NOLA- The Work Week (Alex)

At the end of four days of work on a home on Pauger Street in New Orleans, the feeling cannot be described. While we have built homes, we have also built friendships and experiences, the ideas of which must surely carry over beyond this trip. While the vast variety of thoughts, experiences, and emotions during the work day cannot be done justice in one blog post, I will try my best.

The work week for our group entailed finishing door frames, installing base boards, creating and painting a small shed, finishing tiles in the front porch, making and painting a bench, etc. During our work, we maintained a strong work ethic. Although we would take time to regroup and remember the meaning of our time, our physical labor was at the center of our work day.

However, some of the most moving moments during our work days took place during our lunch. We got to connect with our site managers through the "question of he day." One of our managers, Christina, told her incredibly moving life story, and how she had miraculously transformed crushing hardship to a iron willingness to serve. Her positive attitude allowed me to put into perspective the importance of persevering through difficulty, and seeking refuge through selfless service. Meeting Christina, along with the incredible people I met throughout the week, gave true substance to the work we were doing.

Overall, being able to go on this trip has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. My greatest wish is that our group doesn't lose the love we have gained for service and compassion- while this week may be the spark of interest in service and diligence, it is up to us to spread the fire we have gained from this trip to everyone whom we meet once we return.

-Alex

Wednesday (Mr. B)

As I've said, this is my fourth service trip to Nola. Historically, Wednesday has always been the most difficult day of work. The students have all come down from the initial "high" of arriving in the city and generally have not gotten enough sleep. So Wednesday has been a tough day to stay focused and on task. Last night I told this to the group in prayer and prayed for our ability to push through and do what we can. 

Today was fantastic, the group was energetic, eager, and always on the move. One small thing that I have noticed this year is that I have not one time had to tell any of the group to get back to work. These young men and women are fully engaged in the work they are doing and are taking the progress we are making personally and to heart; they have really taken ownership of their projects.

One more day of work, it always surprises me how fast this week goes. My prayers tonight are for the students to give everything they have tomorrow (in honor of the NHL playoffs I'll use a hockey reference) and leave it all on the ice. Secondly, I pray that the weather will be cooperative and allow us to get our full work day in.

On a personal note, we visited with Chief David Montana. Mr. Montana is a Mardi gras, or Carnival, Indian. He spoke with us about the tradition, his family tradition, and about the suits that he hand sews each and every year with his family and tribe. It's a fascinating story, but he said one thing the truly resonated with me. Someone in the group asked Mr. Montana how much his suits are worth; his answer was priceless. He told us that each suit costs around $2500 to make. But the true value in the suits is in the man hours spent sewing the intricate designs. The time invested is far more valuable than can be put into words, let alone be given a monetary value. I try every day to remind myself to be present, live in, and cherish the moment; it's not always easy. Mr. Montana's talk tonight reminded me that we have precious little time in this world...invest wisely!

Good night,

Mr. B

Day 4 in New Orleans (Jacob Gebhart and Mason Bernard)

So today was our third day working on the two houses. My group which includes Mr. B, Mason, Drew, Gabby, Kristen, Jacob and myself (jake). We continued our work on the Anita's house on Apricot St. We were almost done with the siding one side of the house, when the painters came in and invaded our 4ft space to work in. Now we had barely any space to set up our ladders to side the house. So, we migrated to the other side of the house and attempted to finish the siding on that side. As we got close to the end, we realized that the roof was slanted, making it very difficult to finish the siding at the top of the wall. Jacob, Mr. B, and myself who were siding the house weren't the only one working hard, Drew, Mason, Kristen and Gabby were working very hard on painting all sides of the house. In the process, somehow painting their entire faces, arms and clothes. Our relationships with our co-workers from Project Homecoming and Americore have grown. The first few days we worked with them, all we did was exchange tools, but today we engaged in conversations, laughed at jokes and passed on the message "lots of energy, lots of focus". This is a line from a movie, but it has turned into something we say every hour, on the hour to motivate all of the workers. So today was a great day, although Mr. B said to today would be the hardest day. I think we could say the work day was a success and we all took something from it. Hopefully, tomorrow will be the same way and we will end our work week out strong. 

- Jake Gebhart

After dinner, we walked down a few doors, accompanied by Sister Anne and Sister Shelly, to the workshop of Mr. David Montana. Mr. Montana is a Mardi Gras Indian, or as he called it, a Carnival Indian. He is the head chief of the Washitaw Tribe and is in charge of all costume creation. When we arrived we were quickly directed to the beautiful suits with thousands of individually hand sewn beads and jewels. One's theme was hummingbirds, covered with hand beaded birds and lights to draw attention to the staff. My personal favorite was one focused on a buffalo that symbolized a sign of peace on the front while on the back there was a different message. It emphasized the chaos and violence that will come if the tribe is crossed. David then performed for us, teaching us a number of common Carnival Indian folk songs. These mostly consisted of calling and answering accompanied by the tambourine. His next performance really impressed and inspired me. Mr. Montana recited a poem he wrote for volunteers like us who are not connected to the city or Katrina but genuinely cared for the people of New Orleans. The poem was titled a "A Change of Heart Man" and spoke about his experience with Katrina and his thankfulness for people who helped him and helped the city rebuild after the storm. This poem truly touched me and made me realize that the citizens of New Orleans truly appreciate the work we are doing on this trip. Beginning the trip I thought our efforts would be so minimal and that we couldn't make a difference but now I realize that even our small contribution to these homes change the lives of those who live there. 

-Mason Bernard 

P. S. Brother Fred, I have been acknowledge as the group moral for my work force. 

P. P. S I wanted to say how awesome our car rides are. They are great ways for us to let loose and for us to have fun with a different group of kids aside from the ones we work with. We sing songs, shout out the windows and just have a great time. It is something I look forward to everyday. 

-Jake and Mason 

Some photos from "Big Pauger"

A few photos from Tuesday

Some thoughts from Tuesday

Today was our second day of work this week; the travel, work, sun, and heat all showed on our faces today. But that is only where it showed. Everyone attacked day two with a sense of purpose and, with a days experience on their projects, confidence. A lot of progress was made on the works sites today. A lot of progress was made after work too.

At the conclusion of our work day today, we took another tour of the area. This tour was given by the site leader of Pauger street. Before coming to New Orleans in 2007, Christina was a private investigator. She has used those skills over the years to dig and research the storm and how and why the tragedy was as bad as it was. It is truly a unique and personal point of view that she has developed over the years. The stories of distrust between the residents, especially in the Lower Ninth Ward, and the government were astounding. We later drove down to the industrial canal levee in the Lower Ninth Ward to view the site first hand. One of the most impactful moments on the tour was a stop at an abandoned house. The house still has a hole cut through the roof where the homeowner used an axe to cut their way out of the attic as the flood waters were about to completely submerge their entire house, roof and all.

The evening was an altogether different experience. Tonight was a night to experience some of the New Orleans culture and spirit. The group was gracious enough to join me in a trip to Preservation Hall in the French Quarter. We had the privilege of listening to a wonderful, traditional jazz performance. Many of these kids probably don't listen to this music on a regular basis, if ever. But tonight, in this city, in this venue, with this group, the spirit of the city was was evident in them.

Tomorrow we continue work on our homes and reach the midpoint of our time here already. I pray we bring "lots of energy, lots of focus" (to borrow a quote from Mason) to our sites tomorrow.

Good night all!

Mr. B

Some photos from Apricot