CRU members attend alternative break

The group stayed at the St. James Methodist Episcopal Church.

By Michael Sewall

Published April 3, 2007

While some students spend their spring break on a beach or visiting friends, 20 MU students went to New Orleans to help rebuild some of the city that is still torn apart in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The Campus Crusade for Christ, a Christian student organization at MU, stayed at the St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church for four nights during spring break.

The church was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina and has been a place many members of the organization have gone to help since the hurricane.

CRU member Patrick Martin said he and other members built a strong relationship with the church pastor last spring break and wanted to volunteer again this year.

"I would definitely say it's life changing," CRU member Hillary Jones said. "You get to see people that live every day with so little, and it makes you rethink your own life."

On Sunday, students participated in a prayer service by leading worship music, reading scripture and leading prayer before interacting and meeting community members.

"The people we spent time with were amazing people," Martin said. "It was amazing to see their endurance and their determination to stick with it. It showed us their faith is real."

Sunday evening, the group went to the 9th Ward in New Orleans where the most severe flooding occurred because it is right next to the levy that broke.

Monday through Wednesday, CRU members split into three groups. One group spent its time at the Wings of Love food distribution program while the other two groups helped by repairing the church or gutting houses.

On the final night of the retreat, the church held an evening service for the students and thanked them for their hard work. Church member Dirk McGill, who was memorable to most of the students, spoke at the service.

"He has had a rough life and background," Martin said. "He was really impacted."

Jones said McGill thanked the students for coming down to help and began to tear up.

"Those kids were great," McGill said. "They had a lot of heart, and they were real. Even though I'm in construction and was teaching them some stuff, they really showed me a lot about life."

Martin said the work on the rebuilding effort was only one aspect of the trip that students helped with.

"It's sort of neat to see the work you do on homes also affects other people in a good way," he said.

— Staff writer Marty Swant contributed to this report. He also attended the trip as a member of CRU.