Introducing Olive Tree Fall 2008

Welcome to Olive Tree, the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Volunteer Village in New Orleans, Louisiana. Right now things are fairly quiet but it won't stay that way long. We're expecting 18 volunteers the week of September 21 and between 80-90 volunteers every week after that.

Let me take you on a little tour of our camp. We're located in northeast New Orleans in a quiet and nice neighborhood.


This is what our camp looks like as you drive up from the Chef Mentuer highway.



Here is the neighbor across the street from us


This is our TV room where volunteers can gather to watch TV or videos,play games or read.

We have a commercial kitchen. This is the stove and grill

Our commercial dishwasher will enable us to use real dinnerware and stop using paper or plastic.

We are housed in the former Eastminster Presbyterian Church. The old Sunday School classrooms have been converted to dorm rooms. Each room will sleep 15 people in either a bunk bed or single twin bed. We have three of these rooms for women and three for the men.


We will eat our meals in the old sanctuary. It will easily convert to a worship space for devotions.

What you don't see here are the faces and houses that are the whole reason for us to be here in the first place. I've had conversations with the folks who work at the Winn-Dixie down the street or the True Value Hardware store and can assure you that you'll enojy getting to know these people. Come on down!!!

New Shower Trailer!!

Our big news is that we just finished the installation of a brand new shower trailer. This comes to us from many different hands and hearts in Virginia led by the fine folks at St Andrews Presbyterian Church in Kilmanock, Virginia.


The idea for the trailer came as a result of two previous PDA trips this church made. Paul Ryan, a contractor, got ideas from facilities he found. The first PDA trip he went on offered a shower tent that blew down during a storm. The next trip he found a shower trailer. He says he is always on the lookout to how things are built and how he could build them better. So he started designing a way to make a shower trailer even better.

Paul had the honor of the first shower

St Andrews went home and invited other churches to help. Together they raised $15,000 to buy a used trailer and install six shower stalls(wider than average). Each shower has a private dressing area so it's the next best thing to home. Actually, it's probably better than home. At home you can't talk to your friends while you shower.

It also has a central washroom with mirrors, electric outlets and sinks. A "slop sink" outside is for those really dirty hands from drywall mud or paint. This way you can clean off before you even come into our shower.

This is the very latest in shower design and we're proud to have it here at Olive Tree.
Judy Thomson helped with the final painting

Putting up the step rails finished the job. This is Jim Myers, Tony Stanley and Tom Coye putting the step railing to finish the job.

You can find more information and pictures at their church's website:
www.saintandrewspc.org

1st PC Hickery, NC- March 30-April 4

Residents and neighbors of Hickory, North Carolina proved themselves to be hardy, committed, and kind in their mission work. I don't recall ever seeing so many genuine smiles in one group before. Hickery is certainly salt of the earth.

Brownstone PC, IN- March 24-28

Thirteen is a lucky number in volunteer groups. Indiana took on two projects on opposite ends of New Orleans. One in Violet, southeast of New Orleans, the other near city park on the west end of downtown. Whether drywalling or installing cabinets, they all worked tirlessly to meet the ambitious goals set by the construction managers that week.

Southwest Partners, IA- March 24-28

A mixture of members from different churches come together under Iowa's banner to put the finishing polish on the Lurline house. Tim Maxa leads this team of rebel rousers to victory on Lurline Street.

This home was just dedicated on July 10, 2008 and the entire family has come home. They still enjoy the picture of the group hanging on the wall in their livingroom.

Warner Pacific College, Portland, OR... and United PC, Randolph, NY

The east coast and the west coast joined forces the week of March 24-28 to work on one home. Who'd have thought that people from such diverse backgrounds, locations, age groups, and traditions could become a family in just one week? And they don't mess around.

Brava Oregon and New York.

University of Minnesota- March 16-21

No less than 90 students from the University of Minnesota in Duluth "flooded" Olive Tree the week of their Spring Break. New Orleans rather enjoyed having such a fantastic flood. These students collectively worked on 9 homes, the volunteer village, and a Berean Church in Central City, and contributed over 4,400 hours of labor. With costs of labor being valued at $18/hour in New Orleans, this one team of students gave New Orleans homeowners a gift of $79,380.00.

One might say that the size of their hearts was even bigger than the size of their group. That is proven when you consider how difficult it is to do simple things like sleep, eat, and shower when the volunteer village is at capacity.