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| Ronald Lewis |
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013
Da Fam(ily) Life AG 9-2013
Over the past 8 years HisHands2Go has hosted several teams who
annually (or biannually) trek to New Orleans to work. The team with the
most trips (9) hails from IL. The runner-up, with a current total of 8
trips, is none other than (drum rolllllll…. TA DAA): Family Life
Assembly of God from Pittsburgh, KS!
The faithful few – Matt, Mickey, and Ramesh – have returned to New Orleans every year since Hurricane Katrina. In 2012 they recruited 2 more workers to make 5, and now in 2013 they topped that with a total of 8 guys in their group. This year the guys worked on 3 main projects: 1) St. Luke building repairs, 2) Julius Sanchez’s home, and 3) Phillipi Evangelical COGIC’s building.
Project #1: You may recall reading about damages St. Luke Assembly of God suffered from Hurricane Isaac in 2012. One of the offices at St. Luke AG was invaded by rainwater that collapsed a section of the ceiling, soaked the carpet, messed up furniture, and created puddles in the electronic equipment stationed in that room. Well, Family Life guys whipped that room into shape! They finished replacing the drywall, mudding and taping, and even painting the ceiling and walls. In addition, they were able to put down the new snap wood flooring. The time has FINALLY come to set that office back up and it looks good! St. Luke’s buildings suffered other damages as well, one of them being a large leak in a side room in the sanctuary. The floor in this room was soaked and rotting through. A few Family Life guys pulled up the floor and completely replaced it. Now it’s time to put the tile down…
Project #2: Julius Sanchez has been in the process of restoring his home for quite a while. Several HH2G volunteer teams have worked on his home and made great progress with the drywall work. A group of the Family Life guys tackled this job, making Julius’ move back home possible!
Project #3: This summer, several HH2G volunteers have put their hard labor into a children’s building for the Phillipi Evangelical Church of God in Christ. The church owns a shotgun double that they are rebuilding to be a children’s ministry building. Some of the Family Life guys spent most of their week at Phillipi repairing the roof and structure of the building. For those of you who have worked on that building this summer, you can see and hopefully appreciate the progress made possible by you and the guys of Family Life AG! The folks at Phillipi Evangelical COGIC have expressed several times their gratitude for your assistance. Thanks so much!
The faithful few – Matt, Mickey, and Ramesh – have returned to New Orleans every year since Hurricane Katrina. In 2012 they recruited 2 more workers to make 5, and now in 2013 they topped that with a total of 8 guys in their group. This year the guys worked on 3 main projects: 1) St. Luke building repairs, 2) Julius Sanchez’s home, and 3) Phillipi Evangelical COGIC’s building.
Project #1: You may recall reading about damages St. Luke Assembly of God suffered from Hurricane Isaac in 2012. One of the offices at St. Luke AG was invaded by rainwater that collapsed a section of the ceiling, soaked the carpet, messed up furniture, and created puddles in the electronic equipment stationed in that room. Well, Family Life guys whipped that room into shape! They finished replacing the drywall, mudding and taping, and even painting the ceiling and walls. In addition, they were able to put down the new snap wood flooring. The time has FINALLY come to set that office back up and it looks good! St. Luke’s buildings suffered other damages as well, one of them being a large leak in a side room in the sanctuary. The floor in this room was soaked and rotting through. A few Family Life guys pulled up the floor and completely replaced it. Now it’s time to put the tile down…
Project #2: Julius Sanchez has been in the process of restoring his home for quite a while. Several HH2G volunteer teams have worked on his home and made great progress with the drywall work. A group of the Family Life guys tackled this job, making Julius’ move back home possible!
Project #3: This summer, several HH2G volunteers have put their hard labor into a children’s building for the Phillipi Evangelical Church of God in Christ. The church owns a shotgun double that they are rebuilding to be a children’s ministry building. Some of the Family Life guys spent most of their week at Phillipi repairing the roof and structure of the building. For those of you who have worked on that building this summer, you can see and hopefully appreciate the progress made possible by you and the guys of Family Life AG! The folks at Phillipi Evangelical COGIC have expressed several times their gratitude for your assistance. Thanks so much!
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
muscles, monkeys, and meatballs galore!
On the 4th day of August, in the year 2013, Benjamin Duvall arrived in New Orleans with a crew of folks from Gospel Community Church in Fort Wayne, IN. This just so happens to be where Suzanne Duvall, HH2G hospitality coordinator, is from, and Ben just so happens to be her brother! In addition, included in this bunch of arrival was a big surprise in the form of her parents and niece. The week was off to an awesome start!
If you note the title to this page, you’ll notice three words. Let’s begin with “muscle”. Now, ‘round these parts Mid-westerners are known for their hard work and big hearts. Of course it was no surprise to find that this team possessed those traits as well, and exhibited them on and off the job. The team was split into three groups. One group went to work alongside Pastor Jose at Philippi Evangelical Church of God in Christ, located in the lower 9th ward (by the homes developed by Brad Pitt). They
worked on the children’s building, strengthening the frame and working
to repair and reconstruct the inside of the building. They had the privilege of working with several members of the congregation, who joined us for dinner one evening. They brought gumbo to share, beautiful voices to sing with, and lots of laughter and good conversation.
The third group spent their days doing some much needed painting and St. Luke AG. Bathroom doors, closet doors, the stairwell, and an entire brown wall were painted beautifully.
When the team wasn’t eating, sleeping, or working, they were playing spoons (a dangerous game I might add J), or exploring the city, especially the live oak trees in City Park! This is where the word “monkey” comes in. I’ve never seen so many people climb 1 tree before! They were all over it, and some people climbed up to higher limbs. Seriously, they looked like monkeys.
And last but not least, let me explain the inclusion of the word “meatballs”. We have a tradition at HisHands2Go that on spaghetti and meatballs night you can have as many meatballs as you want. This practice, of course, inspires competition amongst team members. Prior to this team’s arrival, the record of 55 meatballs consumed in 1 sitting was held by a college student from Florida. Well, allow me to present Rachel, the new record holder of the most meatballs eaten in 1 sitting… 60. That’s right, folks…60!!!
If you note the title to this page, you’ll notice three words. Let’s begin with “muscle”. Now, ‘round these parts Mid-westerners are known for their hard work and big hearts. Of course it was no surprise to find that this team possessed those traits as well, and exhibited them on and off the job. The team was split into three groups. One group went to work alongside Pastor Jose at Philippi Evangelical Church of God in Christ, located in the lower 9th ward (by the homes developed by Brad Pitt). They
worked on the children’s building, strengthening the frame and working
to repair and reconstruct the inside of the building. They had the privilege of working with several members of the congregation, who joined us for dinner one evening. They brought gumbo to share, beautiful voices to sing with, and lots of laughter and good conversation. 
The second group worked hard at Garden on Marais, even in spite of the record highs in temperatures that week! Nut
sage has been a serious nuisance this year at the garden, so a few
people went to battle with it, while a group of guys led by Ron Duvall
began prepping the hoop house for shade cloth. Once the hoop house is set up with the shade cloth it will be functional year-round.
The third group spent their days doing some much needed painting and St. Luke AG. Bathroom doors, closet doors, the stairwell, and an entire brown wall were painted beautifully.
When the team wasn’t eating, sleeping, or working, they were playing spoons (a dangerous game I might add J), or exploring the city, especially the live oak trees in City Park! This is where the word “monkey” comes in. I’ve never seen so many people climb 1 tree before! They were all over it, and some people climbed up to higher limbs. Seriously, they looked like monkeys.
And last but not least, let me explain the inclusion of the word “meatballs”. We have a tradition at HisHands2Go that on spaghetti and meatballs night you can have as many meatballs as you want. This practice, of course, inspires competition amongst team members. Prior to this team’s arrival, the record of 55 meatballs consumed in 1 sitting was held by a college student from Florida. Well, allow me to present Rachel, the new record holder of the most meatballs eaten in 1 sitting… 60. That’s right, folks…60!!!
1 + 1 + 1 = a job well done!
The last week of July this year the Boyd family returned from
Minnesota to volunteer with HisHands2Go for the second time. Mother
(Tammy) and daughter (Jordan) made the previous trip, and this year they
brought along a third, Jacob. The trio completed the final major job
on Mr. Albert Franklin’s home… painting. Mr. Franklin’s house is a
duplex, both sides identical. Tammy, Jordan, and Jacob painted one
entire side (indoors) of the house, closets and bathrooms on the other
side. For those of you who have ever painted the inside of your home,
you’ll understand what an undertaking this was for three people. They
did all of that in the span of 4 days! Amazing! The color is a light
peachish/goldish that looks beautiful in the sunlight. Check out the
pictures below.
At the end of their week with us, the Boyds had the privilege of handing over the keys of the house to Mr. Albert Franklin.
At the end of their week with us, the Boyds had the privilege of handing over the keys of the house to Mr. Albert Franklin.
So very many of you volunteers reading this have worked on Mr.
Franklin’s home over the last several months. Every single person’s
hard work combined made this final act of handing over the keys
possible. Allow me to pass on to you Mr. Franklin’s gratitude for all
of your hard work, words of encouragement, and love. He says that he
remembers all of you with love and thanks God for you every day… and he
said something about keeping your pictures out where he can see them
regularly :-) Next time any of you are in town you’ll have to stop by and
say hi to him and see the final product! Until then, take a look at
the pics below, and maybe scroll back through previous months to see the
journey of reconstructing his home.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Krewe de St. Viv
Tim- Jan-Julie- Hannah- Austen- Noel- Rylie- Gabe- Ian… the names by which we call the awesome folks from St. Vivian Church up in the great state of Ohio. A 12-seater van containing lots of luggage, excited teens and their gracious chaperones careened its way down I-65 bound for New Orleans, LA. We were privileged to host a few familiar faces, one of them being quite possibly the top HH2G recruiter we know! (ahem…Gabe
) .Though exhausted from their travels, they nonetheless plunged right into work on Monday morning, spending most of the day assisting at Garden on Marais. The remainder of the week they furthered the progress on Albert Franklin’s home. So many of our volunteers have poured their love and hard labor into Mr. Franklin’s home, and it’s well on its way to completion!
Krewe de St. Viv… we expect to see your smiling faces here again next summer!
Monday, June 10, 2013
Lyrical Laborers
Hark! Is that singing I hear? It is indeed- the sound of voices
blasting out tunes while working hard on the job. If we had to give a
summary of this team from UCF Catholic Campus Ministries, we'd have to
say they go about their work of serving others with an infectious joy.
This group of college students (many of them having graduated 2 days
before leaving for New Orleans) continued work on Garden on Marais, as
well as Albert Franklin's home. As with previous teams who have worked
on Mr. Franklin's home, these guys ended their week on a high note after
spending time with Mr. Franklin and gleaning from his encouragement,
gratitude, and life.The crew that worked on Garden on Marais accomplished much to further the function and future role of the garden in the surrounding community. We extend a thanks to all volunteers past and present that have poured their hard work into helping this garden take shape. I'm proud to announce that we have beautiful tomatoes growing, as well as basil and arugula. Tomatoes are especially hard to grow down here, so they seem to taste especially delicious. Perhaps next time you are here you can feast on the fruits of your hard labor!
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
March Madness 2013
Way up in Indiana people identify March Madness as a month of competitive groups of athletes projecting a ball through a hoop… but in New Orleans it means a whirlwind month of volunteers flooding through the city, doing good and enjoying the sights. This March HH2G hosted no less than 120 volunteers, and boy was it fun! University of Central Florida, St. Louis University, University Baptist Church, Indiana University, and First Baptist Woodway joined forces to further the work on the homes of Mr. Albert Franklin, Mr. Earl, and Mr. Julius Sanchez. These hard workers also conquered the job of tearing up the grass at Garden on Marais, which is another big step in restoring the grounds for growing food and educating folks. These volunteer teams were comprised of junior high, senior high, and college students, all united with the purpose of serving and uplifting the residents of New Orleans.
Thanks to every volunteer that came to work with HH2G this March. It was a pleasure hosting you all.
Nearly 8 years after Katrina there is still much to be done in the way of rebuilding homes, but there are plenty of new projects awaiting volunteers as well. So HH2G veterans, don’t hesitate to come back soon! And newbies, there are wonderful experiences awaiting you here in New Orleans, so come on down (or up, or over) for a service trip!
We look forward to seeing you all!
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