Pictures

Leesburg, FL

This is a post from one of the volunteer groups awhile back. If your group would like to submit a post to the blog please email it to the village manager account (olvtree1@pcusa.org) along with a group picture and we'll post it for you.


Lake Square Presbyterian Church, Leesburg, Florida returns to Olive Tree PDA camp for Hurricane Katrina
relief work.
By: Kay Visconti
October 26-31, 2008

LSPC traveled to Olive Tree PDA Camp in New Orleans for its fourth mission trip to assist with Katrina recovery efforts. The nine person crew partnered with neighboring First Presbyterian of Leesburg, Fl, New Life Presbyterian Church of Fruitland Park, Fl and a group from Charolette, North Carolina. Our group leader was Bill Welch from First Presbyterian.
On this trip our team joined other work groups from Illinois and Montana. The LSPC team worked with three different homeowners whose houses were located in the Chalmette area of St.Bernard Parish, the lower 9th Ward, and Jefferson Parish. Many different types of work were done including sanding, painting, laying tile flooring, hanging doors and windows and sitting appliances.
The teams were able to meet their homeowners at the work site and at the Thursday night meal at the camp. Stories and fellowship were shared and lasting memories were made. The team left New Orleans with sore muscles but excited about returning in 2009 .

Update

Wow, it's been awhile. Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks. There have been a lot of interesting things going on at Olive Tree lately and we'll update more about that later.





A few weeks ago we had a jumping-picture-taking group!

Pictures!

This week at Olive Tree we were blessed with four wonderful groups from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Washington. We worked at eight worksites and ended our week with a home dedication on Friday afternoon. We all know that Katrina hit over three years ago but the work in New Orleans has not slowed down and will continue as an ongoing project for many churches and people across the States and beyond.



We hope that you are able to find a way to join us in the Crescent City as we assist families in the rebuilding process. If you have any questions about an upcoming trip or about planning a trip please email the village manager account at
olvtree1@pcusa.org



As a side note, our laundry facilities are now up and running!

Shrimp and Jersey

Last week we opened our doors to five states and about 60 people. People who have stayed at some of the other PDA camps arrive at Olive Tree and automatically feel spoiled so it's no surprise that some of the groups go to great lengths to make it feel like the "real" Hilton. A group from New Jersey treated the group to fresh-from-the-dock shrimp three times last week! Talk about being spoiled. Of course they have all worked very hard on the sites as evidenced by all of the people hobbling around moaning and groaning about their sore muscles. The good news? People are working hard and having a great time. We will update with pictures soon as promised.

We just started with a new bunch of people (about 70) and are looking forward to another great week here at the Village.

East to West

This week at Olive Tree we are hosting two large groups from opposite sides of the country. We have a group from a Presbytery that covers parts of both Oregon and Washington as well as a group from Virginia. We are excited to see what kind of relationships develop and what kind of work gets done.

Every Thursday at Olive Tree we host what we call Neighbor Night. This is an opportunity for the volunteer groups to invite their homeowners to celebrate in fellowship with us. Our groups cook a large meal and have devotions (worship) afterward. We also invite all of the long term volunteers and staff from Project Homecoming who organizes our work projects. This includes people serving in the Young Adult Volunteer program with PCUSA, Louisiana Delta Service Corps members, and Project Homecoming staff. Last week we hosted an additional 15 people which made a total of about 60 people. Neighbor Night is a very important part of our week here. It is a chance to sit down and share a meal in community with one another. It reminds us that we are not merely "helping" a person or "fixing" a house but we are building relationships and serving a cause greater than we could ever imagine. We are looking forward to another great party this Thursday.

Pictures will be posted soon.

Peace be with you.

Kentucky and Florida at play

The week of September 28 brought two groups, two guitars and a tamborine. How could it get any better?