Day 8: Wednesday, August 5, 2009 -- Work Day 3

Janice B. -- Well, the work week is halfway done, and things are getting a bit tense and I know my group is getting a little stressed.  I hope everyone will chipper up a bit before we're done with our house project, because I know we can finish cleaning and fixing up the house before we leave.  Other than the worksite, which for the most part has been pretty good, everyone seems to be getting along and the more and more I stay here and meet the people and drive by all of the ruined houses, it's getting to me a lot more than I thought it would.  It makes me realize how much work is still needed over four years after Katrina, and how much people have really lost because of the storm.  Walking onto my worksite, my mind was set on fixing this one house and that's all I really thought about.  I wanted to stay here and fix Ms. Day's house completely and come back later to see how happy her and her son are in the house I helped put together.  But now I just want to stay here and fix all the houses on her street and in her neighborhood.  It's not fair what all of these people have to go through, but it all happens for a reason and helping out by putting up drywall compound for five hours a day is what I can do to help these people.  In the process I've become closer to the people around me and this whole experience has been absolutely amazing.  The only complaint I've had is I wish everyone could do this and feel what I'm feeling when I'm sanding down drywall and singing The Temptations as I go.  We're keeping things light and happy as we go even if some of us aren't in the happiest mood.

The more and more I go to worship, which we have as a group each night, the more I wish we could all do so much more.  I mean we're all sitting in a big room and if we all work together on one site, I can only imagine how much we could do in even just an hour.  I'd never thought of anything like that until I came here where everyone I meet came here for one reason.  Even though we're here with people of all different christian denominations, we all believe in one God and we all came to help and our differences don't matter and there's nothing separating us anymore.  I may not know people form the other churches as well, but when I talk to them around Camp Restore I definitely feel comfortable around them all.  Okay, I feel really repetitive now, but I can't really think of a good way to describe all of this.  It's just something you have to experience yourself--it's amazing.