the piano and immediately recognized it as “A Thousand Miles”. I approached the man playing the piano and put a water bottle next to his bench. His face lit up with gratitude and soon our whole group was gathered around our new friend Derek listening to him talk and play the piano. The amount of happiness that seemed to be streaming out of him despite his situation amazed me. The fact that he could seem that pleased with his life actually made me feel ashamed about how I have complained about some of the smallest little things in my life. His positive attitude was infectious though, and as I walked away I felt like I really was making a difference in these lives. Because of this man I met in the morning of my first day, despite any uncomfortable situations I have kept my mind open and made the best of it.

- Allison Heredia

Vlogosphere 2010 - Episode 3 - "Ethnic Food With Zack Mills"

2010-07-14T15:51:00.001-07:00

Vlogosphere 2010 - Episode 2 - "Interview With Mady Gordon"

2010-07-14T15:50:00.003-07:00

Vlogosphere 2010 - Episode 1 - "Welcome to Denver"

2010-07-14T15:19:00.005-07:00

Wednesday- Group 2. Good Morning

2010-07-14T13:05:00.000-07:00

We got up early this morning and had breakfast and headed off to the Bridge project, which is a safe place where underprivileged kids can achieve academic success by learning how to type on computers and how to read higher level books. The child that I was able to help today was Adam. He was only four and was very quiet when I first met him and he told me he couldn’t read. When I was reading his “Magic Tree House Kids” he started to read along. I asked him to read and he started to read really well. It was really rewarding to see an underprivileged kid be so happy to read to someone. After we said goodbye to the kids today, we went to Convergence Park in downtown Denver and had our sack lunches. It was a little breezy and kind of hot but, then we went down to the river and put our feet in the water. It felt so refreshing on our feet and cooled us down. We just got back to the CSM building and are enjoying a couple hours of rest before we embark on our next task in which we will get only two dollars and go around in a poor African American neighborhood in search of the best deal on food to fill our stomachs. This task will help us better understand how to eat enough that we don’t starve but, not too much that we waste all our money on food. It has been such an amazing experience so far and I don’t want it to end. I have learned so much and I keep learning new things as time goes on here. See you all soon.
-Taylor Davis

Smugmug Pictures!

2010-07-13T14:58:00.001-07:00

Here are pictures of our trip so far. Check back later for more!

Monday - Group 2

2010-07-13T14:08:00.000-07:00

Today we all decided to go help out younger kids; the funny thing is we all really decided to go back to the same place again. We had to do an activity yesterday; we all got $8 and went to find some homeless people on the street. We searched and searched all around downtown for people, but there was no luck. So we decided to head back, while we were going back to the vans we met a guy laying on the sidewalk. His name was Morry Owens; I will never forget what he told us that day. “Stay in school, and enjoy the little thing in life.” He was working for NASA, he built rockets. He was one of the people who helped built the rocket on the first trip to the moon. It just hit me how people can lose things so fast and how people don’t take the time to pay attention to people and listen to what they have to say.

“Sir, I will treat you like a gentleman not because you are one, but because I am one.”
-Thomas Jefferson

I hope tomorrow will be even better, this trip has really impacted my life and that I should enjoy what I can in life.

-Esteban Saathoff

A Small Bandage on a Large Wound

2010-07-12T20:57:00.002-07:00

I never thought I would feel as frustrated as I did on the mission trip, let alone the first 12 hours. The absolute difference between rich and poor was incomprehensible. Anyone who has ever been to downtown Denver has seen the magnificent capital building. Its beautiful architecture is unmatched, and yet, not twenty yards away, a man is sleeping in the park with literally nothing to his name.

The city of Denver is a peculiarly economically diverse city. Within less then ten minutes, you can go from the projects of Denver, to the actual mansion of Molly Brown (yes, the unsinkable Molly Brown). Before tonight, I never had an exact definition of social injustice.

When I woke up this morning, I felt that nothing I could do on this trip could possibly help anyone. I felt my efforts would be a small band-aid on a ridiculously huge gash that would not stop bleeding. My attitude changed when I met Awaleh. He had no father and his mother was probably living pay check to pay check. This little preschooler was easily the most happy and content kid I have met in a long time. His constant stream of energy changed the way I looked at this mission. I can sincerely say that my hope for the future week is rejuvenated.

Miles Kent '13

Day 1

2010-07-12T15:31:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!
It's Mady and Melanie and we're writing from Denver on the afternoon of our first full day in the city.

After a long two days of travel, we arrived at CSM last evening just in time to visit an AMAZING Vietnamese restaurant. It was awesome to get to expand our culinary horizons - although we didn't use quite as much hot sauce as the Jo(h)ns did. We, unlike them, do not have a death wish (or at least a wish to be miserable for the rest of the night.)
Following the phenomenal mango milkshake we got for dessert, we took a prayer tour around the city. This involved seeing a lot of the different neighborhoods in Denver as well as learning about some of the different organizations that are fighting to help the city's impoverished. We were able to get a close-up view of some of the problems and to pray for them on location.
- Melanie

Six hours of sleep later we hit the streets again to go try and meet the needs of the homeless with a few necessities bought at a corner drugstore. It wasn't too hard to find someone we thought could use the towel and water bottle we had purchased, but the first three approached weren't interested, they simply thanked us and said there was a kitchen on the corner that served three meals a day, they were covered. It's amazing how well Denver takes care of their homeless population, most have the basics met, they're just looking for steady work and stable housing. When we finally found a man who was interested in what we had to offer we had already started conversations with a handful of people, all of whom weren't involved with drugs or alcohol and one was even on her way to school, which I thought was awesome.
- Mady

We need to leave now for our Greek dinner and then to another service project, but we love you all and will blog again later. :)

Clayton House Experience

2010-07-12T14:27:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
Well today was our first official day of working in Denver. Last night we went on a prayer tour and drove around the different parts of the city and learned about how each gentrification is changing the neighborhoods. Anyways back to today, my group went to the Clayton House to go play with the preschoolers. Most of them come from low income families. When we walked into the classroom we all sang a song so the kids would get to know our names. Then the kids picked one of us to be their buddy for the day. My buddy was a really sweet little boy who I can't give out his real name in order to protect him. We then read our buddy a book, which they got to take home with them. After that we did arts and crafts, played with toy race cars, and then we played outside. At the end of our stay all of our buddies took our name tags to remember us which was really cool. Unfortunatly our time there was really short because these kids were awesome. It was amazing to see how that even though these kids come from a poor home life they showed a lot of respect for one another and were extremely well mannered. Well thats all I have for now, I hope everyone is doing well back home.
- Zack Mills

Memoirs of a Jackson

2010-07-12T13:53:00.001-07:00

HELLOOOOO BLOGOSPHERE!!!!!!

Senior Blogger, Jackson Parker, here. I AM THE FIRST BLOGGER ON THIS TRIP! After spending around sixteen hours with one another in vans, we have finally made it to Denver. The ride was filled with laughter, sorrow, and “holding it in for a little longer’s.” I am pleased to inform you all that we managed to run over a mere three dogs throughout the entire drive. However, it is with great sorrow that I tell you that Lindsey Kerr no longer has any more hair due to an unfortunate accident with an exhaust pipe. (By the way, the thing about the dogs and Lindsey's hair is a joke). Nevertheless, we made it and are very happy to be here. We were greeted by CSM’s “City Hosts” who broke us up into four groups and took us on a tour around the city. It was truly amazing to see the contrast of living situations from one block to the next. We were taken down a road of extremely luxurious, 19th century homes and not a quarter-mile down a corner of the road were streets teeming with homeless men and houses being left in shambles. Later we were taken down Colfax Avenue, a street that stretches across several cities and spreads for dozens of miles, that is located in the heart of Denver. Zack Mills and I noticed that a band we like was playing a show in a theater that we passed and could hear a familiar song from outside. I considered that if I lived in Denver and was not on this mission trip I would likely be spending my evening in that theatre. Not even five minutes later we came across a part of town that had homeless people sleeping up and down the sidewalk. I thought about how if I’d been in a different place of mind, I would have seriously desired to be at that concert. However, after spending about on hour on the tour before seeing the theatre, I realized that doing a good work this week and learning about poverty is my main concern. We ended the tour in the outskirts of town with a perfect view of Denver’s skyline. We reflected on the good and the bad that reside in this city and look forward to spending the next week of our lives here.

Getting Ready for Denver! and New Blog Features!

2010-07-09T13:12:00.001-07:00

After months of planning we are finally here! In less than 24 hours we'll be on the road to Denver. John, Mary, the rest of the codirectors and I have been at work getting everything ready. We have added a few features to the blog to keep you all informed about what we will be doing this week, including:

Email subscriptions: you can now get daily email updates about our trip. type in you email below or on the sidebar and follow the directions for confirmation to receive a daily update that contains all of our blog posts
Facebook "like" button: If you don't want to comment but want to show your support, you can now "like" articles. this feature is linked to Facebook and it will post a link to the article on your profile.
Video Blogs (vlogs): If everything works out right we will be able to do several "vlogs". These will be short video testimonials made by youth, giving a clip glimpse into what life is like on our trip.

I'd like to give a big thank you to everyone for their support, prayers, and encouragement over the past several moths as we have been getting everything ready. I can't believe we are already about to leave!
-David Ingraham

Our Work Today

2009-07-17T19:13:00.004-07:00

This morning we assembled food packs for a humanitarian group called the Samaritans! Our group leaders reserved a big chunk of the morning for us to put 150 of them together, but we finished them all in 10 minutes! We were pretty excited to get most of the morning to just chill out, rest, and recharge. After lunch we made “altars” out of gallon water bottles that have been found in the desert, left by migrants. We wrote the names of migrants whose bodies have been found dead in the Arizona desert all over the bottles and decorated them with bandanas. Seeing all those names really legitimized this week's experience for me; it made it seem more real. But no matter how cool everything was today, the absolute best part of today was dinner. We got meat! We got Mexican take-out and had some awesome burritos; it was exactly what everyone needed. Today was definitely my favorite day this week, and I'm excited to see everyone when I get home tomorrow!
-Madeline Gordon

Hello Everyone!

2009-07-16T22:29:00.001-07:00

When the two ranchers started talking about their opinions of the border I liked how they clearly stated that they understood these were their own biased opinions and they weren’t trying to tell us what to believe. They explained what they felt about the border control and the people migrating north, but instead of firmly choosing a side, they showed they agreed with certain parts of both sides. Unfortunately, the only experience they really had with immigrants were those who left traces behind: broke their fences, took their water, left trash, and constantly left them feeling unsafe. But I’m sure there were even more people that had merely passed through, never intending to hurt the ranchers, who only made it so far on their hopes of earning money to send back home. Because of the ranchers’ opinions of these people, they decided to allow border patrol to install a camera and sensor on their ranch. But the camera often failed to work, so they felt the border patrol showed no purpose or solution. I did feel offended by how they kept referring to those migrating north as “wetbacks”, and would occasionally rant on repeating themselves about how horrible they thought our government was. But the truth is they were the first people so far who honestly told us they knew their opinion was biased, and even offered several solutions to the many problems surrounding this issue. I appreciated being able to hear their opinions today.
-Lauren Heath

Thoughts from the border

2009-07-16T16:50:00.005-07:00

This trip has been amazing. The first day we got here we were plunged into the immigration situation with a simulation that showed us just how hard it is to even get by in Mexico, and how difficult it is to immigrate into the U.S. On Tuesday we went to the courthouse and witnessed something called “operation streamline” an extremely inhumane process for the handling of illegal immigrants. They deport 70-80 people at a time. When we were sitting in the courthouse there was this one particular man who I will never forget. He was wearing a blue tank-top and jeans, his hair was a mess and he had a cut on his arm. Throughout the entire hearing, we kept making eye contact and he just looked so scared, like he didn’t know what was going on. As he walked up to the judge, chains jingling, he glanced at me again. The judge called his name, “Juan Wilmer Arroz” which is very similar to my name, which just made me feel even more connected to this guy. The judge gave him a “time served” and deported him. As they took off the translator headset, he looked like all hope was gone. When he was leaving, he paused in front of our group and looked at me one last time before a deputy pushed him through the door. I will never ever forget this experience. The next day we went to the border patrol office and had a tour. They continuously bragged about how many drugs they have confiscated. Yet when we asked the agent what percentage of people they caught were drug smugglers, his answer was “about 2-5%” yet that is the only group he talked about. After that he talked about how they are preventing terrorism, yet they said in the past 15 years they have caught no one with terrorist connections. Another thing about the border patrol is they referred to people as “subjects” as well when they said that they arrested people, they called it “rescued” these wordings just struck me as weird. The fact that they had gift bags for us also seemed a bit of a weird concept, in the hallway they had a little souvenir case with souvenir border patrol fish bobbers, yes, really, fish bobbers. After this we traveled down to Nogales and visited the border wall, how can an inch of sheet metal separate two countries? The people on the other side of the wall are just as much human as I am what makes me so different? The border wall is made out of old runways from operation desert storm. A border separating people is made from the leftover of a war.
-Jon Rice

ps sorry mom for any grammar errors, Ii know you'll find a ton

border wall

2009-07-16T16:50:00.001-07:00

Today we visited the border wall in Nogales. When I first saw this wall, the only thing I could think of was the people living on the other side that probably never even wanted to come over to America, who then had a giant 20 foot steel sheet splitting their town into half. You could look under the wall and see the obvious difference between the Mexican side and American side. Mexico was thick with overpopulation, torn up cars, children walking in the street, and countless buildings. As we stood next to the wall, I couldn’t help but realize that the only thing separating our countries was an inch thick sheet of steel separating a free country from its neighbor. It was rough to think that the people on the other side definitely hated me for being from this country that has torn apart their city. How come I get to be an American because I live just miles north of this ravaged city?
And oh ya, we saw Harry Potter and Wife-Beater Wednesday was awesome!
Jackson

Building Trenches and Wandering through the Desert

2009-07-14T23:07:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone its Brad Schuelke. Today we went into the desert to experience what it feels like to walk through the desert between the border and Tucson. We spent time walking through the heavy bushes, picking up trash, and carrying water. Illegal aliens spend about 4 to 7 days walking through the intense heat with little water and walking through some rugged desert. Unfortunately we were only able to spend 2 to 3 hours wandering and did not get to experience what illegal aliens do. Luckily, after lunch, we had the great opportunity to go back outside and work. This elderly woman needed her gas line replaced, so we needed to dig a 14 inch deep trench from the gas line meter to the house in order to replace the pipe. The gas line meter was about 40 feet from the house. The group got to spend about 3 hours using pick axes and shovels to dig this trench in the harsh, unforgiving Arizona dirt. Other youth worked in the front garden by picking weeds and other projects Some people had blisters and others got a little sick, but we all did some good work and came back alive. That’s pretty much what my group did today. The conditions here are pretty good, but the only problems I have are that the vegetarian meals HAVE NO MEAT and that my bed happens to be the squeakiest bed in the entire room. I feel that we are learning a lot of important things here about immigration issues and I cannot wait to share it all with you. We’re having a great time and I think the rest of the week will go well

Peace,
Brad

Hello Everyone!

2009-07-14T22:39:00.001-07:00

Another daily update, here from BorderLinks!
Today we went on a desert walk, to try and understand what immigrants experience when they cross the border. We had previously purchased 40 jugs of water, and today we carried them about a mile into the desert and placed them for migrants who found themselves without water in the middle of the desert.
We ate lunch at BorderLinks, and our group separated, half to observe “Operation Streamline,” and the other half to work on digging a gas-line trench for an elderly woman. It was a very interesting experience for both groups, and there will be people blogging about both later.
We just finished dinner, a long devotional, and now we are working on our “agape” notes and watching a movie about the immigration issue.

Farm work

2009-07-13T23:05:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! It’s Mady Gordon.

Today when we split up into two groups, my group went to help out at a local farm. Most of the girls in the group, including myself, painted new signs to label each of the fields. The rest of the group sorted onions and moved crates, so I felt lucky to have a job in the shade. After we had all finished we helped carry out the farm’s produce and help set up their farmer’s market. The vegetables all looked so fresh and different; each one was a different shape and color, not like what you see in the grocery store. One of the farmers talked to us about eating organically and shopping locally, and told us some interesting truths about mass farming today. Did you know that in all the cotton fields you drive by every day, every single plant there is a clone? Their seeds have been unnaturally altered so that each plant is absolutely perfect, and that any insect that eats it will die. It really got me thinking about what I eat, and made me want to shop locally so that I know I’m eating what’s actually good for me. The farmer even told us about her favorite locally grown farm in the Phoenix area, Crooked Sky Farms. We’re learning all about producing your own food here and I hope to learn some more tips for when I get back!

Operation Streamline

2009-07-13T23:03:00.001-07:00

Hey this is Jessica Everett!

So earlier today we got to go listen to a professor speak to us about immigration. We then came back to Border Links and got to do a simulation where they put us in families and gave us very life like scenarios to act out. We got jobs, got a certain amount of money per task, and we had to pay for food and rent. That was really a fun and eye opening experience. We then ate a quick lunch and broke up into 2 groups, one group went to the courthouse and watched Operation Streamline and one group went and worked with a farmers market. I got to go to the courthouse, it was a sad thing watching these people wait to get their fate handed to them. Then we went and talked to an assistant attorney and she explained all about Streamline and how it got started. So far, it’s been an amazing trip and can’t wait for the rest of the trip.

Our first bilingual post!

2009-07-13T22:29:00.001-07:00

Hola!

Que pasa mis amigos y familia? Me gustan las personas del BorderLinks. Mis amigos son muy cómicos. Mi día hizo mucho calor más que fuego. Comemos sólo verduras, mucho gusto carne en mi comida pero el BorderLinks solamente usa un “sustainable garden”. Ai dios mio!!! pierdo carne!!! A las BorderLinks es muy eficiente!! Apriendo mucho de mi estancia, trabajar con mis personas es muy aclara. Me gustan todos los días. Hasta mañana!

Samuel Treviño

HELLOOOOO BLOGOSPHERE!

2009-07-13T22:07:00.000-07:00

How it goin?
So far, I am truly enjoying BorderLinks. This organization is very informative, truthful, provides a brutally honest depiction of the immigration process. Not only do they show us the unbelievably difficult process an immigrant takes to reach America, but they do so in an open minded form, which is uncommonly found in Arizona. Today we did a simulation about the process an undocumented immigrant could get to America. It was, of course, a very inaccurate translation. However, it was also informative. I did farm work today. It was quite fun actually. My heart now belongs to farm life. Tomorrow we get to go to a court house and witness immigration deportation cases. I am taking anti-depressants in advance. The workers at BorderLinks are kind, straight-shooters, well. I can already tell that this experience will be one that is highly educational, fun, and character-building. Because Donna is giving us quite the work out. Well, Bye! Or as the Spaniards would say: ADIOS!
Jackson
“Lucas, take a shower.”-Cam
“Momma Bear will know if you don’t.”-Coffee Joe
“Liza, the unicorns are in your room, and they aint happy.”-Jon R.

Hello everyone! Internet troubles, and our second day

2009-07-13T19:31:00.004-07:00

Hello everyone!
We had internet problems our first day here after posting our first blog entry and just got the wireless issues ironed out. We'll have more people posting tonight, so stay tuned and thanks for your patience!

Crossing Arizona

2009-07-12T22:35:00.002-07:00

We started off the trip by watching a documentary called “Crossing Arizona.” It was very interesting, because it showed both sides of the immigration issue without bias. In one part of the movie, the camera crew interviewed a rancher who talked about his struggles with immigrants breaking his fences, stealing livestock and water and littering, causing millions of dollars in harm to his land. In another part of the movie, an immigrant was interviewed who talked about why he had crossed the border and that he needed work to pay for surgery for his wife. There were many other groups interviewed, from Border Patrol agents to political activists to humanitarian volunteers. It was a very eye-opening experience, and highlighted the need for action.

By : David Ingraham

We Have Arrived!

2009-07-12T21:52:00.002-07:00

Hello everyone!
We have arrived at BorderLinks, and have settled in. We have nice beds, clean sheets, and most importantly, air conditioning!
Tonight, several people will blog about the ride down and our orientation, shopping trips, movie experience and whatever has impacted them.
Thanks for checking the blog, and keep checking back for more updates!

First Post!

2009-07-08T11:34:00.002-07:00

Hello, and welcome to the second edition of our youth mission's blog! We want to keep you informed about what our youth are doing in mission, and how they are reaching out into the community.
Through this blog, students will share their experiences in mission, particularly this summer during our mission trip in Tucson, AZ.

Please check this blog regularly, and leave comments. We would love to hear from you!

_____________________________________________________________

2009-07-08T11:30:00.005-07:00

A Different World!

2008-07-22T15:50:00.001-07:00

So I am writing my blog a little late because I am already home. But I have to say it was THE best experience of my entire life. I met people who inspired me beyond belief. We also got to go to a church service at our sister church Bethany United Methodist. The service was fun and so full of spirit and life. I saw hope through the tragedy and I saw laughter through the tears. I will start off with Saturday. Yuck we had to be at the airport at 5 in the morning and everyone was exhausted but excited at the same time. We had to take 2 flights, one to Texas then another to Louisiana. The minute we got off the plane and you could actually see outside I could tell it was much different than Arizona….it was green. Then we drove to Kenner United Methodist, where we were staying. Once we got there we all just kind of looked around the showers were outside, it was humid and extremely hot, and we were all packed together in these little rooms. That night we had to go shopping for the week so we broke up into different groups. Then we had an amazing day at Bethany United Methodist we sat through almost a three hour service. We ate lunch and then got to provide a woman with a gift card for $2100. That was extremely rewarding to just to see the look on her face .After that we got to walk around the French Quarter which was so cool just to see everything. We got to stop at a very famous café and each of us ordered these French doughnuts and iced coffee.(and had a powdered sugar fight) The next day we finally were broken up into groups and got sent to our work sights. But the problem was our group only had a three person job and there was nine of us so we sat there and sang, made up beats, and made hilarious videos. It started raining and we were all so excited. So that ended up being a pretty amazing day. The rest of the week went on the same except we actually got to work. Then it came to Wednesday, the day we were supposed to go back to Bethany for dinner. I have to add that it was the best meal I have ever had. Then the next couple days were normal waking up at what seemed like the crack of dawn, going to a long day at work, coming back chilling at the house, doing devotional, and then not going to bed until after 2 in the morning. Then it came to Friday night, it was our night to go out to dinner at a sea food restaurant in the French Quarter. We all ate pretty quickly and it was delicious. Then when we were done our table decided to play telephone. While we were playing I noticed something, that each and everyone of these people were different, but I loved all of them and they were my family. That was a really big high point in the trip for me. The next day was our last day for work. We started out early in the morning and started working really hard to get the house finished in our amount of time. Then all of the sudden when I was taking a water break it started pouring rain. You could literally get drenched in under 10 seconds. Some people went inside to avoid the rain but a lot of us just went out and just started dancing around in it. At about 2 o’clock a group of us left for the aquarium. The aquarium was amazing and a lot of fun. After that we went to the IMAX and saw a movie about Catrina. It was horrible to see all the destruction and the pain in peoples faces while seeing there homes getting torn down.(along with years and years of memories) That night we all just really hung out back at home, it was our last night so we wanted to spend time together. I didn’t even go to sleep til three that morning. The next morning we woke up at about 8. Then we attended the service at the church we were staying at which was amazing. After that we had about a 2 hour devotional talking about our high and low points of the trip. Then we were off to the airport. We flew to Texas and had 2 hours in between and I lost my boarding pass!!!!!!!!!(but don’t worry they printed me a new one) Then we had a 2 hour flight to Phoenix, I slept most of the time but when I was awake I thought of how much I wanted to stay. We got of the plane at about ten o clock pm. Though I was happy to see my family, I wanted to just jump back on the plane and go back more than anything. When I got home I sat in my room for about 2 hours reliving the whole trip and feeling lonely because there, I always had someone by my side. I will never forget my first mission trip and how much it changed me. I will never forget the hope, the friendships I developed, the fact that we finished four houses. But most of all I will never forget Pastor Hadley, Lucille, Eugene, Lucy, and so many more that touched me.

Much Love,
Jessica Everett

Bethany: The Story Part 3

2008-07-21T14:18:00.001-07:00

Reverend Hadley began to plan for a massive homecoming service. He contacted all of his members, asking not just for lip service, but also for “butts in seats”. He hoped for their full commitment to come back. People flew in from places as far away as Washington D.C. and California, traveling back from twenty-three other states. 250 people attended the service, clear evidence that although many parts of the building were lost, the true church (the community of followers of Christ known as Bethany United Methodist) remained strong.
With the help of partner United Methodist churches, Bethany was able to get folding chairs, hymnals, and many other worship components. The people of Bethany did a tremendous amount of the restoration by themselves, though. Reverend Hadley asked each member to buy choir chairs or pews as investments in the new Bethany. Together they purchased the very pews that they worship in today, in spite of the fact that most were living in FEMA trailers and struggling to rebuild their own houses. Piece by piece, the congregation assembled their house of worship, bought an organ, and completed the interior. They still recall the first service with air conditioning. “We just about could have stayed there all day,” Hadley recalls. As the facilities were repaired and more people returned home, Bethany became a place of community for those struggling to rebuild their lives. As Hadley has said many times in his presentations about Bethany’s revival, a community needs schools and churches to get up on their feet. As a church serving the community, Bethany has persevered through their hardest times, still providing aid to local housing projects through underwear, socks, and pajama drives. With the congregation spread across the country, their facilities mainly ruined, and their houses upturned, it is staggering to observe what kind of Christian community and what kind of church Bethany has created in just a few years. They are leaders in the midst of a storm that is far from over. Their strong faith and commitment to Christianity serves as a foundation upon which they can rebuild their lives and their greater community.

John Ingraham and Rachel Heredia

Bethany: The Story Part 2

2008-07-18T22:52:00.001-07:00

When Reverend Hadley returned to New Orleans, he was thankful to discover that he could move back into his house after minor repairs. Bethany has been sitting under 9 to 11 feet of water for three weeks, and everything short of the walls, roof, foundation, Bible, and altar cross has been lost to the storm. There was also talk of his reassignment to a church in Houston. He truly hoped to stay with Bethany and bring it back from the ashes, but he also understood the realities of how pastoral delegation works. He prayed about it, at the same time working out a plan to bring Bethany back.
The call from the church in Houston never came, and Reverend Hadley began holding small services in the unrestored shell of Bethany, not dissimilar from the project sites that we have been working on the past few days. They met in the corner by the door, hoping to catch some breeze. Electricity, water, and sewage all remain absent in the area, but a generous contractor agreed to rebuild little by little, keeping a clean space open from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon so that the people could gather to worship. Following the renovation of the buildings, the church became a comfortable gathering place in the neighborhood.

Finding God

2008-07-17T20:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, you have to stop and look around to see God.
I’ve been reminded of this almost constantly during this trip, and how He works in ways we’d never expect. Even in the midst of incredible destruction, He is there…but to see him requires a second look. A bright flower growing from an overgrown, untended lawn; a more colorful, well-built home than the one that was there before; a special union between two churches; friendships that would not have existed before. We are not simply rebuilding houses--nailing, caulking, drilling, sandpapering, and the like—we are helping give people hope, to restore their previous lives. But this would be impossible to do on our own. It is only through God’s strength and love and the gifts of the people around us that we are able to have the determination to get up early each morning and do His work with love and patience. It is also a blessing that despite the fact that this horrible tragedy still continues to affect people even three years later, and the media has stopped reporting on Hurricane Katrina and society has seemed to lose interest, many other groups just like ours continue to work to rebuild New Orleans and the general area. The city has not come back, however. The French Quarter may have been rebuilt, but there are so many homes that still lay in shambles, like a giant, sprawling ghost town. Less than half the original population has returned. It will take a very long time for some to come home, and some will never come back at all. But there is always hope. We are so blessed to have been even a small part of that hope, to be able to tell the story of the hurricane, and the people who have weathered the storm. There is still so much to be done, and it may never be the same, but someday New Orleans will be alive with its spirit again. We will never forget our experiences here.
(Extra hugz and love to all :D
<3
>>Madison<<)

Bethany: The Story Part 1

2008-07-17T18:00:00.001-07:00

Every time that our youth have visited Bethany UMC over the past two mission trips, Reverend Hadley has left us with a task that extends well beyond our two weeks of construction work. Our role, he says, is to be ambassadors for New Orleans, the Gulf Coast, and all of the affected and displaced survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Each day of this trip, we have been learning new parts of the message that we must take home with us, and this evening, we learned more about the story of Bethany UMC. After a delicious homemade dinner of spaghetti, meatballs, salad and bread pudding and a fun “one last song” with those members of the choir who still happened to be lingering after choir practice, we sat down, and heard it from Hadley from the beginning:
News broke. A mandatory evacuation had been called. It was going to be the worst hurricane in the books, and, if someone chose to stay, the governor suggested in a phone message that they write their social security number on their wrist and forehead. Reverend Hadley picked up Dr. Anita Crump (a pillar of Bethany UMC) and her sister-in-law to evacuate. They all took about three days worth of clothes, expecting typical evacuation patterns. When they hit the interstate, the traffic was one-way contraflow, all lanes designated for outbound destinations of Dallas, Houston, Denver, and other major cities. When the three arrived in Dallas, Reverend Hadley was shocked to see the news. Anderson Cooper stated, “New Orleans is gone.” With image after image of familiar buildings in complete ruin, he figured that Bethany must be lost. At the same time, he and the thousands of other victims had to stand in line for government assistance in the form of fuchsia-colored wristbands that signaled to residents and sales clerks of the evacuation cities that “We are Katrina refugees”. Hadley recalls the process as being “dehumanizing”.
Meanwhile, Reverend Hadley worked to contact his congregation through a mass email, “If you can hear, holla back.” As the list grew, the mass email became a daily devotional to help all of Bethany’s members displaced by the hurricane cope with many new “storms” in their lives. The church community of Bethany was still alive, just very spread across the United States.

Bethany: The Story

2008-07-17T17:55:00.002-07:00

Over the next few days, I am excited that, due to the hard work of John Ingraham and Rachel Heredia, we will be posting the story of Bethany UMC during Katrina, and the amazing journey of it after the storm. Thank you so much to John and Rachel for transcribing this, and I hope you enjoy the story.
Austin Holt

Tiling

2008-07-17T17:55:00.001-07:00

I have spent the last two days in a four-by-four bathroom battling my lack of knowledge regarding masonry. My group has been working on a nearly finished house, painting trim, sealing floors, generally cleaning, and finishing the tiles around a tub. Taylor Davis and I volunteered to do the tub… figuring it to be an interesting one-day job. We had so much to learn…. The group before us had done a MUCH less than perfect job with two sides of the tub and we were left to try and cover the final side which included a multitude of spigots. We taught ourselves the intricacies of cutting 18 inch tile squares (made much more difficult by the quality of the tile which crumbled at the merest touch). Mixing mortar by hand, we spent our day covering the remaining bathroom wall. When our site managers returned they pointed out the faults with our work and we pulled out all but four tiles. This next morning we recognized the inadequacy of the remaining tiles and only one survived the scrutiny. So I spent today in the same tiny space with Taylor and Alex Johnston and we are so close to finishing the bathroom that has plagued us for days. Due to some mortar complications we endured three tile landslides today, damaging so many that we were left without the necessary number needed to complete the wall. But with fresh supplies to be delivered tomorrow morning, I am itching to complete the project that has definitely challenged me. Tomorrow also promises to be interesting as we have ripped out the tiles on another bathroom floor (faulty due to the previous group) and will be replacing those. I think we’re getting good though! Despite the frustrations I feel greatly accomplished and have found the new hope within myself. Love you and miss you Mom and Dad.
- Rachel Heredia

Bright Orange House!

2008-07-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! We have all had hard, but great days here in New Orleans. These past two days, my group and I have been working on a very cute, bright ORANGE house! When we got there we were very surprised to see this choice of color painted on the outside of the house. The outside is not the only colorful part to the house. Every room is painted a different color; blue, yellow, green, or brown. Claude, the man who can’t wait to move into this house, chose the colors and was very proud that it would soon be his. He is a very nice man and was just glad to see people coming to work on his house. The first day our group worked on putting up shutters, repainting them, then redoing a floor that had already been hastily put down by the previous group that worked on the house, and obviously only cared about finishing and not how it looked. Much like our other groups, we have been trying to fix mistakes made by previous groups, which has been kind of annoying. However, after working the first whole day in the house I definitely saw a huge difference in the house. The second day Tawn and I worked hard to clean out a bathtub that had been used, by the previous work group to clean brushes and things covered in that orange paint! By the end of the day we had spent several hours cleaning out the tub and it was a great difference that Claude really appreciated. That was my main project for the day along with some caulking and putting in transitions under the doors. When we finished working I took some pictures of the neighborhood and the mobile home Claude and his family were living in. I realized how excited him and his family must be to move into an actual home that was not on wheels. It will be such a change, and I will have helped to make it! That makes me feel great about what I am doing here. I can’t wait to see you all! I miss you Mom and Dad! Love you all!!!
~Alex DeWulf

Quality is Important Too

2008-07-16T15:21:00.000-07:00

The work sites have provided this youth mission team with the challenge of patience. This organization that we are working through operates on both homes that need to be gutted as well as those that already have been restored and require the final touches such as painting and hanging doors. Their mission is to use volunteer labor to bring the residents back to their homes as soon as possible. It was our understanding that the homes we would be working out would be near completion, and that our tasks would involve very specific details. We were shocked and appalled to find that the groups that worked on our homes before us did so in a hurried manner with no concern for quality. My group was given the assignment to paint the interior of our home, however we found that the home was nowhere near ready for paint because of a lack of dry wall. It is a blessing to my group that we have a large task at hand where as other groups have had trouble finding jobs for everyone, but also it is a blessing because we are treating this home as our own and the quality of work and attention that we put to the house is nothing less than what we would expect of our own. It has been a tedious job involving measuring, cutting, placing, screwing, sealing, and mudding thin dry wall strips. The work has demanded large amounts of energy and time, but the four inch hole that has ran in between the floorboards and walls of the entire house gradually disappears and the sense of accomplishment and progress is extremely rewarding. We have been challenged with finding the patience to move past the frustration felt in regards to the poor job done by the group before us, but our commitment to mission and the goal of improving a life by restoring a home has allowed my group to complete tasks that we have never taken on before. We are reminded of our loved ones at home when at the end of the day we shake off clouds of dry wall shavings and dust similar to dust storms back home and I wish my family the best and send my love.
- Steven Henglefelt

A Hard Day of Work

2008-07-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Today was our second day on the worksites and it was a truly amazing experience. Yesterday I ended up doing almost nothing, because the assignment we were given was only a two-person job, and preferably a person a little taller than five foot. Today, however, I got to see some of the progress we made and feel as though I actually participated, instead of sitting around, singing, and making rain dances (which actually did work) all day. We are working on the house of a man named Eugene who is currently living in a trailer behind the house. Today we began rework on his porch, which was in bad condition. We removed the trim around the screen and tore the screen down, painted trim around the windows, removed what must have been a hundred nails from the wood framework, and scraped old paint off the wood so we can repaint it, meaning our arms and hair were covered in green paint chips and dust. It is incredibly hot and humid here, and we’ve actually had a chance to use the electric bug zapper Rachel and I brought, but the living conditions, and food, are so much nicer here than they were last year. We’ve had an amazing time exploring New Orleans, working on the job sites, and just getting to know each other better. Tomorrow we’re going back to Bethany UMC to have a potluck dinner, and I’ll probably be going back to the same construction site to finish cleaning and painting the porch. Though there has been some frustration, the experience has been incredibly. I love you all and will see you soon!
- Melanie Heredia

Recap of Day 3

2008-07-15T16:16:00.000-07:00

Well, another long day of hard work at our job-sites. All the groups had a much better time today, and felt like they accomplished much more than yesterday. Aside from some minor dehydration and heat stroke, there are no injuries so far and we are praying and working to keep it that way! Tonight, we are keeping a low profile as there is a meeting in the Fellowship Hall of Kenner and we want to avoid disturbing them. More students will blog very soon to tell you about their experiences today!
Austin Holt

Love and Rebuilding

2008-07-14T22:12:00.000-07:00

What an interesting three days it’s been! Yesterday after a wonderful church service and lunch-in at Bethany UMC, we started out on a tour of the French District, in New Orleans….we basically made it to stop number 3 before deciding to cut out the other 34 stops and go straight to our final destination- Café De Monde. We had a blast with powder sugar fights and icing making. In some ways I feel like my life has been a devastating hurricane with my mom dying suddenly my senior year. I’ve never felt further away from God, and to be honest- before the lunch at Bethany, I had given up on my faith. How can I trust a God who kills my innocent mother? Which is why I was especially moved when we were at the lunch in at Bethany and Pastor Hadley singled me out in front of everyone to tell me that STILL, a year later, they’re praying for me concerning the death of my mother. It was so incredibly special to know that a whole congregation, on the other side of the country thought of ME in their prayers, and I had no expectation or knowledge of it going on. For the first time in 10 months, I feel like its time to start the rebuilding process in my life and emerge from my own devastation. And whether he knows it or not, I thank Pastor Hadley for making that single comment that meant so much.
Lauren Price

Working Hard

2008-07-14T22:11:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! Today I was in a work group with some very motivated people who made the most out of a less than perfect situation. When we got to our work site we found a two-man job involving windows but had 9 people in our work group to “employ”. Since some of us found ourselves sitting in the heat for most of the 6 hour day because of lack of tools and work for all of us, we began to build up awesome beats with different tools and sang in three part harmony! Right now, I am typing this in the church office with John Ingraham, Sally, Alex, Austin, and Rachel. John is playing his harmonica right now…he has been providing quality entertainment for us every day…afternoon…and night. ☺ Don’t worry Mary Sue, he’s built up quite a repertoire! John and I also found a keyboard in the church and have been having jam sessions while people filter in and out and dance. The devotionals, food, and people have been amazing so far and we are definitely growing spiritually and mentally even though our trip is just getting started. I miss you and love you mom and dad (and Buster and Duke). I hope you’re having a wonderful time at the beach! And no mom, surprisingly enough, there have been very few bug encounters so far! Well, we are off to play cards before bed (it’s 11:15 here). I just downed an entire 6-pack of Oreos so I’m sure I’ll be up for a while. I LOVE YOU!
---Kelly Berger

First Day!

2008-07-14T16:06:00.000-07:00

Today was our first day on the worksites. We went to the house of a man named Mr. Eugene, who just had new windows installed. There was a lot of work to do, and we had a lot of fun while doing all of it. Melanie decorated all of our work aprons and then almost dropped a ladder on my head. We also sang a bunch of random songs and then burst out into a lot of laughter. One of our main projects was to seal the newly installed windows. We first tried using expanding foam sealant for this, but Ariel and I got it all over our hands, and had to borrow some peanut butter (apparently a good way to remove sticky things) from the neighbors to get it off. We stuck to using caulk after that, and finished our job just in time to get caught in a beautiful rainstorm. Overall, we had a great day.
Tanner Prynn

Recap of Day 3

2008-07-14T15:41:00.000-07:00

Today was our first day of work! After getting up early and eating breakfast, we headed to a church for a safety orientation and for our worksite assignments. We collected our tools and our four groups went their separate ways to the homes we were assigned to work on. People from several groups will post on the blog later so that you can hear about what the groups did. Right now we are cooking barbeque in the rain, and running some errands before our next long day of work.
Austin Holt

Recap of Days 1 and 2

2008-07-13T22:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, after a long day of travel, we arrived at Kenner United Methodist exhausted… After moving in upstairs, we met and split up chores and left to various places to go shopping for supplies. A group went to Home Depot, another to Wal-Mart, and a third to Sam’s Club to get all of our supplies for the week. We came back to the church and unpacked, only to discover that the air conditioning didn’t work upstairs! So, after moving all of our stuff downstairs again, we prepared pizza for dinner and prayed before eating. After an amazing devotional led by McKenna Lewellen, we played board and card games till we slowly dropped off to bed.
This morning we got up, showered, and ate breakfast before heading to Bethany UMC for an amazing two hour and 38 minute long worship service, which was over too soon! We then had lunch with Pastor Hadley and Mrs. Lucille Bland. We presented Mrs. Bland with a gift certificate from Sears for $2100.00 so she can buy a stove and refrigerator for her house (she still doesn’t have a stove or refrigerator three years after Hurricane Katrina)! She was so excited, and thanked us very graciously for our gift. We hung out at Bethany enjoying the air conditioning for nearly two hours until we set out for the heart of New Orleans, the French Quarter. After finding parking, we went on a self-guided walking tour that showed us the sights, while the streets were full of wonderful smells from the bakeries, interesting shops, and the usual New Orleans jazz being played on the street corners. After our tour, we went to Café du Monde for beignets and coffee, and got a taste of New Orleans.
We returned to Kenner late for a dinner of chicken, green beans, and rice, and ice cream for dessert. After another amazing devotional, we all slowly drifted off to bed after a long day.
Austin Holt

A visitor's first look...

2008-07-13T21:35:00.000-07:00

Imagining New Orleans underwater has been like walking through the set of a movie and being unable to imagine what it would have been like to actually live the life of that time. We have seen signs of Katrina’s destruction, but they haven’t always been evident. Instead, they have been subtly hidden: the lack of passengers in the airport, the water lines from the floodwaters on the buildings. All the signs are here, but it’s as if someone has hastily tried to paint over them in an attempt to proclaim New Orleans “fixed.” The truth is nowhere near these superficial assumptions. Today, driving to Bethany UMC, we passed houses that had the Katrina Tattoo still painted on them, the death toll still evident. Passing those solid colors painted on the sides of houses was a shocking reminder of the true destruction that occurred, and a reminder of our purpose. We are here not only to help rebuild houses, but also to be ambassadors. We must tell the story of the true New Orleans, and how much is still to be done. It may be three years later, but half of this magnificent city's inhabitants are still displaced. More are living in FEMA trailers, or, as we saw today, tent camps, in the middle of the French Quarter. The courageous people who have moved back are not only fighting everyday to survive, but many have found it necessary to thank us for our presence. New Orleans is an incredible place, and with our continued support, I have no doubt that its people and its culture will return to its once vibrant status.
Emily Hudspeth

First Post!

2008-07-13T18:34:00.000-07:00

Well, our first blog post!
Yesterday we got in safe and sound to New Orleans, and had so much to do and work on that we never had time to post on the blog!
Today we were in New Orleans' French Quarter looking for a place to connect to the internet, but when we got back to Kenner we finally got connected in the pastor's office...
So, now that we know where we can connect, we will be blogging everyday, so that you can hear different perspectives and from all of our youth!
One thing we forgot to tell you is that we are going to be able to post video onto the blog so that you can both see and hear us while we are here!
Well, I hope you enjoy hearing from us and about all of our adventures and challenges, and we will keep you updated on what we are doing!
-Austin Holt

Mission Trip Blog!

2008-05-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to our youth mission's blog! We want to keep you informed about what our youth are doing in mission, and how they are reaching out into the community.
Through this blog, students will share their experiences in mission, particularly this summer during our mission trip in New Orleans, LA.

Please check this blog regularly, and leave comments. We would love to hear from you!