On June 25th, 5 members of the St. Peter’s Youth Group, along with drivers/chaperones/factotums Katherine Madpak and Drew Sperry, will start out on their Mission Trip, leaving Morristown in a 12-passenger van and heading for the Louisiana bayou country. They’ll drive 10 hours south the first day, ending up in Charlotte, NC, where the group will spend the night at St. Peter’s Church. Day 2 sees them traveling 6 hours southwest to Montgomery, Alabama and another overnight stop. Our intrepid voyagers finally arrive in Dulac, LA, on June 27; they’ll stay at Clanton Chapel United Methodist Church for the next 5 nights, joined by 4 other youth groups from across the country—including a group from Morristown’s Church of the Redeemer. Travel will be basic Spartan “on the road” style: bag lunches in the car, with stops to sample local fare—fried chicken and ribs is the idea and hope—for dinner. Sleeping bags and air mattresses on the floor at night.
Dulac
The kids will be members of volunteer work crews helping out with the six-week Terrebonne Area Restoration Project (TARP). Groups working Week 3 (that’s us) come from towns called Kirby, Smithville, and Morristown, and from cities like Des Moines—80 people in all, kids and adults. The days start with morning devotionals (to “center hearts” before work) and end with evening worship (music, sharing, and prayer); the kids themselves prepare and lead the services. There are basic daily chores to do as well: cleanup after meals; emptying trash; sweeping; cleaning showers and bathrooms. The main work of the day—the repair and restoration of homes to be used for volunteer housing—will see the kids helping install drywall and flooring; it might also include assisting with plumbing, painting, or roof repair tasks. Wednesday afternoon is free time for everybody, and TARP notes that “swamp tours are available”; our kids plan to visit the 9th ward of New Orleans that day, though. (The kids hoped they could go shrimping on the bayou, but nobody can say now whether that’ll be possible, because of the oil spill.) TARP hosts a picnic on Thursday night; the local community is very appreciative of the efforts of these groups and will celebrate the evening with volunteers .
The trip home
The group leaves Dulac on Saturday, July 3. They’ll first head to St. Luke’s Church in Birmingham, AL, where they’ll also visit the Civil Rights Institute. Day 10 is the 4th of July; our kids will be in Knoxville, TN just in time for barbecue and fireworks. Ahhhhhhh. Then it’s north to Charlottesville, VA, and a night at Christ Church. On Day 12, the last day of the trip, the group stops in D.C. for lunch at the Hard Rock Café – and then travels the final leg home to Morristown. An amazing journey—and an experience to remember forever.
You can follow the group as they travel and work via Twitter.
