Please click on the link below to read about the rest of our trip to New Orleans. If you scroll over the Navigation button you will be able to click on a page the links to a photo album of the trip. Enjoy!
SJ Prep Service Blog - NOLA 2
We arrived safely in New Orleans at about 9:30AM Central time. We picked up our 15 passenger van and the man at the rental car agency thanked us for coming to help. We drove to Loyola and met Claire from the Jesuit Katrina Relief Organization. She showed us to our rooms and gave us some info about the surrounding area.
Our first stop was lunch. We went to a pizza place and had some delicious brick oven pizza. The guys enjoyed the shirts that the staff members were wearing. They read, "Rebuilding New Orleans One Pizza at a Time."
After lunch we were off to Winn Dixie for groceries. We stocked up on cereal, milk, OJ, burgers and dogs, pasta, and fruit. The guys were very excited when Mrs. Stasson said she would make homemade mac and cheese: better than the boxed stuff any day.
After down time and some much needed naps (yes, I know, we haven't even done any work yet!) we piled into the van and took a brief tour of the city. Mrs. Stasson and I couldn't give as informative a tour as I know Mr. Whelan gave his group, but we were able to see some of the city. We returned home and cooked some hamburgers and hotdogs on the common grill. Thanks to Tom W for volunteering to do the grilling.
Finally, to end our evening we used the computers in the computer room of the dorm to investigate the organization we will be working with tomorrow, "New Orleans Survivors Council." Jim Mahan led us in prayer and we shared some thoughts and expectations we had for the week. We're not exactly sure what we will be doing, but we are all anxious to get started.
Check in here tomorrow to find out how the day went!
A group of 9 of us will leave Sunday morning for our trip to assist in the rebuilding efforts in New Orleans. Throughout the week we will be writing posts here about our experiences, and we will share with you some reflections and reactions to what we see and learn. Please feel free to comment on what you read.
Please pray for us throughout the week as well as for those that continue to be affected by the terrible devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.
Peace.
For those of you who don't know me, I joined the Prep community August 1, 2007 as the Instructional Technology Specialist. This means that I work with teachers and staff to find ways to improve communication and enhance learning through the use of technology. A teacher at heart, it was a change for me not to be in the classroom on a daily basis. Having the opportunity to get to know the students and to form those very unique teacher/student relationships is what I miss most about teaching. Fortunately for me, the Prep offers many opportunities for me to do that outside of the classroom, mostly through retreats, service activities and reflection with them.
During my interview with Mr. Gomez last June, he spoke about the five pillars of Jesuit education: Open to Growth, Intellectually Competent, Religious, Loving and Committed to Doing Justice. He asked me to comment about to which I could most relate. To be honest, I don't remember what I said (interview nerves), but I do remember leaving that interview with a feeling of peace and comfort. I knew that I had found what I was looking for, which was a way to nurture my spiritual self. I had another job opportunity with a large corporation but, although I considered it briefly, I knew that St. Joe's Prep was the right place for me at this time in my life. I had 12 years of catholic education, went to a public university, and, except for a brief stint as a teacher in a Catholic elementary school, I had not done much to foster my faith life since I left high school. All else was in place; I had a great education and many wonderful life experiences under my belt, but my spiritual life was the area on which I needed to focus. So, here I am.
As we all know, it is very easy to let life get in the way. In September and October I made sure I was here 2-3 times a week for morning mass; since then I've probably only made it once or twice. I have to constantly remind myself of that first interview and why it is that I came here. I have tried my best to take advantage of opportunities to get involved in all that the Prep has to offer. I was involved in a Sophomore service trip, attended my first Kairos retreat and am now about to embark on my first summer service trip. I am looking forward to sharing my experiences and reflections here with you.