This past week, a group of us have been working on building a house for a lady named Ms. Nguyen. She has been living in a FEMA trailer for the past 4 years, but recently she has been sleeping on a cot in her unfinished house. She is afraid that the government will take away her trailer any day now because she was notified that trailers would be removed starting June 1st. Today, we arrived at Howard House to find two tow trucks preparing to take away her trailer. She wasn't home at the time, but it didn't even matter to them. One dad parked his car in front of the trailer to protest and they went down the street to call in the Federal Marshall. They came back and told us that they had to take the trailer away so we moved all of her belongings out of it. They said that if she wasn't home and we weren't there, then they would have taken the whole trailer with everything she owned inside. Everyone at our site was devastated, furious, and heartbroken. Instead of taking into consideration that this trailer had been her home, the two workers violently demolished her staircase and barged into her house. Everyone filmed and took pictures of the scene. One worker said that she didn't like to take people's homes away, but this was the only job she could find. When we asked one worker what they did with the trailers that they took back, we found out that they take them to sit in a field and possibly use them for scrap metal. No one could understand how taking away people's homes to sit and rot in a field could benefit anyone. We were all very worried about how Ms. Nguyen would react. If we were not in Biloxi, she would be homeless. When Ms. Nguyen came home, she at first could not understand what had happened, and kept asking where her trailer had gone and was even laughing about it. Later, we saw the look of distress in her eyes and saw that she was silently crying, but didn't want anyone to know she was upset. We chatted with her a lot today and tried to make her feel at home again. We even started taking pictures with her and feeding her chickens. As we left, we saw Ms. Nguyen lean on the new railing of her porch and look out with a feeling that she finally had a house of her own.
Kelsey "Stinky"
Katie "Tic Maber"
Jen "Quick Draw McGraw"
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Howard House
So far, this trip has been a huge success and a lot of fun. Last night, we went to the Baptist Church and it helped to revive all of us because we have been so tired and worn out throughout the week. It was a lot of fun to see the way the people of the congregation worshiped God and how dedicated they were to their faith. We all had a great time and joined the parishoners in singing praise. Afterward, our entire group went to Café New Orleans for dinner and had time to chat and reflect on our week. It was also a lot of fun to have time to relax and eat a delicious meal after our hard work through the day. This week, I have worked on the Howard project. We have been rebuilding a home that was destructed during Hurricane Katrina. We are building this home for an elderly Vietnamese woman who will soon be able to live there with her sister whom she is taking care of. My favorite part in building this house was the gigantic ramp to help the women get to their front door easier. We finished the ramp yesterday, and it felt so good to see that our hard work had really paid off. Today and tomorrow we will be finishing the dry wall and other interior parts of the house that we have been working on. I look forward to the rest of this trip, and I hope for the best in its success!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Please Remember in Your Prayers
Brittany Roberts cousin, Mike Roberts passed away too young at the age of 30. I told Brittany today, that I am sure that her cousin was proud of her and the work she was doing. Brittany flew home today to be with her family, and she knows that she has 84 people in Biloxi who are praying with her and for her. I would welcome all of you reading this blog to join us in thinking about Brittany and the Roberts family and friends.
Pete's Grey and Maroon House
This week a group of between 15-20 people depending upon the day have been working on scraping, caulking, and sanding a house. The story of the man's house we are at is actually a little humorous. I was inside the house to use the restroom and as I was walking out I decided I'd ask him what happened to him when Katrina hit. He said the morning it happened he stepped out of bed and before he hit the floor he hit about 4-5 inches of water. This had happened to him before so it wasn't too much of a shock. As he walked into the kitchen he decided, hey, my tv is plugged in up high, there isn't much I can do, why don't I just kick back and relax (this is all at 3 a.m. by the way). So, he warmed up 4 cups of coffee, put a chair at the high end of the house, and turned his tv so he could see it from where he was at. The water only got up about 5 inches, but walking into the house you could tell that the damage it caused was devastating. All of his flooring had to be ripped up and the wood had buckled. His house was infested with bugs, yet it didn't seem to bother him a bit. I couldn't imagine living in conditions such as his.
The work we did was extremely rewarding after knowing his story and seeing the work that needed to be done. Every little bit helps, it truly does. As we sit in the hot sun sweating, we all remind ourselves of what this man and so many others have had to go through and it keeps us going.
Mary Ellen Carmody "Meeces"
In order to beautify Pete's house, a great amount of scraping and painting was called for. My crew spent Monday and a good majority of Tuesday scraping the whole exterior of the house. We also had to caulk what seemed like every board on the house. After we were finished prepping the house, we were able to start painting. We had no fear climbing up the tallest ladders or fighting off the wasps (ok..maybe a little). Pete's house is now gray with white and maroon trim! We successfully finished Pete's house on Wednesday and my crew was elated!
The most uplifting part of the experience was the support we received. Pete's house is on a main street and is very busy. If people didn't stop to tell us how much they appreciate what we were doing, then they honked, waved, or yelled words of encouragement. This let us know how much of an impact we were truly making on this man's life.
Megan Loudon "Soupy"
The work we did was extremely rewarding after knowing his story and seeing the work that needed to be done. Every little bit helps, it truly does. As we sit in the hot sun sweating, we all remind ourselves of what this man and so many others have had to go through and it keeps us going.
Mary Ellen Carmody "Meeces"
In order to beautify Pete's house, a great amount of scraping and painting was called for. My crew spent Monday and a good majority of Tuesday scraping the whole exterior of the house. We also had to caulk what seemed like every board on the house. After we were finished prepping the house, we were able to start painting. We had no fear climbing up the tallest ladders or fighting off the wasps (ok..maybe a little). Pete's house is now gray with white and maroon trim! We successfully finished Pete's house on Wednesday and my crew was elated!
The most uplifting part of the experience was the support we received. Pete's house is on a main street and is very busy. If people didn't stop to tell us how much they appreciate what we were doing, then they honked, waved, or yelled words of encouragement. This let us know how much of an impact we were truly making on this man's life.
Megan Loudon "Soupy"
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Loaves and Fishes Soup Kitchen- Day One!
Hi parents and friends!
Hello from Biloxi, Mississippi :) We are having an amazing time. Yesterday, our first day of work, we (Haley, Emily, Annie, and Claudia) were blessed to be able to go to Biloxi's soup kitchen, Loaves and Fishes. The four of us began the day by helping with water/ice duties (which was very hectic but fun) and driving around with Mr. Magee (also hectic... p.s. Mr. Magee, that was specifically from Diablo...). But, by 10:30 A.M, it was time to go to Loaves and Fishes. When driving there we were all concerned that we wouldn't be needed at the kitchen because of excess volunteers, but fortunately that wasn't the case, and we were able to help out. It was a little overwhelming when we first walked in; there was a lot of work to do and we didn't really know where to start, but we quickly found our place rolling silverware. After a lot of silverware (we perfected the burrito technique of rolling!), it was time to serve lunch. Annie filled cups of gatorade and set them out, Haley served peaches or pineapple (and sang songs), Emily served saltines, and Claudia helped with dishes. It was humbling to interact with the people who came; they were all so gracious, and their happiness was extremely contagious. We got to talk to Sister Mary and Jean, fellow volunteers, a lot and it was inspiring, because they are so dedicated to their service. We also got to talk to Dante and Mary, who help run the soup kitchen; they taught us the ropes and were a ton of fun. After serving lunch, we cleaned the tables, surfaces, and dishes. We hugged our new friends and said our goodbyes.
The Soup Kitchen was such an awesome experience, and is something that will really stick with us. We were all inspired and encouraged by the people we met, and their inspiration will carry us through the rest of the week.
Peace and Love,
The Finisher (Emily Done)
Diablo Cazador (Haley Hunter)
Dancin' in the Moonlight (Annie Hagerty)
2 Chance (Claudia Evers)
Hello from Biloxi, Mississippi :) We are having an amazing time. Yesterday, our first day of work, we (Haley, Emily, Annie, and Claudia) were blessed to be able to go to Biloxi's soup kitchen, Loaves and Fishes. The four of us began the day by helping with water/ice duties (which was very hectic but fun) and driving around with Mr. Magee (also hectic... p.s. Mr. Magee, that was specifically from Diablo...). But, by 10:30 A.M, it was time to go to Loaves and Fishes. When driving there we were all concerned that we wouldn't be needed at the kitchen because of excess volunteers, but fortunately that wasn't the case, and we were able to help out. It was a little overwhelming when we first walked in; there was a lot of work to do and we didn't really know where to start, but we quickly found our place rolling silverware. After a lot of silverware (we perfected the burrito technique of rolling!), it was time to serve lunch. Annie filled cups of gatorade and set them out, Haley served peaches or pineapple (and sang songs), Emily served saltines, and Claudia helped with dishes. It was humbling to interact with the people who came; they were all so gracious, and their happiness was extremely contagious. We got to talk to Sister Mary and Jean, fellow volunteers, a lot and it was inspiring, because they are so dedicated to their service. We also got to talk to Dante and Mary, who help run the soup kitchen; they taught us the ropes and were a ton of fun. After serving lunch, we cleaned the tables, surfaces, and dishes. We hugged our new friends and said our goodbyes.
The Soup Kitchen was such an awesome experience, and is something that will really stick with us. We were all inspired and encouraged by the people we met, and their inspiration will carry us through the rest of the week.
Peace and Love,
The Finisher (Emily Done)
Diablo Cazador (Haley Hunter)
Dancin' in the Moonlight (Annie Hagerty)
2 Chance (Claudia Evers)
Belvedere and trash duty
Today was a very eventful day! we started off the morning with painting the house of Mrs. Fields. She was a very nice lady who lived alone in quite a good sized house. The house definitely needed repainting so it was awesome to be apart of such a good thing. Mid-day we got to eat at a Mexican restaurant(it was delicious) and after a few more hours of painting a few of us went to move a huge pile of trash into a dumpster. That job was tough! After, we stopped and bought watermelons from J.W. Carter ("Mr. Fat Carter") who was such a kind and generous man. We all ate the watermelons at dinner and we have a book club at 9:15. Can't wait for tomorrow!
Allie
Allie
Howard House Hoedown
Hey from the Howard House group! Today we finished decking the HUGE ramp and did all of the insulation. Tomorrow we will start to drywall the house. The owner of the house spent some time with us today and learned Jessies name. The power tools were full speed and we were working all day to complete the long, two-story ramp and finished all of the floor and most of the railing. Well, so long for now and hopefully we will have more to report tomorrow!
Amy
Amy
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