“I didn’t know we did stuff like this,” she said of the Good Earth Volunteer Village and Presbyterian mission in particular.
Many of the team leaders had served with nondenominational projects, but none had participated in a uniquely Presbyterian venture like Volunteer Villages. “It’s amazing,” Tennessee team leader Sandra Leavell (Northside Church), said of the experience—so amazing, she plans to volunteer for a longer stint.
There was a general sense of pride in Presbyterian Disaster Assistance-sponsored Volunteer Villages, and the work that thousands of fellow Presbyterians have been able to accomplish. “We’d done a lot fun things,” said team leader Kim Pereira (First Church, Georgetown, Texas), talking about their youth participation in Presbyterian camps and conferences, “but this was an opportunity to serve, something I think our kids need.”
Team member Timothy Roberts agreed. He surprised himself with the work he was able to accomplish. He and his teammates expressed confidence that the job would get finished because of the work they saw completed by teams that came before. “It’s really awesome,” said Alsyaa Herlot when she realized that she was one of the more than 70 teens to work on the six homes chosen in the Houma, La., area for the specifically youth experience.
Around the dinner tables those weeks Arkansas, Kansas, Illinois, Texas, and Iowa jokes abounded — and don’t mistake South Dakota for their northern neighbor.
“We do wear shoes!” insisted the Arkansas folks.
“And we wish we had alligators,” said Rock Island, Ill. teen Ryan Cross after their complimentary swamp tour.
“And crawdads,” said Pastor John Price, who joked that he’d dragged 22 teens and a few adult sponsors more than 1,000 miles from South Dakota just to satisfy his secret hankering for Cajun cuisine.
“We’ve done other local mission trips,” he added on a serious note. “And we all wanted (to) help after Katrina hit,” he said of his blended Presbyterian/Methodist congregation. “This opportunity impressed me — the organization, the history of service — all of it.”
During the hottest months of summer Presbyterian youth and their sponsors converged in the Gulf area for three PDA-sponsored teen work camps—two weeks in Houma and the final in Gulfport, Miss. It was the first Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) PDA-and-Ministries With Youth-organized servant summer project specifically aimed at youth. Young people from seven states and ten plus congregations responded to the ongoing need for volunteers to help with the Katrina recovery.
“We discovered they still really need our help,” said Leavell.
“We’ll be back!” said umpteen young people of their experiences in the Louisiana bayous and Mississippi delta.
Several of the teams hailed from some of the Midwestern areas hardest hit by recent flooding. “We’ll be better prepared to serve there when they are ready for teams,” said Joyce Lambert (First Church, Rock Island, Ill.). “We’ve come to appreciate how long it takes to recover from an experience like this.” The teams carried back donations from the Louisianans to the people of Iowa.
Three years after Katrina, survivors struggle to complete work that personal insurance policies and FEMA monies did not cover. All the residents expressed surprise and gratitude for the inflow of Presbyterian Volunteer Village Volunteers.
“Especially the young folk,” said Dulac, La., resident Miss Gloria. “They gave up their summers to help me — and Lord knows it’s got to be cooler in Arkansas.”
“We can’t afford the price of labor,” said another Houma resident, Nowlin, a trained, but disabled carpenter. “I got it better than most,” he said, “I know that. I helped my neighbors, but you know it’s hard for me to accept when I need it.”
He motioned at the group of young people working to replace the railing on his deck. “They just want to help — no questions asked. I’m plain grateful.”
Nowlin treated the teams that served at his house with Cajun cooking, including what the youth decided were the best beignets in the bayou.
“I learned a lot about Christian service,” said Mexican transplant Liney Hernandez of the Illinois team. “We’re just supposed to do what Jesus would do.”
So what do you get when you cross Presbyterian youth with the bayou?
You get alligator-loving, jambalaya-snacking Christians praising the Lord with their hands and hearts. You get Presbyterian youth with a mission — mission distinctly their own. And you get the next generation of Presbyterians eager to follow in their denominational ancestors’ footsteps.
Presbyterian Volunteer Villages will host teens again this summer.
Week of June 28, 2009 — Louisiana
Week of July 5, 2009 — Texas
Week of July 12 — Louisiana
Roberta Updegraff lives in Pennsylvania and writes frequently for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance. She is an author, and has written six mysteries with Guidepost Books.
