Coming Home

The cliche thing to say is that it is bitter sweet. Hard to leave but good to come home. I am not sure that is exactly the feeling. There is a little bit of home for all of us here now. We realize more and more everyday that it is not the structure of a home that makes it feel that way, it is a sense of family, belonging and hope of something better.

For the last four + weeks our nation's emotional energy has been nearly consumed by the stories of devastation and despair coming out of the tragedy of the Hurricane but now Hope and Resolve. We are so proud and to feel a part of the good that is happening here. You see, the buildings can be torn down but not the Spirit of the people.

Perfect strangers have approached us and thanked us for being here. Thanked us for helping them and their community. Children have told us they love us after just a few short days of knowing us. Parents have shaken our hands and said nothing but the feeling of brotherhood and sisterhood and humanity is here. It is so apparent.

Yesterday was the perfect ending to the adventure. We decided together, as a team of 8, that we need not to just pack our bags and walk away. At this point, there is too much invested. Not fiscally invested, much more sweat and tears. Rather than saying we did what we could with what we had.....which we did, we decided to do just a little more.

Saturday, the Elite Eight and Martin, our new Ukrainian friend whom we have adopted, piled in the Y van for a trip to Walmart and Lowe's. With lists in hand we rummageded through piles and stacks of goods in the stores. You see, there are not enough employees in the stores to stock the shelves so it is a little bit of a search for the things that you usually find easilyly. Fencing, paint, rugs, toys, books, puzzles, and more, plus the eight of us packed into the van for the short drive to Ocean Springs, the afterschool site at which half of the team has been working. Work gloves, tools and joyful noise were abundantnt as we transformed an old, tired, hurricanene beaten building into a real afterschool site. Now with a reading room, homework room, game room, assembly set up, etc. the place is ready for children. It is safe and appropriate and for the counselors it is full proof, we giggled by saying is was an "afterschool site in a box".

"Extreme YMCA Make Over" was a success! I wish we could show you all pictures. We have been unable to get pictures up on the blog. Time is short, not the right softwarear, and computers are all too popular. We do plan to get all of the best pics. up upon return.

If you are interested in seeing pictureses of Ocean Springs and some of the devastationon check out this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/oceansprings/

Words cannot express the things we have seen and the experiences we have had in the last week. Seeing miles and miles of debris and rubble. Knowing, seeing, smelling, feeling devastationon all around us, we will still never fully understand what it is like for the people, all of the people, that were and continue to be affected by Hurricane Katrina.

David Harris, the CEO of the Mississippi Gulf Coast YMCA justed walked into the room. This is a man who has lost his home, a side business, the homes of several of his children and grandchildren, and told me thank you for coming and all that we did. He is here on a Sunday calling YMCAs in Florida to find out how he can help after Wilma and Alfa have swept their state. It seems as though the human spirit is truly the one thing that cannot be broken.

We are proud to end this blog and our trip by humbly saying that our experiences here will last a lifetime. Dreams of smiling children and glimpses of hope in the eyes of an adult are worth all of the sweat and tears....and then many more.

Elayne, Eric, Josephe, Leigh, Howard, Kim, Zach, and Meredith would like to thank the Mississippi Gulf Coast YMCA for a home for the week and for the opportunity, the best opportunity, to " Build strong kids, strong families, and strong communities."