Contributed by
Incarnation Lutheran Church

Youth and adults from Good Shepherd, Incarnation, and Christus Victor Lutheran Churches of Columbia worked in Mobile, Alabama to help those still suffering from Hurricane Katrina. Seventeen youth and six adults from Good Shepherd, Incarnation, and Christus Victor Lutheran Churches of Columbia traveled to Mobile, Alabama, April 11- 14, 2007, to conduct mission work in areas still suffering the effects of Hurricane Katrina, a year and a half after its assault.

For all who made the journey, the trip proved a revelation. Those living below the poverty line even before the hurricanes struck were the most vulnerable to the disaster and have the least resources to rebuild. Youth were surprised to discover residents still struggling to put their lives back together. As John McArver, 16, of Incarnation Lutheran, said, "I don't think most people realize that some people are still in need of hurricane relief."

Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR), a collaborative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod, matched the workers with needs in the area, and St. Paul's Lutheran of Mobile provided food and housing.

The work proved strenuous. A major effort involved clearing the property of an Alabama resident so a new septic tank could be installed. The existing system had been damaged by the storm, and sewage had gradually bubbled to the surface. Youth and adults hauled garbage, chain- sawed trees, cut up branches, and even used machétes to hack through dense overgrowth to clear débris. In one area, the tangle of brush and downed trees proved so extensive that LDR brought in a backhoe to help.

While the youth provided invaluable services to those in need, all agreed they gained much more from the event than they were able to give. During the trip, the youth worshipped, sang, prayed, and meditated on their experience.

"The journey we took was more than a 540 mile- long bus drive. It was a journey of discovery and new understandings. We learned to see the world, the people we met, and even ourselves with new eyes. Ultimately, it was a journey of faith," said Andrew More, director of Christian Education and Youth Ministry at Good Shepherd Lutheran and coordinator of the trip. "We discovered how each of us can make a difference in this world by having the courage to step outside our comfort zones and say, 'Here I am, send me!'"

Reflecting the thoughts of many, Nathan Boykin, 13 of Incarnation Lutheran, "saw God in how we all came together and did something good for everybody and saw God in each other."

Lynn Helton of Good Shepherd was impressed that the young people were willing to give up their spring break and "travel to a location and situation unknown to them, to help others obviously in need. I was amazed at the strength and perseverance of these youth, even working under quite unsanitary and unlivable conditions by our standards and to do so without the first complaint of tiredness or dread."

In the end, the youth learned to see the persons affected by the storms and poverty as individuals, not as nameless faces in a news report. "They shook the hands of people who lived in the damaged houses, put on their work gloves, and began to make a difference for those families," More said.

All those who traveled to Alabama agreed they are ready to go back as soon as they can.