Redeemer Youth Mission Trip Update – Day 4

Sorry, no pictures to post today, but we will have more tomorrow.  In the meantime, the words of those here will bring to mind the sights, sounds, and smells of the experience (okay, maybe you don’t want that last one, as we are getting kinda bad smelling down here).  So read along, and thanks for all your comments too!  We have been passing them along to the kids, and it means so much to them, and to Melissa and Me.   And now, the blogs for the day.

Hello Redeemer,

The Youth Group is working hard and getting an eyeful of a completely different world. When I asked if they felt like they were doing something important, they answered with a resounding “Yes!”

This afternoon the homeowner came over to look at the progress. He said the roof looks beautiful, and when he saw the cleanup in his house he said, “Wow, I didn’t know I had a cement floor!”  Ten minutes later he came back with his six year old son and two coolers. They were filled with 4 beautiful watermelons on ice!!  The most delicious thing I have ever eaten!

Below are the words of your children. They made me weep.  I have nothing more to say except, “ Listen to what the spirit is saying through your children!”

Thanks Be to God,
Melissa

From Nataliya,

Cleaning out this space of moldy, ruined belongings of this family really is tiring.  Seeing this family’s home really does make me appreciate what I have back in New Jersey. There are bugs everywhere that are continuing to bite and sting all of us.  We finally moved out of our crowded, hot space where we slept, to a big, air conditoned space that is much more comfortable.

From Jake,

Having a lot of fun, but the work is hard.  Replacing a tin roof in the middle of the summer in Louisiana is tough, but rewarding!  We met the family of the house we are working on.  Sweet, hardworking people who are so appreciative. It’s really hot out here, but what makes the work so tough, other than the heat, is the random, re-occuring storms we get.  The sound of thunder drove Diana and I into the attic for half an hour, and the rain made everything slippery.  A cold shower has never felt so good.

Colin

My shoes are wet, my shirt is disgusting, my legs are covered in fire ant bites…and I’m still having a great time.  However I’m still looking forward to taking a shower and watching a movie and sleeping.

Sophie:

Hello again.  Well what an adventure!  When I arrived here (where we are staying for the next few days), it was hotter then you know what!  At night all 7 of us girls had to fit in the kitchen!  6 matresses 7 girls, 2 fans, and pure heat, NOT FUN!  All I was thinking about was how I wanted to go home and be in my air conditioning.  I was feeling sorry for myself.  But that all changed the next day, when I went to the house that we are roofing.  Because of my condition I cannot go on the roof, so i am cleaning out a den. This den is distroyed.  I could’t believe it!  I also met the owners and it really touched my heart. Oh, and lets not forget the dogs we named, but we won’t go there.  The things that I saw caused me to be so encouraged to help.  I quickly began to haul out the mountains and mountains of the destroyed items of the family.  The work is time consuming and hard, but definitely worth it.  I have blisters on both hands from raking the 4 inch thick dried mud everywhere, got stuck in a thorn bush, and I have fire ant bites everywhere that sting like nobody’s business.  And I can’t lie, I look foward to going to our new sleeping spot, enjoying the air conditioning, eating m&ms, watching movies, and being with my youth group and the St. Peters’ youth group. This trip is turning out to be heck of a lot better than I thought.  I miss everyone back home (including my house), but now I am so thankful, and will never take anything I have for granted!  I send my love to anyone who’s reading this!

Lots of love- Soph

Dear Redeemer,

I have to second all of what Melissa and the kids have said.  You would be so blown away by what your youth have been doing here.  We never imagined that we would be ripping up an old and tattered tin roof, and laying down a bright shiny new one.  It is hard work, and everyone has pushed themselves to go above and beyond.  As Jake said, we keep getting interrupted by rain, but we make the most of it.  And our youth, having met the family, are determined to do all they can to stop the rain from entering the home through the roof.  The roofing is a bit of a process for us, especially as we have to do it all from… well, the roof!  First, we move across the old roof, and working as a team, a few sections at a time, we pull up the old nails and then crowbar the old tin up.  Then, we slide the new tin into place, and screw it in with power drills.  We have laid about a quarter of the new tin on one side, and hope to get about half way through the first side today, if these thunderstorms will stop.  Jake, Colin and Nat have been up there with me, while Sophie and Melissa patiently respond to yells down for “more tin” or “spotter needed”!  We are all working as a team to do this hard and important work.

When not on the roof, the youth are with Melissa down below working to clear out the room in the front of the home.  You would not believe how much crud, guck and debris they have cleared out – all the result of Gustav and other storms.  When I got off the roof I could not believe the incredible transformation!  As Melissa said, the homeowners were so amazed.  They never realized that there was a real cement floor under all the mess.  They hope to move into this home, even with more work being needed, as soon as the roof is up, and there is no longer water coming in to flood the home.

But, it is not all sweat and labor… last night we ventured out for ice cream after dinner.  And, the best quote so far was when the kids saw that we were pulling into a Dairy Queen, and one said “God has spoken!”.  I love these kids!  They are the best!!

Love and Peace,
Diana