First Presbyterian Church of Boise, Idaho, volunteer shares about their work time in the Gulf

Drywall skills are helpful for teams in the gulf and other rebuilding locations. Photo by Joe Galey

First Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) of Boise, Idaho, members and friends served as part of a volunteer work team in the spring of 2007.  Our thanks to team member Kenneth Spriggs for providing information about their mission trip and to team member Joe Galey for the photographs of team members at work.

The First Presbyterian team was hosted at the Orange Grove Presbyterian Volunteer Village in April 2007.

On day one, the team shared breakfast with other teams, prepared sack lunches for a day on the job, attended orientation, gathered necessary tools and headed out.  Before reaching the work site, the team toured some of the destruction areas.

The team met the homeowner’s daughter, Gretchen, who was living in a FEMA trailer while the home was being rebuilt.  Kenneth worked on sanding the inside walls and ceilings, and other team members worked on a variety of jobs that needed to be done.

By 5:00 p.m., the team headed back to the village for dinner and meeting with other teams at the village. 

Day two began around 5:00 a.m.  The team responsible for breakfast was ready to serve around 6 a.m.  Again team members shared a variety of jobs.  Joe and Kenneth worked together on cutting drywall pieces, which other members of the team would later hang.  By the end of the day, Kenneth said he looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy because of all the drywall dust.

The team left the work site an hour early in order to further inspect damage done by the 2005 storm.  While taking many photos, Kenneth remembered “There appeared to be no end to the damage, and I found it alarming as to just how severe the damage was.  I knew that it would take years to clean up the mess, and rebuild.”

On day three, the First Presbyterian team took a turn at cooking breakfast for all the village volunteers, frying a total of 340 slices of bacon and plenty of other breakfast foods.  The team also returned to the village a bit early, to prepare dinner for all the work teams.

At the work site, Gretchen treated the team to lunch, so their sack lunches were saved in the cooler for later.   Lunch was a treat of Mississippi style Po-boy sandwiches and root beer – a real display of Mississippi hospitality.

Team members work hard during the day and are ready for a good meal and community building time in the evenings at the Presbyterian Volunteer Village. Photo by Joe Galey

The homeowner, Lulla, came in the afternoon, and the team was treated to her stories — interesting and humorous — during their break times.

Sunday morning was the team’s fourth day in the gulf, and there was no work scheduled on this day.  The team attended church at 8:00 a.m. and then headed for a trip to the French Quarter in New Orleans.

By days five and six at the building site, we could clearly see accomplishments from the week’s work.  The siding was completed; the plumbing was nearly all installed; the kitchen was ready for paint and light fixtures.

Most of the team members were tired, yet already looking forward to a return trip to either finish up or begin new work.

The last day on the job site, everyone was encouraged to sign their names on the fence — already it was loaded with names from previous volunteers. 

Back in the village, the team bid their new friends “so long,” promised to keep in touch, and added their Idaho potato marker to the village totem pole.  The flight home ended after dark, and the congregation’s pastor greeted the team at the airport.

Volunteer work teams, like the team from First Presbyterian, have been helping in the gulf coast for nearly four years.  More than 40,000 volunteers have made tremendous progress with rebuilding homes and encouraging survivors on the road to recovery.

Congregations, survivors, and team members have found the hope of Christ in the middle of responding to the 2005 hurricanes.  Teams are still needed — in the gulf, in Texas, and around the United States, in response to a variety of disasters. When your team is ready for a short term disaster recovery mission trip, you may sign up here. 

Read more stories of hope