340 Haize

Hello this is Mad skillz (Gabby) and 5 speed (Kamryn). Today was a great day in Biloxi! Our group had the opportunity to renovate a porch and bathroom of a women who's house was damaged from Katrina. Together we scrapped old paint, applied new paint, and even hung up and porch swing. By coming together, we quickly exicuted our newly acquired skills and left our mark on both the house and the women inside. This first day got us excited for the rest of the week showing how we can use our talents to make an impact on an important cause.

Day 1

Today was a great day filled with lots of smiles and laughter! We watched some great movies, made some awesome new friends, took some stellar naps, ate some rad Mexican food, and had a pleasant time at Chick-fil-a. We had a great sending off ceremony this morning and want to say thanks to all of you who came out to support us. We stopped at Chick-fil-a for lunch, and even though it was a little hectic, we still had a good time getting to bond together over some great food. We then continued out journey on to the hotel, and got settled in. We had a party in 312 and it was pretty cool. We then went to our Mexican dinner and had an awesome time attempting to speak to the waiter in Spanish and eating some good ole' Mexican food. now we are just hanging out in the hotel, watching some fun movies. We are very excited to finish our trip to Biloxi tomorrow and can't wait to get to work. Everyone is looking forward to the rest of the week and pumped to get started. We know it's going to be a week to remember. :) -yea! b! & bulldog

Moving Together as One

It is always interesting to see how strangers greet each other and how those friendships often grown. Last night, we had almost the entire group of 35 together and it looks like a very promising year. This will be my 11th year on this trip, and it is always interesting to see good people become friends. Who would have every thought Mary Grace Barry and Molly Milford would become besties? Or Darcy Neier developing a real mentor in Mary Grace Graf. These friendships are real because they get forged through the sweat of sanding a wall for the 4th time or watching with our new the tragedy of poverty when it is right over the porch railing. It is these friendships where we really are two sides of the same coin that give us the experience to learn how to talk and to listen when we meet people who at first seem much different than us. This is where Father Boyle talks about the Theology of the Feet. Too often we pat ourselves on the back because we feel sorry and have sympathy for those that struggle. This is our heart. We might even join in a conversation to think about and find ways to help those that need our help. We might send money or a check or buy cookies at a bake sale. These are all good, this is our head. But starting tomorrow, we will move not only with our hearts and our heads, but our feet. Our feet will be in the Micah Center talking and listening to the stories of those that are hungry and homeless. Our feet will be in a house, building up walls and attaching door knobs for a young mother who wants to turn this house into a home for family. If we do this right, people will see that we are standing with those that have been endlessly excluded. We will be standing with the disposable, so maybe it will be just a little harder to throw people away. In the middle of the communities of the Gulf Coast of Mississippi we will stand no matter what the result. We will give our best and stride over the obstacles in our way. We hope to lean into the intractable problems of the poor with our shoulders strong and push that boulder up the hill. We hope to do this with the tenderest heart we can find and just be a little part of the big picture that always is the slow work of God. And through this week we will, "seek the BOUNDLESS compassion to stand in awe of the burdens the poor have to carry, and NOT in judgment of how they carry them. Check back each night for more stories from your daughters.

Today, I, Chimpf Chompf (Emily Kempf) worked with Mr. James at the food pantry. The food pantry is set up to provide the homeless and impoverished in the Biloxi area with food bags containing food that will last a substantial amount of time. Mr. James is a previously homeless man who was given an apartment through the Back Bay Mission "Home At Last" program. I helped Mr. James organize and rearrange the food pantry. Throughout the morning, we assembled food bags and gave them to people who came in. Mr. James was quiet at first, but soon enough, I started to hear a lot of his story. Mr. James worked at a shipyard as a welder for twenty years before unexpectedly losing his job. After performing odd jobs here and there, Mr. James found himself in over his head and unable to make rent payments. As a result, Mr. James was homeless for three months. After using the Micah Center, Mr. James learned about the "Home At Last" program. He was given an apartment with financial assistance. Mr. James was so grateful for all of the work Back Bay had done for him that he decided to give back. Since November, Mr. James has been in charge of the food pantry program at Back Bay. Although I could not fully understand how much of a difference I was making in these people's lives, I felt humbled by Mr. James' story. After going through much hardship, he was so grateful for everything that was given to him. He told me that he could never thank Back Bay enough and not even ten years in the food pantry could equal the amount of help they provided him with. I feel blessed to have been able to have worked with Mr. James. We are all having a great time and have plenty of stories to tell you when we return, -Chimpf Chompf

Loaves&Fishes

This is Aber (Molly Milford) and Craic (MGB) and we are two of the four girls that helped serve food at Loaves and Fishes today. We had a wonderful experience and even got asked on a couple dates! Our eyes were opened, along with our hearts as we served a breakfast of grits, eggs and toast, and a spaghetti lunch. It really made us take a step back and appreciate our blessings when we were feeding homeless people who were our own age, and even younger. We are so happy we had this opportunity and we are ready for our next adventure!!

Day 1-- #2 Fleetwood

TGOF and I, Cha Cha, spent most of our day laying ceramic tile on the floors at #2 Fleetwood. While we are exceptionally gifted, this was tedious work--almost forty minutes to lay one row of tiles. Most of the dads on on our site joked around with us, saying we could skip college and take our talents as a tile laying team to the next level. One dad, Mr. Kuehner, enlightened us with a new perspective when he stated, "Could you girls imagine waking up every morning and doing this for 30 years?" We are fortunate enough to go to almost any college and pursue any career, but obviously the people who will live in this house will not have as many opportunities handed to them. Craig was telling us that a family with three kids was looking to buy our house, and its nice to know that all of the work we're doing will help provide a stable home for a family despite their low income. Having a stable home will drastically change their lives--maybe giving them a place to do homework will allow them to get scholarships and pursue the high levels of education we all take for granted. TGOF and I had a lot of fun, but the best part of our day was definitely realizing that our small efforts can have a huge impact. Peace and blessins, Kara and Maria

You Can Call Me Al

This year we are wearing Royal Blue t-shirts with the long awaited 13iloxi logo with the split B. But on the back are the words that talk about Poverty being the cloak that covers the greatness of the human spirit. We wonder how many different people in our world could contribute so much more with the right opportunity. This morning I learned the cloak can also cover me seeing the world in the best way I should. Rushing to St. Gabe's this morning for our send off prayer service, it is a tradition I stop at Do-nut Drive-in for our Biloxi alumni who rise early on a Saturday to wish us well. As I ran through the rain with a delicious dozen, a man approached me and asked for a ride to Jamieson for $5. "Nooooooooooo dude, I am in a hurry, I am taking students on a trip, I don't have time....my voice continued with excuses as I closed the car door and left him in the rain. I sat in the seat and looked at him...just that quickly the cloak was removed. Honked the horn. C'mon brother. He stood in the rain as I fumbled to unlock his door on the rental. He said thanks and set a wet $5 bill on the console between us. I told him that this ride was free. I told him I was taking students to Biloxi to help people down there and this was a good way for this trip to start. I told him my name was John and he told me his name was Al. He had done the high iron work on the high floors of the Beau Rivage in Biloxi. We drove by Ted Drewe's and he told me he had been hit by a car recently while walking and he was still recovering from surgery. And then our short ride was over. As I told this story to our 2013 group and family. My mother exclaimed, "You didn't pick up a hitchhiker!!!". I talked to her later and she told me she thinks I picked up an Angel. So Diablo, Jump Around, Baba Laxxy, Ed Poth, and Tim Milford...I hope you enjoyed your doughnuts they were delivered to St. Gabriel's by an AngeL. ...maybe that is what Angels do...they remove the cloak...and let us see