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!