Week of Discovery

It's the end of the week and I'm finally blogging without a lot of help. I have had many "discoveries" this week about myself and our students. Let me begin with what an amazing group of students that came down with us. They have represented Pellissippi State in Buras, LA and with EC very well. Each with their own special quality that makes this group more amazing than any other group I have had the privilege of working with. To describe the group is difficult but let me try . . . Together they are influencing and caring. They are steady, in control, wise, respectful, kind, team players, patient, contagious with their personalities and smiles, excellent in their tasks, gentle with one another, passionate, adaptable, initiator of tasks, skilled, transparent, knowledgeable, willing and see beyond the obvious. Each person has their own quality and I am grateful for that.

As for myself, I am challenged now to volunteer again, to begin giving back to the community in which I love. It's simply will not be enough for me to view photographs, read blogs and keep it as a memory. I also want my children to experience volunteering as a way of life--an opportunity to give back. So, we will be participating in a local service project real soon.

If you have read any of the other blogs, then you have heard about Pete. I (Little Broom) spent two days at Pete's place working on what will soon be the new location for the volunteers coming into Buras, LA. If you don't know, he's a resident of Buras and was working and living in Buras when Katrina hit. He lost everything except his van and before too long he lost that as well. His story is much like many of the residents here. The difference between him and others is that he has a HUGE vision for what he wants to accomplish within the next year in Buras. He is the ultimate volunteer in that he is working to rebuild his community. He shared his story with us and immediately you could sense his passion for wanting to see his culture (as he used) return. He came to breakfast this morning (as many others do) and shared a poem with us that he had written. He gave me the o.kay to include it in my blog:

Through the rubble and the ruins, we still hold onto our dreams.
Where the skeleton's of households, will be more than just remains.

In this land of the forgotten, we still suffer through the pain,
as the damage of Katrina still flows through our veins.

With politics and bureaucracy who ignore us without shame,
not enough of you are suffering, for us to recognize your pains.

Let volunteers and non-profit keep doing what they can.
We'll let them build our parish, then take it over once again.

Let the blood flow from the locals, as their hopes are slowly drained.
Then we'll sell out to the oilfields, with all the riches they will gain.

In the south end of Plaqumines Parish, we'll still hold onto our dreams,
when a life of simple normalcy, has come back once again.

~Pete