Part of a Larger Piece

I had a chance to catch up with our friends in Pontotoc, Mississippi the other day. Quite a lot has been going on since we left in July! Despite the hard times, Habitat for Humanity has stopped work at all.

When our group departed in last July, we were pretty proud of the fact that we framed the whole house, put up walls and put together the roof. But our work was only one piece of the puzzle. Thanks to the staff and many other volunteers, the skeleton of a house was completed in just last month. The new home is complete with cabinets, painted walls, windows, the whole nine yards - all sorts of things that many people worked hard to finish.

We were lucky enough to meet the Chaperno family before we left Pontotoc, and we're delighted to see and hear about the house dedication ceremony. So much work, so many people, so much time - and Habitat for Humanity keeps on doing it.

If you'd like to have this kind of experience this summer, find out how to sign up for the 2009 Pontotoc Service Trip.

I think you'll find that it's wonderfully overwhelming to be part of something larger than yourself.

-Lauren B.

Service Trips--Looking Back and Looking Forward

This past Sunday a group of us gathered to remember our experiences from past Charis Ministries service trips. It was a great opportunity to share pictures and memories from the trips and catch up with people whom I haven’t seen in a while. Those of us who went on one or more of the service trips formed a great sense of community with each other over the course of the week-long trips, and it was great to renew that sense of community. We shared a lot of stories about our experiences from the trips, and there was plenty of laughter exchanged. It was fun to relive memories from the service trip to Idabel, Oklahoma that I was part of in 2004 and to hear stories from other service trips that I was not part of.

Several of us commented that sharing our memories from the service trips has inspired us to renew our commitment to volunteering. It’s easy to get burnt out on volunteering or to let a busy schedule get in the way, but getting together with other volunteers to have fun and reflect on your collective accomplishments is a great way to renew your enthusiasm and commitment to volunteering. This gathering was a fun opportunity to reflect on past service trips and to look forward to future trips.

-Jared W.

Service Trip Scrapbook

Now that we've had time to gather our thoughts, our notes, our photos and videos of our July Service Trip to Pontotoc, I thought I'd share our Quote Board and some video.

Clete compiled all our quotes, so I give him all the credit; and am happy to post this video of him entertaining us from the roof. Turn up the volume.

To prove that we did actual work, I present to you my short documentary "A Day in the Life of a Roof Truss." In our down time, we got to play ball in the gym with our new friends.

Quote Board 2008:

Dania to Keith: "What is that?"
Keith Dania: "Well, this is called a wall."

"You do good work, you just don't do much of it."
Bill's advice to all Charis Ministry volunteers at the job site Monday

Bill to Dave: "Grab a hammer over yonder."
Dave: "Where is it, here?
Bill: "No. YONDER."

"Hit it like you live it ... hard."
Brother Ken, an estimated 4,362 times, delivering the theme of Charis Ministries' 2008 Pontotoc Service Trip

"Read 'em and laugh, guys!"
Clete, revealing a particularly bad hand in the game Phase 10

"Do you know you have paint in your hair?"
About 12 people to Karen in one day

"I want to be called Paris (Hilton)."
Brian, requesting a new name, on the off day ride to Clarksdale

"A perfect symbol of our ineptitude."
Chris, describing a picture of a locked gate at a Delta Mississippi River Park that was closed by flooding

"All of the sudden I'm driving behind (Mario) Andretti!"
Chris, describing his efforts to keep up with Lead Foot Lindsey

"Ah man, I don't want to grease up."
Lindsey, lamenting having to apply sunscreen before work on Tuesday

"You can say anything about anybody as long as you punctuate it with 'Bless their heart.'"
Brother Ken

"We have this game at home."
Lauren, calling in Brian and Clete from shooting hoops at a visiting church

"Thanks, guys, appreciate it. ... (10 seconds later) FLY!"
Lauren, dismissing the group from our daily reflection

"It's so hot, I saw a dog chasing a rabbit. They were both walking."
Bill, describing Thursday's 100-degree heat index humidity

Dave to Keith: "I'm slow."
Keith to Dave: "You're slow, but you're dependable."

Lauren: "I don't know why, but everywhere I went people knew I was from out of town."
Keith: "I don't know what gave it away."

Glenda to Susan: "Go straight home."
Susan: "Where else is there to go in Pontotoc?"

"There is still hope for humanity, and it's every day people -- that's you guys."
Patrick, saying thanks and goodbye to the Charis Ministries group

- Lauren B. & Clete C.

The Things We Carry

Sunday, July 20, 2008

I know it's a few days past Sunday, and a little late in the game to let you know that we all returned home safely on Saturday night. I never understood what a powerful experience a service trip like this can be, until I tried to say it in less than 200 words.

It was a joyful and tearful good-bye as we left our old and new friends in Pontotoc. We accomplished a tremendous amount of work with a fantastic amount of energy and humor. Our final dinner together was blessed with much food and many t-shirts, and graced with the presence of all our partners and the family that will soon be living in the house we worked on.

I am grateful for Paul, Dave, Blair, Karen, Clete, Chris, Dania, Lindsey, Jay, Tim and Brian, and will carry them in my heart. I will always be thankful for Barbara, Wayne, Keith, Linda, Rachel, Brother Ken, Patrick, Bill, Jerry, Pastor Ken, Glenda, Diane, Fairy, Rosa, Richard & Ruth, Dr. Terry, Susan and everyone else who gave of themselves all week.

Earlier in the week, we prayed together with the pastor of West Heights Church, who thanked the Lord for the sacrifice the 12 of us made. That stuck with me all week, as I never once felt that I sacrificed anything. I was surrounded by kind, generous people (from Pontotoc AND from the Midwest), I was fed more good food than I've ever seen, and I had the time of my life. I will carry this experiece with me forever - not as a sacrifice, but as a gift.

Lauren B.

Mississippi Inspiration

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Five days ago, most of us were strangers who knew each other as well as Antartica knows a 70-degree day. Five days later, we've grown into a family called together to serve other people in God's name. I came to Pontotoc this week to serve and be inspired and the 11 people I'm with inspire me every day to live that calling.

Wednesday was our off day: A day of rest and adventure as we explored the undiscovered Mississippi country. One group set out in search of Clarksdale, the mystical home of Tennessee Williams, the beauty of the Mississippi Delta and a good barbecue joint. The group was detoured by a flooded Missississippi River and a couple wrong turns. What could have been a wild goose chase and a very frustrating day turned into a bonding experience complete with a marathon game of 20 questions, some soulful kaoroke and many laughs.

Another group set out in search of a water park in a land far, far away. We found it in the form of our human GPS system, Dania, and rediscovered the kids in ourselves by conquering our fear of heights on Mt. Everwet.

The theme of the day was Christian friendship, which we've experienced from everyone we've met this week and everywhere we've gone. "Love thy neighbor" has always been my favorite Christian law. The people of Pontotoc and my friends on this trip have been inspirational examples for me and powerful examples of God's love.

Clete C.

Tuesday - Ritual and Building Community

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Someone yesterday asked me “Is this typical, what we were able to accomplish on the first day?” I didn’t really know how to respond to the question because I never had really quantified the amount of work done on these service trips. As the only person who has attended all the Charis service trips, I sometimes am looked to as someone with knowledge of the past and of the trade. As a teacher in the classroom during my daily life, I am used to that ritual, people new to an experience asking for guidance from those who have been there before.

If one watches Keith, our construction supervisor, work over the last couple days, one will notice he does not say much, an occasional instruction or a laugh at someone else’s joke, but that is about it. But as a man with forty years or more of carpentry experience, it is easy to see how ritualistic his work-style is, how rhythmic it is. And if one was to watch us today, one could see similar rhythms. Whether it was nailing up wall boards or putting the trusses of the roof into place, each person took up the job that best fit them: stud-finder, nail-gunner, pivoter. We have developed a rhythm where the whole works better the sum of our parts. Catholicism is religion steeped heavily in ritual. We thrive on the communal experience of prayer, song and Eucharist. Maybe there is something to this Jesus was a carpenter thing. And as we build the home for a Habitat family, we build our own community among ourselves.

Dave W.

Jay's Pontotoc Perspective

Monday, July 14

Service. It is a word that connotes giving, yet somehow I receive so much more than I feel I give each time I undertake it. Today, twelve eager young Chicagoans set out into the Mississippi heat to understand how “service” works in the world of construction. We quickly learned that our respective job/leadership skills take a back seat to the superior knowledge of some gifted and dedicated “Pontotocans”, who demonstrated the virtues of perseverance, patience and understanding from sun up to sun down. They un-bent nails, sawed off edges, and gave countless instructions to us. The work was intense to be sure. But the dominant feelings in our muscles this evening is not fatigue (though present too), but instead one of accomplishment, community, and joy.

We turned an open cement plank into four complete walls, part of a roof, and several painted cabinets. But more importantly we laughed, we helped, we built, we encouraged, we listened, we prayed, and we loved. Some call this giving, but as I sit here tonight, I feel like a just opened a great big present. Thank You God for a wonderful day.

Jay M.

Day of Gathering

Sunday, July 13

Good to hear from our friends in Sydney; what a powerful experience. As to the heat - it's only been in the lower 90s here. We'd gladly trade you for a chilly evening!

Sunday broke bright and early for us as we headed off to St. Christopher Church for 8:00am Mass. The 200 parishioners had heard we would be arriving this week - our brand new friend Carolyn even volunteered to take us all out to breakfast after Mass! So we had food for the soul and food for the journey from our friends at St. Christopher.

Fr. Tim Muphy helped us put our upcoming week into perspective. Today's Gospel shares the parable of the sower and seeds - but rather than focusing entirely on how the seed of the Word falls on different types of people, Fr. Tim shared with us that "not everything small is beautiful, but everything beautiful is small." That particulary resonated with us today as we talked about painting cabinets and putting up walls at our Habitat House; even though what we are doing is small, it is beautiful, and part of a larger beauty.

After breakfast, we headed of to Ole Miss to check out the campus, stadium and the home of William Faulkner. Later, our site manager Keith, his wife Linda, granddaughter Katie, and Barbara and Wayne hosted us for a fantastic home-cooked meal - complete with the best sweet tea. All of us are excited to get to the site tomorrow and put in our contribution to the beauty that is this project.

A side note to all you Pontotoc Veterans out there - the newest street in the subdivision has been named after Brother Joe!

More authors will share soon!

Lauren B.

Longest Commute Ever

Saturday, July 12

Neither rain, nor wind, nor heat nor state troopers could keep us from our destination! All 12 of us (finally) made it down to Pontotoc in 12 hours - which we think is the record for Longest Trip Ever.

Personally, I enjoyed the ride. After all the time put into planning and getting ready to leave (Did I pack the right clothes? Do I have the right directions? Will my cats be OK? Did I have the right keys? Do I have this, that, the other thing?) it was actually quite nice to have the time and space to think about what lies ahead of us for the week.

Immediately upon arrival, our friends Mickey, Patrick, Wayne and Barbara met us at First Baptist and welcomed us back like long lost friends. We were touched at how thankful they were that we had come; but what really struck me at the end of the day was that Mickey said he was thankful for the opportunity to pray with us. To be able to be thankful for the chance to honor God with someone else, whether someone you've known your whole life or met 5 minutes ago, seemed like a wonderful state of mind. As we reflected together in evening, to feel so wanted was a great way to start our time in Pontotoc.

Gratefully,

Lauren B.

Down Under vs Down South (LG vs LB)

Who needs a whole 'nother continent to have a good time? Sure, Lauren G, Briana & Crew are jetsetting around Australia as part of the Pope's peeps. But even better than that - Lauren B, Dave & Company are off on a good ol' fashioned ROAD TRIP. You guessed it, it's time for Charis' Annual Service Trip!

Dave and I are excited to hit the road with Paul, Blair, Karen, Clete, Chris, Dania, Lindsey, Jay, Tim and Brian. Dave is a seasoned veteran of Charis Service Trips, while this will be my inaugural visit to the fine state of Mississippi. We're off to Pontotoc, Mississippi to build houses with Habitat for Humanity. Working with each other by day and staying with our friends at the First Baptist Church of Pontotoc by night, we hope our time away will give us space to reflect on our service, our faith and ourselves.

Aside from the physical and spiritual benefits of laboring for others, I'm hoping for some great food. Bet you can't get good grits in Sydney! Check back for more update and pics as we become "contemplatives in SERIOUS action."

Lauren B.