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20 say they would go again on mission trip
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MISSION TRIP: From left to right, Joanne Bartos, Hannah Balogh and Corey Patrick talk about their part in a mission trip to New Orleans.
STRUTHERS — They spent about 16 hours driving in a van from Struthers to New Orleans, lived in a dormitory for a week and got up every day at 5:30 a.m.
They painted and hung doors and dodged mosquitoes in the sweltering Louisiana heat.
Then they drove back home, with no electronic forms of entertainment allowed — though they were able to persuade their adult chaperones to let them listen to the radio in the van.
They even endured a never-ending game of Uno.
They would do it all again, they said.
Fourteen teens and six adults from the St. Nicholas Church Youth Ministry went to New Orleans earlier this month, where the teens worked on a house for a woman and her two teenage daughters.
“It was awesome,” said Chrissy Goss, one of the chaperones. “These kids were outstanding.”
The ranch house, in the city’s devastated Ninth Ward, was one of many that still need restoration or demolition after Hurricane Katrina plowed into the city nearly four years ago.
Abandoned after its owners decided it wasn’t worth coming back to, the house was gutted for the new family, said Goss.
Other groups had gone before the teens, sent by the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity, and the ranch house just needed the finishing touches by the time the St. Nicholas group arrived.
Its new family was set to move in this week.
The trip wasn’t all work for the kids. They went on a swamp boat ride and toured a museum.
They were treated to dinner by a local family one night, where they ate red beans and rice — “I liked it,” said Carleen Kalasky, 16, but Tony Coppola, 14, pronounced the dish a “preferred taste.”
But even though they enjoyed the city, the Ninth Ward was an eye-opener that not all is right there.
Houses lean there, said Nick Gigax, 15.
Corey Patrick, 16, was struck by the marks left on so many of the houses — marks for demolition.
“I thought it was scary to see how much damage was done, and it’s four years later,” Carleen said.
“I couldn’t believe how people would drive by and say ‘thank you’ — and we weren’t even working on their houses,” said Tony.
When they recall their trip, it becomes apparent that they learned some critical lessons.
They learned that even though the news of Katrina is four years old and faded for many people, it’s a hard slap of reality for people who still deal with the devastation of their homes and neighborhoods.
They learned that if people see others who care enough to help, it gives them hope.
And they learned that when you help other people, you feel good about yourself.
“It felt good to know you are making a difference, in at least one family’s life,” said 15-year-old Joanne Bartos.