We have a dear friend named Ben McLeish, whose grandparents are the very well-loved Doyne and Dorothy Michie in the church. Ben is the Assistant Pastor at St. Roch Community Church in the 8th Ward of New Orleans. His neighborhood was hit very hard by Hurricane Katrina.  

St. Roch has a separate not-for-profit group that buys houses and rebuilds them to sell at cost to members of the community. Most of the houses there were abandoned after Katrina. Home ownership is around 10% in the area. Ben and his group are committed to making it possible for people of all incomes to own a home and take pride in their neighborhoods.

We were fortunate to get to work on two of the houses in particular, and to meet some of their wonderful neighbors. We also got to worship with them. What a blessing the weekend was!

MISSION TEAM: Emili Earhart, Paige Earhart, Leah Ferrill, Gill Hutt, Duncan Jackson, Leah Reid, Kris Repka, Julie Chesnutt, Ken Repka, Elizabeth Small