Redeemer Youth Mission Trip – Day 6

Just a note to those following our blogs… I will load some pics of the New Orleans trip into the Day 5 entry as soon as I can.  Diana

Dear Folks,

Well, our time here in Dulac is starting to wind down. Once again, the kids struggled in mud and rain most of the day in order to finish up their huge clean up project. We have discovered that Jake and Colin have a gift for demolishing toilets into little pieces. Nataliya and Sophie have shoveled a lot of river mud, and they have managed to find every Fire Ant pile. These kids have worked incredibly hard and have had loads of fun at the same time.

After we called it a day, we took the kids for ice cream 30 miles away. Dulac has very few services and amenities. They have one library and their only school is being closed due to hurricane water damage. When I spoke to one older couple about all the troubles they have endured, they said they couldn’t think of living anywhere else!

The people here are very kind and hospitable. They are so touched that our children would come all this way to help them, and they also commented on their impressive work ethic. Take note parents, the people of Dulac think you have done a great job of parenting!!  I couldn’t agree more.

I think the kids have had a real cultural shift, and have a new appreciation for their lives in Morristown, especially when they beg us for a trip to Walmart.   They also enjoy the local fauna.  Alligator sighting from the safety of the car and playing with the stray puppies has been a big hit!  However, we have not told them yet that the giant cockroaches (big enough to put a saddle on) that run through our sleeping spaces can fly! This would mean complete mayhem, and we are praying that no one tells them!!

(UHHHHHH WE READ THIS!!! OH MY GOD. and we all know now!) – posted by the kids after I gave them the laptop to blog on.  We usually do our blogging AFTER they do.  Rut Rho!  It’s gonna be a looooonnnnnggggg night!  Diana

Tomorrow more work, and then a clean up and folding up of our proverbial tents. We are taking the kids to a water park in Baton Rouge to give them some fun and soak some of this mud off of their bodies!

Thank you again for this wonderful experience!

Read and enjoy!

Sophie-

Hello everyone, again. So I started the day again not feeling well, but after some good care by Melissa and Diana, and a quick phone call to my parents, I was on my way to our work site. Of course, it was raining like usual.  I’m kinda getting sick of this weather, but I believe it’s because of Hurricane Alex.  Due to the damage done to the house, we could not continue working on the roof, but the den still had a lot of work left. We shoveled for hours all the mud that was left behind in the house from Hurricane Gustav . It was extremely gloomy, but the little puppies put a smile on everyone’s face. We took a Walmart, and Dairy Queen break.  Again, we had fun times in the car. We then took a swim and had Jambalaya! Now were re-watching a scary movie with our St. Peter’s friends and are hoping for a cockroach free night!  One day left  of work, and we have made so much progress. I wish I could re-build and help more people, if only I did not have to stay in these conditions. See everyone soon! Hope these last few days are even better!

Lots of love- Soph

Colin-

Today was wet, and my shoes got completely destroyed; but, Dairy Queen was a good pick me up, and the little puppy dogs are so cute.  We went swimming today in a nice pool.
Goodbye (I’m watching the movie too, so this was quick)

Nataliya-

HEY Y’ALL! Today was tiring. Playing with the puppies was fun- they’re the cutest things ever. We got a lot of work done today, and I’m happy that tomorrow we will finally be done. I’m having a lot of fun here, except the constant bug bites and getting up at 6 AM every morning. We’re watching a scary movie again, so goodbye.

PS: I read what Melissa wrote about the cockroaches flying. I am officially scared of this place. BYE.  I read it too, even though I’m sleeping in a different building.  I’m watching the movie in here where they are (Colin)

I just learned an important lesson… Never Blog before the children. Melissa

Jake-

We had a good day, and there was a lot of excitement. We went to the pool today, and thankfully it didn’t rain.  We played with puppies earlier today. Dairy Queen was great and delicious. Well, we are watching a scary movie again, so bye.

Hi Folks!

Today was a struggle to get out of bed, I must admit.  The day seemed longer as we lifted and shoveled mud and gunk covered items onto the trailer bed for hauling.  Melissa, Colin, Sophie, Nataliya and Jake did a great job, and really pushed themselves to keep moving through the day.  The comments we get from all of you who post them (I get them by email to my blackberry and read them to everyone) really help us keep on truckin’.  We picked up dog and puppy treats for the strays we have adopted on the
site – no worries parents, they will be staying in Louisiana (the puppies that is).

We are progressing well on the cleanup project, and hope to finish up early tomorrow.  We have decided that the roofing work will not resume, as the rain, and the structural weaknesses created by the soaked wood, has made that impossible for us to do safely.  We know that TARP will assign this to a later crew, so we are happy that our homeowners will get their roof someday soon.

After all the hard work, we headed off to the Dairy Queen for some sweet treats.  We got a bit lost because our driver (won’t mention any names, but her initials are Diana Wilcox), seemed to have lost her inner GPS.  Then, when we used a real GPS, who we affectionately refer to as Bernice, and she got us into a mess heading us to a bridge that was washed out.  But, good ole’ Bernie, while quite the persistent nag about turning this way and that, did manage to get us on a more scenic route that provided the kids their first views of the local gators.  We have decided that they are in fact gay-tors, and we intend to honor their spirit with some sort of rainbow fanfare, but we will save that for another day.

As a write this, all the kids and adults from the various churches that are here, including ours, are enjoying a well deserved trip to a local community pool.  I have enjoyed getting to know the folks from Des Moines, WA and Smithville, TX, as well as the youth from St. Peter’s.  As Melissa said, the folks here are very gracious.  When I was buying coffee and a Diet Coke tonight for me and Melissa (I bet you can guess who the Diet Coke was for) the lady behind the counter wouldn’t charge me for the coffee because she said it had been on the pot too long.  Then, when I didn’t have enough cash, and felt silly charging the Diet Coke to a credit card, she told me she would cover the 35 cents I was short (I did manage to find change in the car and brought it to her).  And, when Sophie left her camera and phone in the Walmart, it had been returned to Customer Service and was waiting for us when we went back to get it.

Folks that are here at TARP with us from other churches, as well as the TARP leaders, have shared with us their stories too.  I have heard of love, life, death and faith from many of those on this journey with us, and I am blessed to have been able to share this time with them.

All our Redeemer youth seem to be having a great time too, and they certainly earned this trip to the pool!  You would be so proud of them.  I know I am.  Now, if I can just get them to blog BEFORE they start watching a movie…

Well, off to bed soon for me!!!

I miss New Jersey!

Peace,

Diana