Photos

Hey everyone. Here is just a taste of the photos to come. Read on and keep on coming by as we put up photos, blog writings, and responses to the whole thing.
I thank you for all your help and encouragement. Many Blessings. Alex



DAY 1

Create Your Own

Day 6 and 7

Crasi Crasi, the last day at camp these kids worked there butts off. Well you know its a good weight loss program. These kids wanted to wake up early just to get as much done at malcoms as possible and they got really far. Check it, we woke up at 630 am on Friday and finished our fence. THis is a 100 ft fence that is 9ft above ground and 3 feet below. Yeah tell me about it. I think we were building a fence to keep out the romans or something. It was Crasi. We were totally proud of our accomplishments. It was supa supa cool. SO then check this we went to malcoms and put up 1/2 inch boarding on a cieling and then vinyl paneled it. It was crasi. Let me tell ya, hanging from ladders with a nail gun in your hand was like an urban tarzan. Awwww awwww. We just all kept nailing away hoping to finish at least half. By the end of that day we had pounded out half of the house which was killer yo. Malcom told us some more stories and we got a chance to experience more of the wooooonderful heat.
We wrapped up and went back to camp to load the cars. Running around with our heads cut off was great. We all jumped in and numbered off, for we didnt want to leave anyone behind despite the kids wanting to stay for several more weeks. Our group had accomplished alot. We built a hundred foot fence that was 9ft tall, we build a shed and a platform for the shed, we put together tables, we put together beds and put up a quansa hut, we also layed 1/2 inch boards and vinyl paneling on a ceiling under a house (it's kinda weird), and we were able to hear the stories of many different people. FOr the last day we decided to go to this place called Island view Casino for the buffet. IT was in Gulfport and we were able to see more devastation. The casino actually use to be on the water and when the hurricane hit, it was on shore and across a highway, oh we are not in Kansas anymore. The security gaurds were still in the casino when this happened, yea that must have been a interesting ride. We invited malcom and rusty to come as well as lawerence, erin and butch from mission on the bay but Erin and Butch had to hold the base down. It was nice having Malcom, Rusty, and Lawerence share a meal with us as we heard more about the whole thing. THe kids ate two or more plates per youth. It was crasi. They were hungry. We then sang Jack happy birthday and Kaitlin threw some cake in his face. It was some good times. We got crasi outside and everyone was giving everyone piggy back rides. Good time good times. We rounded out the night by heading to NEw Orleans to stay the night and to have a party for Jack with Balloons, pirate masks, pin the tail on the donkey, and a spongebob pinata. Oh and then we finished up with reflections and thanking yo Jesus. Everyone was knocked out.

THe following day Bruce Almighty woke up and got everyone donuts, well benets, from Cafe du Monde which is a famous french market shop and then we loaded up one final time to head out to the 9th warde. It was horrendous. The area looked like a ghost town. You couldn't believe your eyes. A few blocks over was the french quarter and that was beautiful, in some parts like it had never been touched. The 9th ward was destroyed beyond image. Houses were completely gone, some houses were there but so destroyed that they were unlivable, you walk the streets and no one is there. It feels as though you are on a desert island. Experiencing this for your own self is the only way to comprehend it. Some people were still living in this dead land, but it was rare and few. I couldn't even image how one could live here. THese people don't have one dollar to their name and no where to go. THere was still no power or plumbing in a lot of the areas. Habitat was there building,but being haunted by those memories would be enough to keep me away. The youth felt the impact and afterwards we went to the airport. We loaded our bags and off we went. We stopped in Denver and Phoneix on the way home. We kept looking back and thinking of what we had seen, knowing that we will never forget the devastation we say before our eyes. The impact was tremendous and as we were greeted by our parents with loving arms, we were so thankful to have luxury of coming home to saftey, love, and a roof over our head. That was an experience of a lifetime.

Worship

YO check this the youth really stepped it up today as they served the lord with an open heart. They listened to the stories that malcom told, they started laying 1/2inch board on the ceiling which was really hard to do considering umm you have three people on wobbly laters holding this stuff up for a couple minutes until we position it just right and then boom, we nail it in. It was a Yo Jesus moment as we needed the strength from God to keep that stuff up. It was inspirational to watch the kids work so hard for someone else. I didn't hear one complaint. It was more like what next what next. That was cool. I am like these kids are rough and tough. They are really wonderful youth. THey have a servants heart that I as a youth director don't see so often. Malcom continued to express his thanks and love for us all. You could tell by his facial expressions that he was really touched by the work these youth were doing. He kept giving the youth praise for how hard they were working. These kids were getting bit by mosquitos, and bearing the hot sun, just to put up heavy boarding and to lift huge nail guns. It didn't matter what the task they were up for the job, now that's what God calls all of us to do.

A few youth said that they never realized how privelaged they were. THey live in Palo Alto and don't realize the amount of hurt in the world they said. When they look around all they see is people living a life full of comfort, but seeing this and realizing that others have nothing was mind boggeling to them. It made them really consider what they had and how much more valuable it was. Lawerence one of the site directors said, " they have lost so much that even the smallest thing such as a toy baby jesus, which now lays in our manger is worth more than diamonds to them."

Hey check this out the youth lead worship. How cool is that for a bunch of teenagers to lead people to christ through their devotion and love. These kids rock. Some shared why they came, some read scripture, some sang, some just clapped their hands, their toes, or whatever they got. No but seriously these kids are worshiping wonders and it's exciting to see the next generation devoted to God. Praise the lord for this. Below are the notes from that worship. Brief notes. Thanks and God bless!

Alex

Mission Day 5

Hey Everyone. This week has been a long a crazy one. It has been filled with many blessings of the heart and soul. I can not tell you how much these kids have accomplished. Oh man this youth are the hardest workers and super cool people to hang out so thats a plus. We have experienced what it is like to live in a poverty area for a week. Most of the youth are just longing to stay for a lot longer. THey feel the pain of those around them, the see the destruction, and they know the sadness these people feel, well sort of. Check it out below here are some random notes from this week. Like mmm where we went on our last day here. We traveled all around New Orleans looking at all the destruction and stuff. It was good times. There are also some funny pictures and guess what the kids also planned a few worship services. Check out our pictures and thanks for the support.

Day 3

It is so interesting to see a bunch of individuals coming together from all different areas and unifying for a common goal. These youth have really bonded and grown together both within the group and with other groups. The boundaries have been broken down and lives have been changed. One particular story is we meet a man named Malcom. Malcom lost everything he had and more in the hurricane. During that time Malcom's wife had a kidney stone and needed surgery, however the day they went in they put her on meds. They had to evacuate immediately to Baton Rouge to ride out the storm. When Malcom came back, his house was standing, it had survived the wind, but because of the 27 foot storm surge, everything inside their house was completely destroyed. Malcom hired a construction crew to help him rebuild his house but they stole $3,800 from him. He was about to prosecute them but he heard Jesus talking to him in his head. Jesus told him "if they want your shirt, give them your coat." Malcom decided that he didn't care if they took his money. He put his name on every church list for rebuilding houses. After 11 months and 5 days a truckload of volunteers showed up at his house. The next day they brought sheet rock that would have taken Malcom 4 weeks to acquire. When Malcom asked a volunteer how many slabs of sheet rock they used, they sent him to another volunteer. After being sent to many different people, hew realized that none of the volunteers were going to tell him. Malcom went to the church secretary and asked how many they used. Malcom wanted to pay for the sheet rock so that the church could use the donated money and materials for other victims who needed it more than he did. After researching prices for sheet rock, Malcom made a donation to the church for the exact dollar amount for the sheet rock.

When Malcom's house was near finished (the basic house was finished and furnished but there was still lots of detail work) he realized that people were coming at night and stealing all of the water damaged items in his garage. Malcom set up a motion sensor in his driveway with the intent of catching whoever was stealing his stuff. Between 9:30 and 10:30, the sensor had gone off 5 times. Every time it went off, Malcom would climb down the ladder but the robbers heard the squeaking and escaped. The 5th time it went off, as he was climbing down the ladder with a shotgun in one hand and a spotlight in the other. Malcom had the intent of killing the guy when he heard Jesus in his head again. Jesus told him that he would be able to explain to Peter why he had done it. Malcom decided that he would let the robbers take what they wanted because he would be throwing it away anyways.
-Kaitlin Moorhead, Alex and the youth

Day 3-Kaitlin

Hey check this out this is the worship list that the youth led

Day 1 and 2-Kaitlin's Blog

Day 1 and 2

Yo so here we go on a trip to who knows where. Oh I know we are going to New Orleans then to Bay St. Louis where we will stay for a week as we battle the rain, humidity, and the blazing sun. Let me think oh I know we are going to toast like eggs on cement on a hot day. It's okay though we are well prepared with laughter and a little thing we call GOD. As we prepare to check in we say our last goodbyes and give our last requests to our parents. We give thanks to God cause well he is the cool dude who guides us. Then off we go on our journey of fun. Two people were search dun dun dun. What could they want? mmmm yeah our group is filled with suspicious people yea we are going to help people, thats a shame. Well all is well and life is good so on we go to the plane. The plane was packed, but we were the loudest as we yelled, screamed, and laughed our way to LA. Whoops there goes water on a seat and a few rubber bands flying through the sky. It is quite an adventure but wait we have just began as we have a 3 hour lay over in LA. We roam the dome and eat some spicy mexican food and connect with one another. This is awesome amount of fun. Yo okay so off to New orleans. Its getting better by the minute, the tension is mounting. The plane over to New Orleans was a little bumpy, but that would just be a start of some troubles ahead. When we got to New Orleans we went to Budget rent a car because well we wanted a mode of transportation. 2 and 1/2 hours later and a few more grey hairs later. It seemed like we would never have a ride. The Lord blessed us with good times though and on are way, only to stop at the only Mcdonalds with one person on staff at 3am. An hour later and we have food. At 4:30am we arrive.... Want to know more huh!!! Read Kaitlins blog.. She's got the low down on the shin dig. And check out these photos.

Welcome to the Tas Youth Mission Page!

Hey everyone at home!
This is a way to connect with the youth. See pictures, find out what they are doing, hear about there daily lives as they experience the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This whole week we will be cleaning up the buildings, rebuilding houses, cleaning the beaches, and oh so much more. 2 years after Hurricane Katrina Hit there are over 400,000 Houses that have been destroyed. Want to know more about what we are doing go to click on the link: http://www.vchurches.com/youthhappenings/mission.aspx?pID=44541
Here are some photos below. Want to help out?! You can still donate to the project and help hurricane victims get the items they need to buy supplies and help camp coast care build more houses. Checks can be sent to Trinity Episcopal Church @ 330 Ravenswood Ave, Menlo Park, 94025. Please put in the memo: youth mission trip. Thanks for your support, love, and Prayers. Continue to keep the youth in your prayers as well as those families affected by Natural Disasters!
Many Blessings,
Alex