Dear Friend of Senior P.F.,
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ! I offer you greetings from Good Shepherd U.C.C. in Metairie, LA, and the staff and clients of St. Bernard Project.
A month ago, 25 members of our high school youth group, Senior Pilgrim Fellowship, and 11 adult advisors took part in our third mission trip to New Orleans. We arrived in New Orleans midday on Sunday and that same day took a tour of the region, which included stops at Lake Ponchartrain, the 17th Street Canal, Dillard University, Beecher Memorial Church, the Lower 9th Ward, the Musician's Village and Brad Pitt's housing initiative. We then briefly visited the French Quarter where we all partook ofbeignets (that's fried dough with soft middles and served with powdered sugar).
The next morning we reported to St. Bernard Project headquarters. There we listened to a history of the region, particularly how hurricane Katrina destroyed homes and livelihoods and scattered families who had spent generations living in the same neighborhood. We were given seven projects to work on, and we split up the youth and adults into work crews.
As you can see from the enclosed pictures, our crews worked extremely hard in hot and humid conditions. We learned new skills to help rebuild homes that families were still waiting to be repaired almost five years after Katrina. Families told us stories of how they have spent the last several years trying to save up enough money to rebuild their house on their own, and what a joy it was to learn about St. Bernard Project's mission. We grew in hope for the people of the Gulf as we worked side by side with residents and under the helpful oversight of our supervisors, AmeriCorps workers who have made a year-long commitment to serve their neighbors.
On Tuesday night we had a potluck with some members of Good Shepherd UCC and Beecher Memorial Congregational Church; Bertha, a member of Beecher church, sang, and Bertha and others shared their stories of frustration, joy and perseverance.
By Friday afternoon, the crews had all made substantial progress at their work sites: almost two entire houses were mudded and taped; several rooms in two other houses now had floors; walls went up for several bedrooms at another residence; a trailer was much closer to having functional flooring; and the last touches of plumbing for several homes were worked on by our "three amigos" advisors. We were humbled by the amount of work still to be done but also proud that we helped families take one more step toward returning home.
Through our devotionals, fellowship, and meeting new people, we felt God's presence among us and that we were truly part of the body of Christ, seeking to help heal the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Katrina and in the midst of uncertainty surrounding the oil leak.
We have more to tell about our experiences, so we hope that you can come to our mission trip presentation, which will take place as part of worship at First DCC, Milford, on Sunday, September 19, at 8:00 a.m. (Chapel) and 10:00 a.m. (Sanctuary) services.
Please enjoy our group picture and the action photos as tokens of our thanks for your support of the trip. Thank God for you! The trip was an experience of a lifetime!
God Bless,
Rev. Adam E. Eckhart
THE FIRST UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST - Congregational
34 West Main Street • Milford, Connecticut 06460 phone (203) 877-4277 • fax (203) 877-4279
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• website www.firstchurchofmilford.org
