Thirteen hearty souls embarked on the 8th Mission Work Trip to New Orleans on April 24th. We stayed at the Good Shepherd UCC church, which provided us with two dormitories with bunk beds, a meeting room with a well-equipped kitchen and plenty of space, and most importantly, with wonderful moral and spiritual support. We attended church services on Sunday, with some of the team joining the choir. Some members also joined the bell choir, along with many youngsters from the congregation.
The week offered the team two opportunities for sharing our gifts. Some members went to the St. Bernard Parish to do rebuilding of a gentleman’s house. He had lost his home in Hurricane Katrina, so had purchased another one that needed much work done it. He had started to do the work himself, but got injured. He had been living with friends or in hotels since the hurricane, so he was filled with gratitude for the many teams that had come to help him. Our team did some painting and then laid the entire flooring in the house! When we met him on the last day, he told us that he was hoping to move back in on Memorial Day weekend. We received his gift of welcome, gratitude and grace with tears and joy!
Others from the team worked in downtown New Orleans at a Catholic Relief Center for the homeless. Men and women came every day and were welcomed with a shower, the ability to use the phone to call anywhere in the country for 10 minutes, and to receive lunch. Our members had one-on-one conversations with dozens of people, assisting them to receive some basic amenities of daily life. It was a rich experience of giving, learning, and sharing.
One of the most enriching experiences of all the trips to New Orleans is getting to know each other in so many ways. We plan and prepare dinners together, we commute to the work site, we work side by side, and we share our experiences. Every evening, as we gather after dinner for quiet reflection on the day’s events, our pastor Jason leads the discussion, encouraging us to express what the day’s events have meant for each of us personally, and how we are changed by the work we do and the people we meet. We all come away having a much fuller understanding of the word “community”.
We also had the opportunity to visit the Beecher Memorial UCC Church. Beecher is the only African-American UCC congregation left in New Orleans. Their church suffered a lot of damage to the interior of the church, and still has not been repaired to the point of being able to worship in their sanctuary. We were moved by the lack of progress within this “sister” UCC church. We met with the new dynamic pastor who shared his vision of bringing the church back to life as a vibrant center for the community. We have initiated some conversation with him regarding how we might help them---with our prayers, our friendship, member exchanges and, hopefully, some financial and/or hands-on assistance. As those conversations continue, The Board of Missions and Social Action will inform us of any outcomes.
Think about joining Team # 9 next spring! The gifts we give and receive are extraordinary!
Peter Oakes
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