January 2008 - Gulf Coast Mission Trip
CHURCHES COMPLETE KATRINA RELIEF PROJECTS
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For the third January since Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Barrington, sent a team of volunteers to Louisiana to work on relief projects.
This year’s team was unique because it drew members from nine area Lutheran congregations. In addition to people from St. Matthew, volunteers also came from Immanuel, Crystal Lake; Prince of Peace, Crystal Lake; Holy Cross, Cary; St. John, Island Lake; Immanuel, East Dundee; St. Matthew, Hawthorn Woods; St. John, Algonquin; and St. Peter, Schaumburg.
This group was joined by four seniors from Fox Valley Lutheran Academy, Elgin, and 12 members from Holy Cross Lutheran Church in downstate Collinsville.
The team of 104 departed on Friday, January 11. En route to New Orleans, the team was hosted overnight by Hernando United Methodist Church, Hernando, MS, and Pleasant Hill UMC, Olive Branch, MS.
Prior to the trip, non-perishable food had been collected in Barrington, Fox River Grove, and East Dundee. American Hotel Register Company, Vernon Hills, donated two pallets of shampoo and soap.
The food and supplies were transported to the Gulf Coast in two box trucks which were provided by Enterprise Truck Rental. The team delivered 8,400 pounds of food and supplies to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank.
In New Orleans the team lived at Camp Restore, formerly Prince of Peace Lutheran Church and School. The school facility has been remodeled into dormitories, dining hall, tool room, and offices.
The camp is operated by Recovery Assistance, Inc., an agency of the Southern District of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.
During their week-long stay in New Orleans, the team provided more than 3,000 hours of volunteer labor. They worked on 21 houses, 3 churches, 6 outdoor projects, and 7 projects at Camp Restore.
Work crews built and installed cabinets, hung and finished drywall, painted, laid ceramic tile and wood floors, cleared yards, installed electric wiring, and delivered building materials.
“While the French Quarter, the Garden District, and other tourist sites in New Orleans have been rebuilt,” reported the Rev. Gerald Schalk, pastor of St. Matthew Barrington, and team leader, “the need to rebuild the neighborhoods–the homes of the people–remains great.”
The rebuilding progress has been hampered by increasing lawlessness in the New Orleans neighborhoods. Homes under repair are often vandalized and stripped of copper wiring and plumbing. High copper prices have encouraged this thievery.
Many of the homeowners in New Orleans have also exhausted their resources and can only afford to slowly purchase the materials needed to repair their homes. Material donations and relief funds are assisting them.
The team took a trailer filled with new kitchen cabinets and other household goods to New Orleans. These materials were provided by Lutheran Church Charities, Addison.
Because of the flooding near Watseka, IL, the team brought back supplies which are no longer needed in New Orleans. A trailer filled with boots, coveralls, gloves, respirators, and hard hats was delivered to Lutheran Church Charities at Calvary Lutheran Church, Watseka. This equipment is being used by the on-going efforts to help people whose homes were flooded by the Kankakee, Iroquois, and Vermillon Rivers.
“When a group of people are determined to serve God and those in need, it is amazing how many opportunities for service come your way,” Schalk said. “We saw so many doors for service opened to us during our trip to Louisiana.”
The team returned to the Chicago area on January 19. Plans are already being made for another trip in 2009.
