Wednesday:

Hey everyone, it's Jillian Siehlmann. I'm attempting to write to you as I am surrounded by a group of about seven of us, laughing about all our new inside jokes and enjoying the new relationships we've each formed with each other. It seems like I've been doing a lot of that on this trip--talking, listening, and laughing. Tonight we talked about what we've learned about ourselves, and I said I've realized how relational I am. I love talking to people and hearing their stories. Being a college freshman, I'm into the stage of life where I'm appreciating older people's wisdom and life stories. Being down here especially, where the community has endured so much, I'm realizing that honestly no matter what I do, everything will be okay.
This morning we woke up to a thunderstorm. As most of our projects involve outside work, it was time to show our flexibility. The regular crew went over to help drywall at single mom Tammy's house, a couple of people went to Puppy and Sunshine's, and the rest of us (including myself) cleaned bathrooms here at the camp. It was cool because Gordon Harrison and Christian Kennel were cleaning bathrooms together and got a real chance to bond; showing again that with relationships, age is just a number. After lunch, the bathroom crew went over to Michelle and Allan's house. I was especially excited about this because I helped paint the interior of their house last year when I came down. Unlike any of my other mission trips, I actually did stay in contact with Michelle throughout this past year, which made it all the more special being able to come back to see their (almost) finished product of a house and catch up with Michelle. The other crews also did quite a bit of work. The drywall is almost done at Tammy's, and the crew there got a good chance to bond and enjoy the sunny afternoon. The group at Puppy and Sunshine's put on a gutter, did a bunch of caulking, and started loading the (much needed) dumpster that we ordered for them. Jeff Kennel once again proved his manhood by getting nailed in the forehead in two places by a hammer, but his blood "coagulated" quickly, and he got right back to work. The group at Michelle and Allan's did some prep work to paint their front porch rails, and Mandy Trusty and Kate Sutphen got the chance to run the skid loader and take out a damaged fence. I'm still so proud of that house and feel so glad we can help such God-loving people. I asked Michelle the story behind a cross they have in the yard, and she told me it is the wood they used for the power line in their FEMA trailer, and that Jesus is their source of power.
Tomorrow looks to be another fun and productive day. There is still some work to do on Tammy's house, Puppy is insisting that everyone who has worked on this house come and sign their name and a Bible verse on the wood of his motorcycle shop, and we have to finish spending some quality time with Michelle and paint her porch.
A couple of the residents have told us that Katrina was a blessing in disguise. Even though a lot of things were destroyed, a lot of really positive things have resulted. A lot of work has been done and many relationships have been formed that otherwise would have never happened-- relationships with people living down here and relationships with people from our own church community-- which for me is what it's all about.