St. James, Fairhope youth return from mission trip

By Katherine Seibt,  Youth Director
St. James, Fairhope

So…we’re back from Birmingham and have finished up the lock-in. Lord knows it was fun, exhausting, but fun. I think the kids really had a great time and learned a lot along the way.

Sr. High EYC went to Birmingham, to rebuild a Habitat for Humanity house that was destroyed by a tornado. Habitat for Humanity of Greater Birmingham had a big build during Lent and on Good Friday dedicated numerous houses. The Knight family received their house and then 5 days later, the tornado struck. Their roof was lifted up and set back on the house, demolishing what was left. The family of 4, was in their house at the time and was uninjured, thankfully.
We drove through Tuscaloosa and Pleasant Grove to get a sense of the utter devastation those tornados left on some communities. We were awestruck. I think everyone one of us was affected by what we saw. I can only hope those images and feelings stay with them as they start their school year in the fall. It will help keep high school drama in perspective.

The kids had a ball working. They caulked, put up siding, built columns, installed doors, and painted. They really did an awesome job. If you need home repairs, I’ll suggest these kids.  We even met a few new friends along the way. Ricky, a rising senior at John Carroll Catholic HS in Birmingham, ended up becoming a member of our group for the week. It was coincidence that he was sent from one site, to another (the site we were working on) and he became everyone’s friend. We even had him over for dinner one night. I’m pretty sure he’s received Facebook messages galore from our kids.The Jr. High had an awesome time at our “Fairhope Outreach Lock-in.” We stayed in Fairhope, and did a pretty good bit of community service. We put on a Luau at Carroll Place one afternoon, saw the movie “Soul Surfer” (amazing movie, by the way), helped out at the Rotary Youth Club (formally the Boys and Girls Club), and painted an office and washed windows at Ecumenical Ministries. All those kids had a great time as well.

Every night both groups had Bible study devotion and we discussed where we saw Christ during the day. I know both groups were asking to do their mission work again, and soon. They are all such wonderful kids. I want to thank in particular, Fr. Don and Kathy Seibt for chaperoning the Sr. High trip. I’ve never been on a mission trip, much less planned one, so I’m so thankful they were there to help me along. I also want to thank Laura Byrne for helping me every day with the Jr. High kids. I couldn’t have done it without her!

Also thank you to the Sr. High kids: MacLean Byrd, John Luke Brewer, Frances Blount, Amy Keyser, Olivia Paris-Harbison, Rachel Paris-Harbison, Hannah Lang, Caroline Seibt, and Georgia Smith along with the Jr. High group: Winton Blount, William Geiger, John Mason McCormick, Mac Sternenberg, McClean Gonzalez, Sophie Coppock, Natalie Smith, Sibley Barnett, and Louisa Whitmire for being such wonderful representatives of Christ. Y’all did everything asked of you, with a smile on your face. I appreciate you all so much and am proud to work with you. I think the Servant Song sums up their two weeks of work so well, “Won’t you let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you, pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.”