A Day at Camp

You may be wondering, "Now what goes on in a typical day at "Camp New Hope?" Well, we get to see the sunrise. It isn't usually this pretty (and it bodes ill for the weekend -Red sky in the morning, sailor take warning. And all that.)



At 7:00 a.m. I host a leaders meeting in my study (trailor.) Wego over the details of the work day and give people their assignments around camp for that day and next.


Following the leaders meeting we have morning devotions. These are generally led by the volunteers and it is really neat to hear their insights. It is clear that all the spiritual wisdom is not held by the clergy. (Note the tennis balls on the chair legs. They are to keep the chairs from sinking into the soft soil. Inside the dining tent is still very soft, even thought it hasn't rained for five days.)



After devotions they head off to breakfast at the Volunteer Center. Following breakfast they head to their work assignments. These days most are construction related, as most of the debris removal and "mucking out" of the houses is complete. This week we are doing dry wall removal, mold treatment (i.e. bleach three times), dry wall installation and assorted carpentry, plumbing and electrical.




Of course when there are a lot of volunteers, one must have volunteers to take care of the volunteers. So a couple of our people work the food detail - cooking breakfast and lunch at the Volunteer Center, serving up to 90 people each meal. If we have doctors or nurses on the team, as we did this week, then they work in the free clinic. It is staffed entirely by volunteers and all medicines and equipment are donated.





Note the recycled tarps around the "Dining Facility." It was formerly a conession stand at the ball field. The free clinic is the same way - set up behind some blue tarps in the colonade of a blown out supermarket. There are some advantages to being in the deep south - at least it is relatively warm.



The Volunteer Center is staffed by volunteers, as well. Here Ed (aka "#2") is working with two of our PDA volunteers. They maintain 3 data bases - one for work projects, one for volunteers' hours and one for needs of the homes in D'Iberville. So far almost 80,000 work hours have been volunteered in D'Iberville since the hurricane!

Of course the camp doesn't run itself. We have the normal housekeeping and cleaning chores, which I won't discus, and we have the huts to maintain. Each day the nine heaters must be refilled with 10 gallons of diesel fuel and the generators topped off.


Today we started on the platforms for the huts. There is a good cchance of rain this weekend, but the team arriving on Sunday will have dry feet! This will raise the huts six inches and keep the floors nice and dry. At the end of the day we had 18 huts lifted. Note the silver ductwork (below). One heater heats six huts.

When all is said and done, the hungry workers, where ever they worked, are hungry and volunteers feed them. Today we grilled hamburgers and hot dogs.

At the end of the day's schedule we hold devotions and prayers. It is a time for workers to tell their stories of the day and tell about the people whose lives they touched and who touched their lives in return.

iXs,
the Rev