An update on Wednesday’s happenings with our high school youth and their accompaniment work in Florida…
Sharon Hardel, Director of Youth & Family Ministry at First, offers insight into their work on Wednesday…Part of our group worked at Pastor Tim and Pastor Sharon Taylor’s house painting and organizing. The rest of us worked at a food pantry helping to serve clients. Then we came to the pastors’ congregation in Ft Myers Beach. The church was completely gutted by the hurricane. They found piano and other furniture / supplies in yards behind the house. They never found the riding mower. They are guessing it is in the bay. Empty lots are where houses used to be. The destruction once we crossed the bridge was horrible. The congregation is worshiping in a parking lot and on Saturday evenings they share a church on the mainland. Many congregants have moved back to other states they came from because they had homes paid off and didn’t maintain homeowners insurance so they can’t afford to rebuild. There are three protestant churches including the Lutheran one that are in conversation about how to rebuild. They may just build one worship space to share since they each have 50 – 100 members left and then find out what the new community will need, like a community center. The chance to come here really opened our eyes and the stories we heard from the people we met touched our hearts.
Several of the youth also share these reflections about their experience and work on Wednesday:
On Wednesday, we had to wake up early to leave for Fort Meyers which wasn’t fun. In Fort Meyers, we met at a pastor’s house, one she moved into after switching homes multiple times. Some stayed to help paint her house while my group went to the local food pantry to help out. I and a man named Jean Carlos sorted a shipping container full of food, making sure the dates were in order to ensure the food wouldn’t spoil. Jean Carlos talked about his cleaning business and how he’s putting his son through medical school and trying to find a good, but inexpensive, school for his daughter. He told me that even though his business can support him, it is still nice to work at the food pantry. “It aids his soul,” he says. The many, many boxes of tuna and green beans, while heavy, filled me with a sense that I, too, was aiding my soul. After the food pantry, we went to St. Peters Church, which was gutted and partially destroyed by Hurricane Ian. Some of the campers helped organize the remaining contents of the church. We took a tour of the church and the pastor explained how her congregation stayed strong through hardship and continued to worship outside the space. Her and other church leaders plan to build a communal church until work can be done in individual churches. Today was an educational and spiritual experience that allowed us to collaborate with members of the Fort Meyers community to make a difference. ~Nicholas B
I enjoyed painting the house. Painting the house made me feel better knowing I am trying to make a difference. It may sound like a small thing, but anything helps. ~Tristan H
