Summer Interns 2016

Elan Ministries is currently accepting applications for 2016 Summer Interns! If you are interested in joining us for a summer of interning in New Orleans, or know someone who might be, please go to www.hishands2go.com and download the Internship Application. Contact Suzanne Duvall with any questions: teams@hishands2go.com
We look forward to hearing from you as you pursue the next step in personal and professional development!

Prepping for the Maidens of Marais!

Family Life Assembly of God crew with chicken coop & outhouse

-October 2015 

 Last October, our faithful friends from Family Life Assembly of God in Pittsburgh, KS built a chicken coop on the Garden on Marais property. The coop will be used by the Garden's 4-H Kid's Club to house laying hens... we've already dubbed them the Maidens of Marais ;)In January 2016 the Elan staff and friend Mike Brennan began the process of painting and prepping the wood for wet weather. Stay tuned for pics of the final product!

HH2G Director Larry Swift & Mike Brennan - January 2016

University of Central FL - Dec 2015

 Gift giving began early this year when University of Central FL sent an Alternative Break Program crew to New Orleans for a week of working on homes and serving the folks of inner city New Orleans. 21 students wrapped up finals, loaded up their bags and a few vans, and headed west. The gift they brought came in the form of hands that scraped, sanded, primed, and painted the exterior of two homes. The team split into two groups, with one portion continuing the tremendous amount of work that previous HH2G teams have done on the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph. In addition to painting, a crew pooled together and reconstructed the front garage door.  The second crew spent their time working on the exterior of the Spencer’s home. Check out the pics for updates on both projects!
A big thank you to those UCF students that took their Christmas break time to serve these families in New Orleans. They truly demonstrated what giving is, and made such a difference in the process.

Family Life Assembly of God 2015

2015 not only marks Hurricane Katrina's decade anniversary, but also the 10th volunteer trip of this awesome group of guys from Family Life Assembly of God in Pittsburgh, KS. Within months after the storm in 2005, team leaders Matt, Micky, and Romesh rallied a group of men, packed up the church van, and made the 14 hr trek to New Orleans to assist with the clean-up and rebuilding.

The number of guys on the team has fluctuated over the years, but the love and heart of service of this team has never wavered. The types of jobs they have worked on since 2006 has ranged from mud-outs to the framing, roofing, and finishing touches. They've seen and done it all!

This year the guys worked on 2 job sites, both in the 9th ward of Ne Orleans:

1) Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church:  HH2G has worked with Pastor Jose on many projects over the past 5 years, and we teamed up with him again to work on this church building. The team spent a few days laying ceramic tile in the church entryway, framing window openings, and hanging interior doors. On par with southern hospitality, the ladies of the church amply rewarded the guys with delicious, home-cooked lunches!

2) Garden on Marais:  The mission statement of Garden on Marais states that it's an educational gathering space, and in June 2015 Garden Director Kayla Wilson launched the organization's first 4-H Club for youth in the community. The Club runs in 8-week sessions and proved to be a big success! However, improvements such as restroom facilities were lacking on the garden site. So, this Family Life team designed and built a beautiful outhouse on the property. In addition, the guys built a large chicken coop big enough for a person to live in!

This is the same team that built the hoop house on the garden property. Every time our staff goes to Garden on Marais we are reminded of the hard work and generosity of these men from Kansas. They are not just volunteers, but good friends we have come to deeply love and appreciate. We thank them for their dedication to assisting the folks of New Orleans. That generosity and love will be remembered by us and each life touched during their decade of service here. Until next time!

A note of gratitude...

We'd like to offer a huge THANK YOU to Band Dir. Josh Thompson and his Lake Zurich HS Jazz Band team for the generous donation they gave back in March (2015). This donation enabled us to purchase some much needed new tools over the past few months... they've already seen lots of action!

We understand that not only did the team pool money for the donation, but their family, friends, and band supporters gave towards it as well. We are so thankful. And now, here's HH2G Director Larry Swift and the new tools purchased with the donation!

Good Shepherd Parish - July 2015

Good Shepherd Parish of Tallahassee, FL sent a team to New Orleans this July to work with HisHands2Go. This being their 2nd trip with HH2G, they were familiar with the heat and humidity, and faced it bravely as they served the folks of New Orleans. The team of 15 spent their week assisting Mr. & Mrs. Joseph, and Mr. Desoto Jackson. Each of the homes needed finishing touches on exterior paint jobs, and this crew furthered the work accomplished by the volunteer teams before them. Many of you have worked on these particular homes – just take a look at their photos for updates on the work being done!

New Life Fellowship of Eastern Valley

The first mission trip abroad ever taken by New Life Fellowship was to New Orleans, to work alongside HisHands2Go. We are privileged! Pastor Steve Pylant has visited New Orleans a few times, but never as a volunteer. So he organized a group of fine folks and caravaned down to New Orleans, equipped with skills, enthusiasm, and hands ready to tackle some hard work in service to others. Occasionally HisHands2Go has a few skilled volunteers on a team, but this time we had an entire team of skilled men and women, so we put them to work on some of our tough jobs.
Here is a bit of background info: about 6 weeks ago the front of the St. Luke Assembly of God building was hit by a car. In route to the building, the car hit the church sign and mowed down some plants and bushes before knocking out a bunch of bricks by the front door... thankfully they were not part of the major support areas of the building!  

And now (drum roll) here is a list of their accomplishments:

 
1) The iron church sign was welded back together and repainted (huge thanks to Marty!)

2) A leaky corner of the church was patched

 

3) A drainage system was installed behind the church to prevent flooding inside the building






 4) Back of the Fellowship Hall was power washed, primed, and painted
 

 

5) A fence was installed to fully enclose the back of the building











6) Curtains were sewed and hung in the sanctuary

 7) the outdoor iron staircase was repaired and repainted (again, thanks to Marty!)






8) curtains were sewed, decorated, and hung in the Fellowship Hall to create an area for toddlers
 

 

9) New baptism garments were sewed
 









10) Doors were painted "LaFonda" red

 
11) installed a portion of the front side of the fence at Garden on Marais
 




12) An irrigation system was installed at the Garden on Marais... a much needed system (special thanks to Jacob & Pastor Dave)

 

And they topped off their trip with boiled crawfish! 

 Thanks to you New Life Fellowship, we sincerely enjoyed hosting you and look forward to seeing you again!