Alternative Spring Break

So I did my first ever mission trip over spring break last week. I had the opportunity to take a group of local college students from my internship to Houma, LA to do some work with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. I have to admit, the PDA people seem to have the whole operation down to a science. You pay about $20 day for food and lodging in what they call a pod. That is short for laminated corrugated cardboard tents. They did have hot water showers and a dining facility. It was extremely comfortable and was kind of like upscale camping. There were other students at the camp from California, New Jersey, Tennessee and New York. It was great getting to know people from all over the country and that provided a great experience for all of the students from our group.


The work was a bit different. Usually the groups go and do heavy demolition or construction for homeowners that have pretty much exhausted all FEMA options and didn't have any insurance. PDA provides labor and some materials and most importantly sitting with the owners and providing someone to talk with developing a relationship. We didn't do any of the construction work. We helped move elderly individuals back into their apartments at Bayou Towers in Houma.


This building is section 8 housing and the roof blew off during Ike and Gustav and had been closed for the last 7 months. We were busy cleaning with the residents and preparing other rooms for them to return back to. They hadn't seen their rooms until last week so we were there when they returned and that in itself was pretty powerful. Many stories and relationships with the residents came from the experience and I can truly say it was life forming for all involved on a multitude of levels. As for the management and the conditions that we saw in the buildings, I am still trying to wrap my mind around how poorly run the whole building was and the way in which the residents were treated was appalling, but don't quite yet know how to put those things into words.

Now back to studying. Hopefully it won't be a month between posts but it is a crazy semester.