Friday Night from Olive Tree

IT has been a long week and good week.  Today all the teams finished up their work around 2:00 PM and spent the afternoon recuperating, packing, and debriefing about their week.  2/3 of the group took off for a night on the town in New Orleans.  Another 1/3 visited the Lakeview Presbyterian CHurch and the Crawfish Boil they had.  5 of remained at camp because 4 of us came down with some mysterious flu-like illness.  That makes 7 who became ill this week.  Please pray that more don’t become ill on our way home tomorrow.

We want to thank the Presbytery of Kiskiminetas, our churches, families, and friends for their support of this mission endeavor.  We hope and pray that you’ll listen to the stories of the 58 faithful mission workers as they return home.  Join us at the Presbytery meeting on Tuesday in East Brady as they tell their story and as the word makes it way out into the local churches.  23 different churches were represented on our trip.   21 of those were Presbyterian Churches.

Gary and Lisa would especially like to thank Holly Wadding, Debbie Lundgren, and Carol Mock for helping us with all the details of this trip.  Additionally, Wayne Yost (who was a worker bee on this mission endeavor), gave us constant support and encouragement!  Most importantly we want to thank all 58 mission workers who joined us and gave and gave and gave even when they were work out.

We all feel blessed, renewed, and tired!  We all look forward to coming home and sharing our moments of faith from New Orleans with you.

Blessings,

Gary & Lisa Lyon

Tuesday Night, Olive Tree Alive

Good morning readers, especially Corbin and Aiden.  New Orleans is a beautiful place.  We have had a chance to do some sight – seeing and some work.  yesterday my group worked on a house ruined by the flood but being rebuilt.  I helped put studs in the ceiling.  It is warm and muggy but not too many bugs! I did see a little gecko in the dumpster!  My bed (and everyone else’s) is pretty hard so I got an air mattress.  It must have a little hole because by morning it is flat.  Still we are all doing great and happy to be sharing the love of Jesus in our group and in this world.  Love you much, Gram. (Linda Coulson)

Eagle Street Project  (Al Fritz Crew)

The Eagle St. project at the home of Velma Lewis has a work crew consisting of Al Fritz (crew leader), Steve Buttery, Kent Conteras, Neal Watkins, Tonya Watkins, Ann Himes, Bill Moore and Rebecca Lindemuth. Our job site manager is Christina Drake from the great state of Pennsylvania. The house we are working on is going to be 3 units so Velma, her sister and her brother each have a unit of their own. We are replacing and finishing drywall and we have ceramic tile to lay. Tuesday was a repeat of Monday with the exception of late day. We got to meet the owner Velma Lewis, her niece Beverly and her two great-granddaughters Kiya and Nichale. What a treat listening to their stories! We will see them again Thursday evening for dinner. Our crew has been boosting the local economy by buying lunch at the local deli J & P Superette and by having the Good Humor truck stop on the job site!

Today at our job site, two of us worked to widen a door frame in order to make it handicap-accessible. It was quite a project as neither of us really knew what we were doing and our supervisor was very patient with us. At one point we began to celebrate, rejoicing with manly chest bumps until our handiwork was measured and found to be 1 inch too narrow. We had to tear part out and redo it. In some ways our journeys of faith are not dissimilar. Paul says in Phil. 1 that he rejoices and gives thanks for us because of our partnership in the gospel, from the first day until now. Paul describes and gives thanks for the long and meandering road of faith and life. Sometimes it takes two, three or four tries to get the door framer level, plumb, etc., and thank goodness that God in and through Christ is still at work in us from the first day we believe until now. From New Orleans, Derek Campbell

Lowe’s & Project Homecoming

Making a bathroom wheelchair accessible

Measuring twice and cutting once

It was 94 degrees today!

Thursday from New Orleans

The Stevenson House

The home we’re working on this week belongs to Mr. Stevenson, a 96 year old gentleman. In the first wave of disaster from Hurricane Katrina, the flood waters came up about 5 feet, damaging the floor and causing some electrical and plumbing problems. The family repaired the floor and other inside damage. Outside, the house still needed some repairs.

Then the second wave of disaster hit. People with trucks marked “contractor” came into the area doing shoddy work and taking money then disappearing. Mr. Stevenson was one of those affected. Our work has been to complete the repairs and make things right.

We have been working hard repairing and replacing old wooden siding then scraping, caulking, priming, and painting. The group before us had no tall ladders so they worked from the ground up. So, we became the monkeys, working backwards from the top down to where they ended. One part of our crew worked on the windows and trim, glazing as well as painting.

Our contact has been Mr. Stevenson’s daughter Viola. When Katrina hit, she had to help evacuate her father. Her husband didn’t want to leave. He finally gave in when he heard that 30 foot flood waters were coming. Viola and her father returned to his house when they were allowed since their damage was minimal compared to other homes. She moved to her own home when her husband returned.

Viola found out about Project Homecoming through her brother who had his home repaired through them. Unfortunately, her father began falling and has moved in with her until the repairs are completed. She wants to get her father’s home completely repaired as soon as possible because he wants to come home. He has a long-time friend, Gilda, to live with and care for him. She had done day care for both of Viola’s parents in the past. We are working to provide Mr. Stevenson, Gilda, and his family with a wonderful home.

Along the way, we’ve also met some wonderful characters: Don Montana, 2^nd chief of the “Mardi Gras Indians,” who rode by on his bicycle and stopped to share a poem he’d written for us; Margerite Duncan, an 85-year old next door neighbor, who was evacuated to a New Orleans hotel then a relief camp in Tennessee and finally stayed with a son in Virginia; Errol and Brent, paid contractors who brought music to enliven the work day.

We are blessed by this experience!

Mama Black’s House

Hello from Dave Koehler, Don Herrick, Janine Strohm, Mike McCutcheon, Kyle Skarada & Christa Sturiale. We are working at 135 Black Lane in Belle Chasse, South of New Orleans, on “Mama Black’s” house. Living in the house will be Mamma Black, her daughter Betty Anne, and her granddaughter Octavia, who is attending nursing school. We are working with presbyterian friends from Phily and partnering with the Fuller Center for Housing for this project. Our construction chiefs PJ and Tamara have been working on this house since March, when it was just a foudnation. So far this week we have almost finished shingling the roof. We have fully painted and trimmed the house, began building railings and stairs for the porches, blocked the studs inside the house, hung aluminum trim and will begin putting in insulation Friday. In addition to finishing our work on the hosue of Friday, we will be enjoying an authentic homemade southern New Orleans lunch made especially by Mamma Black. Don’t be too jealous. And when you come by this way, if you see a bright sunshine yellow house, that’s us!

THe 7 Work Teams Follow:

Ron's Team

Al's Team

Jason's (Irv's) Team

Lea's Team

Jim's Team

Dave Larimer's Team

Dave Koehler's Team

Wednesday at Olive Tree

From the Fig Street work team:

Pisgah & New Rehoboth-Greenville participants in the New Orleans mission trip have been working at Fig Street house of Project Homecoming. The house is a duplex. One-half is owned by a woman who has been temporarily relocated to Houston as a reslt of Hurricane Katrina. She has been in Housto for 5t yars because her home ws significantly damaged. The home was unable to be repaired in a timely manner due to delays in obtaining an insurance settlement and also the contractor fraud that ran rampant in the area. the other half of the duplex is owned by her sister who is currenlty living in her home as a result of earlier efforts of PDA and Project Homecoming.

There are a total of 8 volunteers comprising the team working on Fig Street. Ron Alderton (Pisgah) is the team leader. He is joined by John Ortz (Beechwoods), Darla Travis (NuMine), Brad Coulson (Pisgah),Mary Goodheart (Concord), Bryan Huwar & Jan McKinney (New Rehoboth-Greenville) and Wayne Yost (Kiski Pby). This teaming is working on a variety of construction projects. embers have been installing drywall blocking, hanging exterior doors, installing exterior Hardiplank siding, caulking, painting and soffit & fascia installation. Ron, as the team leader, typically begins the day with his team by reading scripture and asking a volunteer to lead prayer. He also ends each daily work with prayer also provided by a team member. The weather has been hot, in the upper 80s, but this has not diminished the eagerness of the workers, their outcomes, or the camaraderie.

The collaborative effort of the PDA and Project Homecoming has effectively assisted approximately 120 deserving people to return home to New Orleans and their reconstructed homes and lives. The PDA is represented at Olive Tree mission by full-time staff as is Project Homecoming. Henry Lin is the construction site supervisor at the Fig Street site andthe direct supervisor of the volunteers serving there.

Five years after Katrina came ashore there continues to be many people in need. Kiskiminetas Presbytery volunteers are unanimous in their belief that they are performing a valuable service and exhibiting one of the most important forms of discipleship.

From the Franklin Street work team:

The Franklin St. gang has been working on the home of Gwen Larson. Gwen is a lifelong resident of New Orleans, She is a single mother with two of her children living with her. Also, she is the guardian of two girls. When Katrina surfaced in New Orleans, her home flooded and the family was ordered to evacuate to a hotel. The family lived on the seventh floor with no electricity, and were forced to bucket water from teh rooftop swimming pool to flush the toilet. She currently lives in a garage apartment behind the home. Gwen has been showing her appreciation by cooking lunch for us and sharing stories with the crew.

Our crew has done various tasks on the cite. Ed and Jim have been sweating in the sun putting siding on teh outside of the home. Bob & Joe have been working tirelessly painting & all the inside doors. Luann and Judy have done a wonderful job on the wood flooring. You haven’t seen anythig until you see Betty using the pneumatic drill, with a lot of assistance from Clint & Donna, in an effort to prepare a room for drywall. Our gruop has indivisuals with many construction skills from some to even minimal, but by God’s grace he has allowed us to come together as a teia to share his love.

The Franklin St. gang consists of Alex Marine (site leader), Jim Sisitki (crew leader), Joe Billotte, Donna Bowser, Betty Grunstra, Ed Kuhns, Bob Moore, Judy Moore, Luann McGuire and Clint Rhodes.

Dinner Time

Smilin' Al

Ice Cream Truck instead of working!

Monday, Olive Tree

Today was an exciting day here in New Orleans. Our crew worked away, hammering, lifting, cutting and building with the deftest of skill. We spent a memorable part of the day wrestling with 20-foot ceiling rafters that seemed to stretch the entire length of the house. It took several people to move them, to cut them and to finagle them into place. As we jostled, banged and clanged, we also joked and chatted. Like Snow White’s dwarves whistling while we worked. Paul write in Ephesians about Christ coming to tear down walls that divide us. I can’t help thinking about the fact that as we came together in Christ today, we tore down walls in Christ by raising the walls that fell to a hurricane. From New Orleans, Derek Campbell.

It was a dark and stormy night (endless thunder and lightning, pouring rain), following which the work teams met their site supervisors, traveled to their job sites and some met their homeowners. One group even enjoyed a home-cooked meal of red beans and rice and roast beef courtesy of their homeowner! Work today include prepping a house for painting, doing siding, interior painting, caulking, trimwork, installing a door, removing faulty grout, drywalling. The day’s adventures included getting lost on the way to work, minor injuries (scraped knees and knuckles), the ice cream truck that came down the street at noon, the shop across the street serving large, cheap po’ boys, getting stuck in traffic, finishing a large, complicated jigsaw puzzle that at least 15 people had worked on, often 4-6 at a time, and hearing Gloria King’s presentation on “Turning the Tide: The fight to keep coastal Louisiana on the map”. Thanks for your prayers and good wishes. We’re posting your messages and comments on the wall so our volunteers will be able to read them. Lisa Lyon

New Friends

The Three Amigos

Cleanliness is next to...

Getting down to the nitty gritty

Sunday, May 2nd, Olive Tree PDA Camp

All 58 of us have arrived at Olive Tree. Betty Grunstra was the last to arrive following a weekend family wedding in Knoxville, TN.  This morning we went to church at the Lakeview Presbyterian Church.  We nearly doubled the size of their congregation and sent the elders into a panic because it was communion Sunday.  The choir director invited anyone who wanted to to sing the anthem with their choir.  We tripled the size of the choir! (For choir members: we had to sight read a John Rutter piece!)

The church is hosting a Crawfish boil on Friday and encouraged our group to come back for some good food and music. It is a fund raiser for a ministry to the homeless. Two major faith responses the pastor touched on during the service included immigration issues (who is your neighbor?), and the ecological disaster heading our way from the oil platform.

After worship, we toured the French Quarter. A number of folks went to the dollar store to buy (swimming pool) air mattresses to make their bunks a little more comfortable!

This evening everyone got their work assignments for the week and met with their team leaders. We have orientation with Operation Homecoming at 8 AM, following which we’re off to work – that is, if it stops raining, thundering and lightning. No roofing if that keeps up!

Gloria King, Young Adult Mission Volunteer from the Cowansville church, joined us for dinner this evening and will return tomorrow evening to give a presentation on the coastal wetlands that are disappearing at an alarming rate.

s week: David Larimer, David Koehler, Lea Austin, Jim Sisitki, Ron Alderton, Al Fritz, & Jason Strohm.Pray for all our work team leaders thi

Enjoy the photos of our surroundings and activities so far.

Airport Waiting

Kiski Van Fleet

View of the Choir Loft

Here We Are!

Late Night Game Time!

New Orleans Mission Trip Gathering at Mt. Zion CHurch

         We met.  We talked. We listened. We prepared for Kiski Presbytery’s trip to New Orleans May 1-8.  We hope that the churches in Kiski Presbytery will commission their special mission workers this week in worship.  

         A special note to trip participants:  Lisa and I heard from Gloria King the Kiski Presbytery “Young Presbyterian Volunteer” serving in New Orleans.  Her advice is as follows: The beds at Olive Tree have thin mats for mattresses, and I’m told they aren’t very comfortable.  I’m also told that inflatable camping mattresses fit on them, so you might want to encourage folks to bring one along if they have one.…..I will be speaking at Olive Tree on Monday night, and I’m looking forward to seeing friendly faces in the audience!  If you and Lisa could fit some less humid air in the suitcase, that’d be nice.   Gloria King…..

 

Project Homecoming will be coordinating the work opportunities for us.  We’ll be meeting up with them at 8 AM on Monday morning, May 3rd for an orientation.  Their web site is http://projecthomecoming.net/

Keep the Mission volunteers in your prayers as we continue to prepare our hearts, minds, and bodies for a week of service.

Joyfully in Jesus,

Gary & Lisa

Getting Ready for the Spirit’s Fire in New Orleans

On May 1st at 1:40 PM 58 Kiskiminetas Presbytery volunteers will board a plane in Pittsburgh and travel to the Olive Tree Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Camp in New Orleans, LA. #59 will join us on Sunday. Between now and then we ask for your prayers for the volunteers as they begin to not only pack their suitcases but also fill their hearts and souls with your love, commitment, and prayers.
         In New Orleans they will rebuilding homes primarily in the 9th Ward under the supervision of Project Homecoming. Gloria King, a Young Presbyterian Volunteer from Kiskiminetas Presbytery is currently doing intern work there and we’ll have a chance to hear, see, and be part of her story.
       We hope and pray that you will commission your New Orleans’ Mission workers in your churches on Sunday, April 25th and that you will give them the opportunity to share the joy of the Lord upon their return in worship. The entire Mission Trip team will celebrate their story at the Kiskiminetas Presbytery meeting on May 11th in East Brady.
       What can you do?

1. Pray for them daily as they are working in New Orleans.
2. Read the daily blog and send your encouragement.
3. Support them financially. The cost of sending 59 volunteers to do mission work in New Orleans is huge. We have never ‘set a price’ because we have not wanted to discourage one person from having this opportunity. We are trusting in the Lord to provide us with the resources to carry out the ministry of Jesus Christ. We hope that you will give to this special mission outreach effort. Checks should be made out to Kiskiminetas Presbytery and marked: New Orleans’ Trip

For trip participants from Gary & Lisa: We hope you’ll take time to prepare yourselves for the trip and be guided in your preparation by these words from Colossians 3:12,14,& 15- “As God’s chosen ones, holy & beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience…..clothe yourselves with love which binds everything together…..and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed your were called in the one body. And be thankful.”