The Most Certain Joy in Life: Change (NOLA)

Change. This one word sums up so much of our experience down in New Orleans, Louisiana this past winter break. We were called upon because something needed to change. Some six years have passed since Hurricane Katrina released her deadly grasp on the city yet there is still so much recovery and revitalization to be done. Luckily, with the help of the Alternative Break program and the ever-generous staff at the United Saints Recovery Project, twelve very special individuals had their chance to "be the change they seek to see."

The first work day began with a brief history of the United Saints organization by the founder himself, Daryl Kiesow. Before we were given the chance to choose our project for the day another staff member, Victoria, stepped up to deliver a few words of wisdom. She told us that we may find ourselves getting caught up in the mechanics of the hard work but urged us to remember that "there is a face behind each brush stroke, a person in need of help with no one to turn to but you." Little did I know that these words would be instilled in my mind for the entirety of our week of service.

Our first project was painting the exterior of a Ms. Blanca Fuentes. United Saints site supervisor, Mitch, oversaw our project and started off with a demo about ladder-safety and before we knew it, we were being asked to climb a 25-feet tall ladder. Not everyone tried, and I certainly wasn't going to (heights aren't really "my thing") until Molly stepped up to plate. She came on the trip last year and said she hadn't even tried to make the climb. Mitch had asked, "So what changed from last year?" to which she responded, "2012 is the year I conquer my fears." I was suddenly filled with inspiration and I wasn't the only one - it spread like wildfire and just about everyone ended up climbing up that ladder. Which meant two great things: one, several fears were conquered, and two, we had a ton of people that were able to paint the second floor of Blanca's house!

 

And so our busy days began, we had a long job ahead of us. The front porch had woodwork and needed to be scraped free of any pre-existing paint chips before we could even begin applying the primer. So a group of us set out to scrape away while another began climbing up to the top rung of those ladders to apply primer to the siding. We worked on Blanca's house for the majority of the week, each day getting closer and closer to our goal and learning more and more about each other at the same.

One of the greatest parts about this trip, and more specifically this project, was how we were able to connect with Blanca. She was constantly around, always smiling engaging us in conversation. Blanca even gave us a little taste of her Honduran cooking, not to mention her fantastic homemade lemonade (which reminds me I need to send her a letter and ask for the recipe - it was that good). The magical thing about our experience at Blanca's house is that each and everyone of us had the opportunity to make a connection with her, and most of us did! We heard stories, we saw pictures, we were let into her life with wide open arms and smile I won't ever forget.

Soon it become more than just painting a house. We were helping out a dear friend in need. A friend who lost her oldest son to Katrina and her husband of 45 years to cancer. She was the face behind each brush stroke for each and every one of us. It was this connection that drove us to go above and behind - leading us to pull together and finish painting past our deadline on our very last work day.

Our NOLA Family

The individual successes that we experienced - conquering fears, expanding comfort zones, creating friendships - all contributed to a greater collective triumph. We combined all of our skills (and quirks!) and realized we all had one fantastic thing in common: an urge to give back to our community be it near or far.

Until next time,

Randi