Wisteria

Craig told me the family really loves this house. I surprised the daughter who looks to be about your age. So although, she let me take pictures of the outside, I did not get a chance to see the inside. THIS IS A REAL HOUSE!!! With cars in the drive way, and directv hooked up. It is wonderful. You should all be very proud.

Meeting Miss Mary

After Craig and I went to lunch. He dropped me back off at Back Bay and I walked across the street to Miss Mary's house. Once she remembered me, we talked for about a half hour, although her son Michael was not there, he has done a ton of work to that place.... it is such a cool house. In the pictures look closely, he has painted white sculptures that resemble sea horses and turtles. But the absolute best is that he painted several things inside, including cartoon fish, which Mary said he has a name for each of them, based on the young volunteer girls that worked on his house. It is really a neat little house and also notice, the white picket fence instead of the chain link.

The House on Bohn

After talking with Craig, he told me that he was in Gulfport and would be a half hour before meeting me. I decided to go knocking on doors. I went to the house on Bohn, and knocked, I could see someone peeking through the blinds, and I asked if he remembered me. He opened the door a little bit, and I told him my students painted his Cowboys swing. He was then all smiles and showed me his whole house. Daryl said he was very blessed and he thanked us a lot. When I told him, I wanted to take a picture of him on the swing, he went back in the house to get his Dallas Cowboys hat on. It was a wonderful first stop.

I have posted several pictures from his house.

Year 4 -- Time again to Do Justice, Love Kindness, and Walk Humbly

How do I start again with words to convey feelings, to enhance your spirituality, to show you a gift that is the best gift I have ever received in my life.
Maybe I should start with the title. Those 6 words are on the t-shirt that we all got last year at Back Bay Mission.
I just got on there website www.backbaymission.com and found the entire quote from the bible.

.....and what does the Lord require of you but to do Justice,
to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8

A good place to start. It is eerie for me, because Micah is the first name of a former student of mine, who is somewhere in East St. Louis, I am not sure what life is like for Micah now, I am not sure if he finished school, I am not sure if he has a home, I am not sure if he was cold last night....
For a long time in my life, I was 6'8" so that number also has a familiarity to me. I think God is telling me, calling me, and reminding me that although I have done some things in the past, he has much more for me to do. Micah represents to me a lost opportunity, a failure, an incomplete novel...
I am reminded there is always something one can do. And there is always something more that one can do. I want to introduce you to or continue that concept in your life. I do not want to take you on a service trip. I would like to introduce you to a lifetime of service.
For those of thus, who have been in Biloxi will agree with me, when I tell you that Eva May has given me more with her sweet southern kindness and fried chicken than I have ever given her. The girls have told me that although they gave Miss Mary a new garden, a lot of paint, and the ability to move into her house after several years. Her kindness and stories they received in return meant and still mean so much to them.
Quite simply, this is our world and it is our time to do something. Rev. Don Morgan, a Baptist minister, was a strong presence in our last 3 years. He always said, "If you hammer 1 nail into 1 board you have accomplished something, from there everything else you accomplish is extra and special."

Last year the motto of our group and especially our students was always to do something extra this included the Dallas Cowboys swing, the restocking of Loaves and Fishes, the shoe collection, and so much more.....

What will we leave this year? what will we share?

Two men of strong character just competed for President. These are the words of the winner, but I think his words can reflect the feelings of all of us.
"This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can. Thank you. God bless you."

See you on the 3rd

John Magee

Walk Humbly

To the alumnae of Nerinx Hall: Please rest assured that the tradition of empowering women continues. The halls of 530 E. Lockwood are still teeming with women passionate and committed enough to devote a week of their precious summertime to building walls, painting bathrooms, and feeding neglected cats.
To the parents of Nerinx girls: Your daughters are in good hands. They are learning to problem solve, work together, and stand up for people who cannot stand up for themselves. You have done the world a great service seeing your daughters through Nerinx as they will continue their wonderful work that will no doubt positively impact people in need.
To all of you who are involved in educating the women of Nerinx: Thank you a thousand times over. Your contribution to the growth of the 600 girls strolling the halls is both impressive and worthy of deep gratitude.
To the 65 women and men with whom I went on this great adventure: It was an honor working with all of you. You parents showed us that working for and with others must always be a part of our lives. You 5 recently graduated Markers displayed that leading by example is an extremely effective tactic. And you women of the Class of 2009 gave me great comfort in knowing that the incoming freshwomen will have wonderful role models in their Senior class. You ladies showed incredible passion and drive for the work you were doing whether you were fire-caulking an entire house or nail-gunning a wall stud. Throughout the week I was impressed by not only your work ethics on the job sites but also in your organizational skills when it was time to get 20 girls through 2 showers. Your intensity in the dance parties and Animal Games, your creative snack foods - Chicken Wing Dip, i.e. - and your thoughtful interactions with your classmates demonstrated that you are women of integrity. As Mr. Magee has emphasized countless times, let this be a springboard for your life of sharing kindness. Thank you all for reminding me what it means to be an empowered woman.

Ring Out Ahoya
Terese

What a way to kick off summer

During the weeks before Biloxi, I'll admit, I was pretty nervous. I had no idea what to expect and when people asked me what I was going down for, I would say "To build houses." Little did I know then, I would be doing so much more. The week I spent at the Rosetti House was incredible, and the time went by unbelievably fast. From painting to caulking to singing and dancing, I not only gained new construction skills, but new friendships. The heat and sweat were easy to forget with the reminder of the family we were helping and the sudden dance moves that would break out as Jesse Mccartney or New Kids on the Block played on "The Monkey" (But don't worry, we got back to work after we got it out of our system). But one of the most rewarding days of the trip was when I went to the soup kitchen and served lunch to the homeless. It was extremely humbling and allowed me to interact with the residents of Biloxi. I'll never forget the man who came up for his lunch exclaiming how he just got a job earlier that day and how "God is good!"
So not only did I build houses, I built amazing friendships, faith, and memories, and built up the pride that I already have in Nerinx girls!


Katie Green (Scooper)

Still Missing Back Bay...

Wow, it's hard to believe that it's been four days since we left Biloxi. I've had a busy four days, but I can't stop thinking about the week we spent in Mississippi. It's hard to put into words the feelings I had while we were down there. I think Theodore Roethke said it best with Nerinx girls "specialize in the impossible." Who would have thought we could build the entire interior and exterior walls of a house, finish three more, build a dog house, climb 20 feet in the air, and make a woman's dream come true by finishing her house? Certainly not Craig, but I believe we proved him wrong. Now that we're all home in St. Louis I think it is important to remember how talented each one of us is, and how much we have to share with the world and with each other. Remember the friendships we made in Biloxi and never forget the hard work we did. I love you all so much!

Jessi