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Mission
Trip
New Orleans, July 2007
Showing up at the church at 5:30 in the morning
is something I have not been known to do often. This trip is going to be
fun I hope. I don’t really know anyone, except a few kids who go to B’Ville.
Everyone here seems to know each other so well. Hopefully I’ll make a few
friends who I can bond with there so I won’t feel left out. I hope people
will like me.
These were a few of the thoughts that were swimming through my mind when
I arrived at the church the day of our departure. I thought this trip was
going to be an entire week of work out in the heat with no time to have fun.
Man, was I wrong.
The trip down was okay. I rode with Darren and Mrs. Erdley and her son Justin.
I was glad Rob was in the car because he was one of the only people I knew.
Drifting in and out of sleep, I got to know each of my riding companions a
little bit better. I was glad we all got along because I don’t think I could
stand riding how ever many hours down there with someone who got on my nerves.
I came to find that there was no one on the whole trip who did that and that
made me feel good. I thought getting to know people was going to be the hard
part, but I later realized that that was probably the easiest and most fun
part of the entire trip.
When we got there, I met up with my Uncle Glen who lives in Pensacola, and
his family. I hadn’t seen them in a couple years and was overjoyed to be in
their company again because we always seem to have a good time and find something
to laugh about. We went down Bourbon Street to the Hard Rock Café and
had dinner together. We caught up on some things and laughed a lot. We touched
on family matters and the importance of loving people for their flaws. I
felt that even though I haven’t seen him in a while, we never grew apart.
The same went for the rest of the family. My aunt and my cousin constantly
made fun of my two older cousins, and often times I would find myself laughing
at cruel jokes about them. It was a fun time and we said a long goodbye because
neither of us wanted to leave. I am thankful that I got a chance to see them.
The next morning, we woke up, had breakfast, and had an information session
about the work we were going to be doing that seemed to take forever. I knew
it was going to be hot and I was glad I had packed sleeveless shirts and hand-held
fans with me. I didn’t know that it wasn’t going to matter because on the
first day we had to work in what seemed to be an emergency suit in case of
nuclear radiation. I was sweating in massive amounts after little work at
the site known as Lady Gray. We had to go through all of the owners belongings
located in the upstairs part and throw out anything that could not be saved.
Dresses, purses, mattresses, and some personal items that all seemed to be
untouched by the flooding all had to be discarded by the side of the road.
Some of it was hard to throw away like garbage because there had to be a
lot of items that had sentimental value that were gone. I began to think
what it would feel like to have a total stranger go through my things and
decide what could be salvaged and what couldn’t, and that was one of the
many things that made me realize how hard it was for the people who were going
through this.
Although the work was hard, especially in the extreme heat, time seemed
to pass as it does when you’re surrounded by good company. I enjoyed all
of the people I worked with and we goofed around every now and then just
to lighten the load of all the hard work we were doing. Pouring water down
each others back was a common tactic of cooling people off, although some
people didn’t appreciate it as much as others. All in all though, at days
end, I felt we could all look back and be proud of the work we accomplished.
The gutting part was my favorite because you could unleash all the anger
you had on a wall with a sledgehammer.
Throughout the week, I was placed at different job sites each day and my
work partners varied each day, which was a good thing because that meant getting
to know more people. The hardest day of work was the day we took down the
previous LDR camp site. It was 4 days work that we completed in one. You
not only had to have physical strength, but also endurance and a tolerance
for hard labor. I think mine was pushed to the limit. I couldn’t wait for
the airboat ride in the middle of the week. I knew that was going to be one
of if not the most fun experience down there, and it turned out to be better
than I thought. Jetting down the Bayou on an airboat with the wind in your
face on a hot day with your new friends isn’t something you get to do much,
so we made the most of it by kicking back and having a great time. Knowing
that alligators surrounded you most of the time was scary but in a good way
because it made you respect nature a little bit more than normal. Feeding
and holding the alligators was fun, and kissing one was even better. Topping
off the night with a round of ice cream made the night seem perfect.
Walking around downtown New Orleans was a lot of fun as well. Street magicians
as well as musicians made the experience very authentic. Shopping at various
tourist shops and seeing Drew with his pink purse on made the night a blast.
After that, I did not want the trip to end. I was happy with my new friends
and happy with the work we were doing and happy with the experiences I had.
The day we left almost felt sad because there were friends we made who were
still down there when we left. Although I didn’t want to leave, I had nothing
to complain about because I had a great experience and I felt like a changed
person after that week. Seeing a different part of our country made me realize
that even people in our own country had different ways of living.
The only really sad part was driving through the 9th ward to see all of
the devastation. No one said a word except the occasional, “wow, look at
that” when we drove past abandoned house after abandoned house. It was depressing
to see all the devastation and hope that was lost due to Katrina. The parking
lots filled with countless rows of FEMA trailers made you stop and think about
how many people were affected by this horrible disaster. It made me feel
like the work we did was only a drop in the bucket. There is still so much
to be done, and it made me wonder when. That made me want to stay down there
to help out a little bit longer.
The ride home which I thought was going to be fun but somewhat blue turned
out to be the funniest part of the trip. I cant exactly go into detail about
what went on because most of it would not be appropriate for church, but lets
just say it was a lot of fun and I found out sides of people I had never seen.
It was a riot and I wish I could do it again.
I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything in the world and I would go
and do it again if I could. Thank you and God bless the people of New Orleans.
- Matt Colbert
If you were part of the Mission Trip and have a story
you'd like to share,
please e-mail Bonny McCabe.
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