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Community
Volunteers and Community Bond Through Christ
June 1, 2010-
Written by Russell Elser
“Cheeze” is the unseen face of thousands in the New Orleans area struggling daily. During my first week interning for Camp Restore I have come across many who have stories written on their faces, in their eyes and on their hearts. They tell the tale of life post-Katrina. Cheeze, and other residents, do what they can by volunteering in the very place that feeds them. The Community Center of St. Bernard Parish is a center of service for a Parish with little left following the wake of Katrina. Camp Restore plays a role by helping to restore community and, most importantly, faith.
A young mother to be, Cheeze finds help and support at the Community Center of St. Bernard and it is with the Love of Christ that Camp Restore volunteers share a time and place with people such as her. We come not as judges of condemnation, nor with a list of should haves and could haves but simply with the Love of Christ whose power can lift the tallest mountains and toss them into the seas. She may never see volunteer Pastor Steve again but the smile on her face as they pose for pictures may never leave her memory. The strength and encouragement of the Spirit carried by our witness is the seed nourished and watered by the blood of Christ that brings strengthened faith to a girl who shall face times of uncertainty in the months and years to come. One on the side of God is a majority, and with that majority we know that God shall see her through these times.
Camp Restore volunteers come to bear witness to the hope and love which is Christ and to help restore the community. It is in the community that we need to work, with the Community Center of St. Bernard, setting up missions such as Restore Trinity Claiborne, assisting with Apex Youth Center at Gloria Dei and reaching out to the youth such as Cheeze, who are the future of the Church. It is to those in need that Christ reaches out to, it is for this reason that we have come to do this mission work. Plywood, and 2x4 studs will fade in time, but the souls of those like Cheeze are what Christ labors for. Pray for Cheeze.