Encouraging Letter From A Parent

We thought we would share this nice letter with everyone out there in blog world...

To all of you who have given so graciously to be there for my son Jack, I want to say thank you. I can't express hom important it was for my family. I returned to work on Labor Day and my husband's job pulled him to Shreveport 2 days later. Jack's regular day care center would be closed until St. Tammany's school system reopened. The opening of Kamp Katrina at the YMCA provided the only way for me to continue my job. Friends and family who we would normally have depended on, had lost their homes or remained away. You provided consistency for my son when there was not much of that at home. I was anxious to bring him that first day but when I picked him up he expressed how much fun he had. I knew he always had a nutritious meal, security, love and a safe play to play. I appreciate you giving your time, energy, and heart to give us some nomalcy in our life.

Sincerely,

Ann (Jack's mom)


It felt really good to get great big hugs from some of the parents as we said our goodbyes. Many of them asked if we could move down here and continue caring for their children! We told them that although we were very flattered, we didn't think our friends in the Triangle would be too pleased with that :)

Both Kamp Katrinas went really well again today. Bead necklaces are a hit!!! Everytime a huddle sat down after an activity, the question, "Is it bead time yet?" was asked! It was so apparent that with so much going on down here in the last month, kids were not getting a lot of attention from their parents. The positive reinforcement of beads in front of their peers was just what they needed. It was music to our ears to hear the campers singing Y songs, doing cheers, and trying to imitate Irie Mon (skit character) throughout the day-all this after a few days of Camp! Up in the nursery area, it was business as usual-diaper changing, The Wiggles, and tons of hugs...It is few and far between when a baby, infant, or toddler is not in the arms of one of our team members! Thanks for all the prayers with our friend Ebony. She was dropped off and picked up at a normal time today. God answers prayer!

Darrell Johnson, the CEO of the YMCA of Greater New Orleans, took us all to dinner tonight for a great "Nawlins" meal. He talked about their Metro offices in downtown New Orleans and how it took in 8 feet of water. He just recently went back to retreive some personal items for himself and some of the other staff-wedding pics, diplomas, etc. and saw that the wooden desks had shrunk down to the floor for sitting in that much water for days. His house was also severely damaged and they are going to have to rebuild most of it. Darell also told us about an email he received a few days ago from a Y in Haiti(the world's poorest country). The Haiti Y informed Darrell that they were telling all of their donors to stop giving money to their Y but to send all of it to the New Orleans Y. It's kind of like the story in the Bible when Jesus tells his disciples about the old woman who gave only a few pennies in the offering plate. Although she gave only a few pennies, it was all she had, Jesus recognized it, and she was blessed for it! That's good stuff!

From his personal stories to the stories he has been told and shared with us, it is really unimaginable. But, the great thing is that New Orleans and the surrounding areas are covered in so much prayer and thousands of people volunteering with HUGE servant hearts! There is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Tomorrow morning, the entire team if off to the East Jefferson Y to finish up their Kamp Katrina. That's right, camp on Saturday! John, Kelly and Steve are very excited about this, for being away from the rest of the team during the day all week has made them feel like the red-headed step child camp! But, we are excited to connect and continue to build the "caring community" those guys have established down there. We are continuing to run off adrenaline, and are trying to find out a way we can stay down here longer and serve without our bosses getting mad! Although this is a repatative comment, we THANK YOU for the opportunity we have to serve!

Relationships...

GREETINGS!! A great update on our new friend who is moving to Raleigh with her children. She came into the Development Center today and chatted with a few of us a bit more about her plans to move. She is leaving tomorrow afternoon and will arrive in Raleigh in a few days! We have put her in contact with our good friend Bo Roberts who is helping out with her housing situation. THANKS BO! As movers tried to pack up her house today, they realized all of her furniture was infested with cockroaches, fire ants, possum, and other animals/bugs that had come into the house while they had evacuated after the flooding. The movers had other families furniture on the truck already and could not load any of her furniture due to the risk of damage. These men could of just left and proceeded on, BUT they helped her rent a trailer and agreed to pull it behind the moving truck. They also agreed to switch up their driving plans and make Raleigh the last stop on their trip to give her a few extra days to find a place to live. What a great thing God has done to use his hand to put all the right people in the right places at the right times to help this woman! That's some POWERFUL stuff!

Speaking of great relationships, I have failed to mention two great people we have grown to love down here, our new surrogate parents Mrs. Sue and Mr. Jack! Sue and Jack are a retired YMCA couple from Minnesota. Sue was in resident camping for many years in Conneticut and Pennslyvania(where she also served as CEO), while Jack was her Operations guy. They too were in touch with the YMCA of the USA and came down to help as soon as they were called. They have since been at Kamp Katrina for the 3 weeks it has been open. Sue did most of the daily activities (she has since stepped back into more of an admin. role since we arrived and loves us for it!), and Jack still does Operations-cleaning, fixing stuff, and serving up snacks and lunch everyday. Sue and Jack drove down in a Winnebago, and sleep out in the parking lot of our current home. She makes sure we're up in the morning and ready to go, and is always offering words of encouragement! (they have also been our ride to work!)

Over at East Jefferson, John and Kelly once again shared an amazing story about 2 children who are attending the newly opened Kamp Katrina on the other side of the lake. Gabby(4th grade) and Hickman (6th grade) were affected by the flooding, commenting that they were lucky because they only recieved "16 inches of water" in their one-story house. But, in reality, everything is destroyed. They have just rented an apartment right next to the East Jefferson Y where they plan to stay for a few more months. The apartment they currently live in has holes in the roof and cockroaches all over, and Gabby shares an air mattress with her mom at night. Until the new Kamp Katrina opened, they had spent their days pulling up nasty carpet, digging out wet sheet rock, etc. Today at camp, they got picked up around 4:30 to go home and eat an early dinner. But, 10 minutes later Gabby came stolling back through the doors of the YMCA. John thought that maybe she had left a lunchbox, but she came back in to ask if she could stay longer! (She was there until closing time!) What a great escape for Gabby and Hickman-getting showered with love from John and Kelly! (Gabby is in the pic with John, she is on the right)

Back at Kamp Katrina, it was rockin and rollin as usual! The St. Tammany newspaper came around today and took pictures and interviewed the Executive Director and Sue about Kamp Katrina. We also found out that there is a 4th grade girl named Ebony who is in need of prayer!!! She gets dropped off at the Development Center at 6:30am and doesn't get picked up until 8:00pm. During the day, she tells us about her home life-a few siblings who have died(car accident, drowning, miscarriage), and about her Dad who tells her he doesn't want to be her father. The way she causually talks about all of this stuff is heartwreatching. While we don't know how much of her stories are true, we do know that any child making those claims is a child who desperatly needs our love and prayers. (This is Ebony with Richard)

Nick, John and Kelly got to sneak in a little trip through downtown New Orleans today. In a nutshell, here is what we saw-watermarks on houses and buildings so high it was almost unimaginable, minimal power throughout the city, the Superdome's roof and how the outer shell had peeled off, police officers still blocking off a few exits due to current flooding, 3 boats tied up to an overpass in the median of the highway, and a smell of waste and debris that we will never forget.

Tommorow is a sad day...the last day of Kamp Katrina at the Child Development Center (we will all go over to work the new Kamp Katrina at East Jefferson on Saturday). Darrell Johnson, the CEO of the YMCA of Greater New Orleans and other staff are taking us out to dinner for an "End Of Camp Banquet. " It should be a great time of fellowship with our new life long friends. Once again, we thank you for all the prayers and support. TJ always says it so well but it's so true..."WE GET TO DO THIS!!!"

The LORD is working!!!

How's this for God working?! Today, a woman came into the Child Development Center to pick up her child. While talking, Jeff and George engaged in some friendly converstation with her. She proceeded to tell them that she was frustrated with New Orleans and getting out of town for good. Her landlord had kicked her out of the place she rented to allow for some of his family to move in who were displaced by the flood. So, she decided to go online and search for a place to live. She took a "home placement survey" to determine what area in the U.S. she should search for homes based on her answers and interests. Guess where it said she should move? Raleigh, NC!!! Coincidence? I THINK NOT! Jeff immediately got online and searched for some affordable apartments. He told her about all the YMCA's nearby and how we can help. So tommorow, she is packing up her house and driving to Raleigh(she told us that she hopes she gets their before the movers so she can find a place ASAP and tell them where to deliver her stuff). But, before she leaves she is coming in to talk to us about schools, etc. so she can pick a place to live. We are currently trying to arrange a way for our team(or a bunch of Y volunteers/leaders club kids, etc.) back home who can help her unload the truck when she arrives-we'll keep you posted!

We also found out that many of our parents at Kamp Katrina had thier power turned on for the first time last night! That was around one full month without power in their home...some lived out of hotels, while others roughed it at their home. Once again, parents would come and express their sincere thanks for all the work we are doing...such an easy motivator to keep us energized!
Over at East Jefferson, John shared a very powerful story about a Y member who he had time to chat with. This man is a mailman who suffered some injuries during the storm and half of his face is paralyzed. While talking to John, he said he was so glad that the Y was
now open, and that "...for my one hour each day at the Y it seems like everything in life is back to normal."

We got to journey on two adventures tonight. Our first, we walked through neighborhoods behind the Child Development Center and looked at some of the damage. Trees through houses, power lines down, major debris on the side of the road, gererators blaring, the whole works. Our second, a group trip to Wendy's (drive through only, still closing ealry) where we proceeded to order 13 meals...let me just tell you that when only a few resturaunts in town are open and lines are extremly long, people tend to frown when you make 13 orders! Did I mention to you guys and gals that the Red Cross provides food for us and the Kamp Katrina campers each day? The joint relief effort down here is truly amazing. Well, we keep on truckin through the days and constantly give thanks to God that he has chosen us to do his work!

Wendy On The Radio, George plays with Barbies!

While watching tv coverage of New Olreans, I'm sure you have tried to imagine what it's really like down here. As we prepared for our trip, we had some of those same questions. After riding around the area for a few days, here it what we discovered-New Orleans and the surrounding areas are in an extremely unique situation, almost comparible to a third world country. For example, 10 minutes away from the East Jefferson Y is downtown New Orleans. Some areas are still flooding and under water as we speak, and there are curfews, checkpoints, etc. only allowing certain personel into the city. But, right before the huge checkpoint that leads you into a ravished city with no power is a Popeye's chicken and biscuits serving up food like it's a normal day. That's kind of the theme down here-some people are almost back to living the normal life(going to work, eating dinner, watching the tube), while others can't even remember what the normal life is like and still havent been allowed back into their parish to see the damage done to thier home. It's kind of an eerie and awkward feeling. We have some campers whose parents are going to thier daily job (the hopsital and into the city to clean up,etc.) while one parent is out of a job as a schoolteacher because her school is underwater and will not reopen this year...As of Nov. 1st, she loses her pay, benefits, and tenure. So first and foremost, that is our #1 prayer- you can be praying for stability and a firm foundation in this community...pray for the time where the residents of New Orleans and the surrounding areas can live on the same page.

The team at East Jefferson had their work cut out for them this morning! Steve and Lawrie were workaholics, re-planting trees, painting the gym floor, you name it! Meanwhile, Wendy worked on getting a live announcement on the radio station about the Y offering child care tommorow. After 5 hours of dialing, and 1 hour on hold, Wendy FINALLY got on the air and gave a blurb about the opportunities at the Y! Calls immediately started to come in.

Over at Kamp Katrina, the team made huge progress giving camp the YMCA of the Triangle flavor. Bead necklaces, character traits, silly songs and cheers, Nick in fake dredlocks and a dress riding a wooden horse, John and Corey vying for the champion of "how long can you sit on the big giant aerobic ball without touching the ground and falling off" (Dont ask!), messy A & C with Ryan leading the hour long clean up, the whole nine yards! Down the hall in the nursery, George and Richard played with barbies and pretend food, while Jeff, Jennifer, Lisa and Kelly changed diapers, rocked babies to sleep, and used tons of hand sanitizer!

So far, we've found that one of the times we look forward to is back at our temporary home at the West St. Tammany YMCA trading stories about our day. Is is such a great time of fellowship and bonding amounst our Y family who we don't always get to talk and interact with. Tommorow, John, Kelly and Steve are headed back down to East Jefferson to help with any kids who are able to come in after hearing the radio announcement, while the rest of us head back to Kamp Katrina. Thanks so much for the continued support. We read and share the comments, and they really lift our spirits!

Off and Running!

We have arrived and are safe down in the Big Easy! Flying into New Orleans was very interesting and eye opening...from the hundreds of blue tarps on the rooftops to only a handful of planes and people in the airport. Immediatley upon arrival our group was split up-the younger guys and gals (Nck, John, Kelly, Ryan, Corey, Lisa, Jennifer) headed across Lake Pontrachaine to relieve some day care workers at the YMCA Child Development Center in Covington, while the old, wise men and women (Wendy, George, Jeff, Steve, Richard, Lawrie) stayed back at the East Jefferson Y to help clean and scrub all the equipment in the facility that was damaged by some flooding.

At the Child Development Center, AKA Kamp Katrina, we get to serve kids ages infant-5th grade whose parents either work in hospitals, fire/police department, or they are parrish workers and are helping with clean up in the city. Upon arrival, we could see how tired and worn down the YMCA staff were. It was such an amazing feeling to be greeted with big hugs and be referred to as "a Godsend." The campers were also very excited to see new fresh, smiling faces. They too greeted us with big hugs! Although it was an adjustment getting used to the system down here, there is no doubt in our mind that God has put us in the right place to serve!

Over on the other side of the lake at the East Jefferson Y, they were without power for most of they day. There's nothing like cleaning and scrubbing in the dark baby! It was a great time for our team to connect with David Parsons, the Executive Director at East Jefferson. He had many stories to share, telling us the good, the bad, and the ugly from the aftermath of Katrina.

For Dinner, David invited our group over to his house for a cookout. We also dined with 2 nice men from South Dakota, who drove down an RV to leave for one of the East Jefferson staff members who lost thier house. Servant hearts are everywhere!!! For the night, the two teams split up-the "cleaners and scrubbers" team stayed at East Jefferson, and the Kamp Katrina group headed back across the lake and stayed at the St. Tammany Y due to the Kamp Katrina's team work hours-7:30am-7:30pm (and we thought 13 weeks of summer was long!) This morning, we are sending the van back to East Jefferson to grab 3 from our team to help out at Kamp Katrina-we really just want to see George Allen and Richard Hamilton changing diapers! Tonight, ALL of the team will stay at the St. Tammany Y together...then we'll see what the Lord has in store for us! Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers...we need em, and we can feel them all day long!

The Team is complete!

The Lord works in great ways! In one day, he handpicked an amazing group of 13 people to go serve and do HIS work down in New Orleans! It is amazing how our YMCA Triangle family prepared, supported and organized at the drop of a dime. We are extremely excited to see what God has in store for us when we arrive. At the moment, our team leaves at 6:22am on Monday morning. We will be heading straight to 3 different YMCA's (East Jefferson YMCA in Metairie, West St. Tammany YMCA in Covington, and Castle Kids YMCA Child Development Center in New Orleans) to work with hundreds of children who have still not been able to go back to school. Here is the team who was able to make the trip:

Nick Errato-Durham, John Collins-Kerr, Jeff Flake-Finley, Steve Hillsgrove-Cary(Diane's husband), Kelly Brady-Garner, Ryan Howe-Cary, Wendy Gordon-Metro, Jennifer Hayes-SWW, Richard Hamilton-Camp Kanata, George Allen-Metro, Lawrie Richter-Kerr, Lisa Mischely-Finley, Corey Kozar-Finley

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we begin to prepare our hearts and minds for this wonderful servant journey. As my friend TJ says, "WE GET TO DO THIS!"