Hey everyone! This trip has been incredible so far. It’s sad to think we only have one day left. Throughout the trip we have been asked to focus on one thing throughout the day, and humility has really hit me while reflecting. It has astounded me at the openness and humility of the people affected by hurricane Sandy. It has been life changing having the privilege to help these people. I miss you all..ttfn ;)

~Julia

Mason “The Beast from the East” Grimshaw

Hi everybody! How’s it going? Good! This week has been incredible, well, almost. The poison didn’t kill Father, but only made him throw up a bunch. I’ve been breaking every other thing I’ve touched. I broke a crowbar, a grass seed bag, our little plastic baseball (it was a great swing that SHOULD’VE been a home run), a fence that I fell through, and my cot that was really Anthony’s fault. Our best jobs have been the deck demolition jobs that we’ve been able to get and redoing Don’s backyard. I love to hit things with hammers and pointy tools. I miss my family though. Love you mom, dad, Grady, Scar and Vi. Hope you read this. See you Wednesday! 

Hi from New Jersey! First of all, Happy Birthday Mairin!!! Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers and we are sorry that we didn’t get a message out to you yesterday.  We’ve had pretty limited blogging time and internet access. There is so much to tell you all about...our days have been full. The damage of the hurricane is still very evident in many places, even after 6 months.  In the short time we have been here we have developed some special relationships and we have many stories to share.  You all would love it here, the people have been so welcoming and the food has been incredible.  Moira learned to play pitch and touched the ocean for the first time yesterday...very cold but breathtakingly beautiful!! We are missing you all so much and can’t wait to hear about all that has been going on there (also we heard Notre Dame women lost...dang.) Ciara, Aislinn,Mairin and Declan we heard you might not have school tomorrow...you lucky dogs! Dan, hope you are doing OK without lattes...has Ciara figured out the machine yet?! Brendan, Liam and Caitlin, we mis

s hearing from you guys and we need to have a long family skype session upon our return home! (By the way our plane gets in, 8:30 pm Wednesday) Anyway, we love you all so much!!!

Love and God Bless you, Mom and Moira

Hey everyone just checking in really enjoying the experience here in NJ as it is truly eye opening on what has occurred here.  Even 6 months after the storm there is so much work that has to be done and be cleaned up.  I have been painting doing yard work and cleaning up garbage as well as digging up stumps in the yard with Pete.  According to Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Dobesh I have changed the way the game pitch is played and I am enjoying the glory!! Missing the parents and my always fun to be around little bro! Thanks for everyone who made it possible to get me here including my sponsors, Mrs. Casey and my Family.

Thanks Again God Bless

Austin Olson

The trip is going really well except for getting sick last night (I begin to think the boys are trying to poison me LOL). 

It’s interesting how God works. Each day we have been focusing on different aspects of missionary work like service, humility, God’s grace. Yesterday we were asked to focus on absence/weakness/God providing. We were told some people will bring us lunch to our the worksite. For the last two days the boys wanted to do some demolition work. Well… the food was delivered to a wrong address which was just one street off where we had been working all morning. When we went to pick it up from there (we got a call from the young guy who lived there), we found out that he needed some desperate help to tear down his deck for a crew would be coming to raise his home or something like. It was around 3 PM and it would take him at least a couple days to do it. It took us less than an hour to get the work done and we saved him probably close to $1,000. The guy just bought this house a month before the hurricane. From deck to water was close to 8 feet and during the story there had been 4 feet of water in his living room. Pretty crazy!

God yet again provided. 

Fr. Marcin

P.S. To Father Kerry: I sure hope you washed the cat on Saturday :) 

Today is Sunday, a day of much needed rest. The team has been working long hours and accomplishing much. Our work is not only providing great monetary savings to the families, but also giving hope to families that have been displaced for 6 months.  Father Scott and Catherine are taking great care of us and we are hoping to go to the beach for a break today. Our kids are amazing and always looking for more projects!  Tonight some will join in the choir at 5PM Mass with the youth group from St. Joe's and then we will be spending time with them throughout the evening. Team Skiff, (Barb, Karrie, Anthony, Joe, Holly, Sabine and Father Marcin spent yesterday painting the inside of an entire house for a family of 5. They have only been living together the last 3 weeks and are hoping to be in their home within a month or so.  While we were painting, a crew from Pennsylvania rolled in to put floors down. Although we didn't get completely finished, the house was taking on a new look when we left. What a privilege to be part of this and bring joy to others!

Jakeb Sullivan. Darkness.

Greetings! So far this trip has been great. I love working landscape with the fellas. I’m really becoming close to the guys because we are all packed into the basement with 9 cots. It smells amazing downstairs (I wish). Overall the trip has been really fun! We got to eat New Jersey pizza last night and it might be better than little caesars. Haha. I bought a jersey at a store and the guy told me it was a large. Though he did not mention it was a youth large, so Jed I got you a sweet jersey! Miss and love all of you!

Mason “The Reservation Sensation” Grimshaw

Hey everyone! As I’m writing this, Father is bickering with Mr. Sullivan about marriage or something. We could make a TV show with their interactions. The trip has been pretty good so far. I’m not really sure what to say on this blog because I’m still reeling a little bit but that should be OK by tomorrow. The living conditions are great mom, don’t worry. The culture here seems really different but we haven’t seen enough of it to give you a definite yes or no on that. I think I’m the only Native American in this whole state. I have to give up the computer now, but hope everything is good in South Dakota. Love you guys.

Wayne Sullivan

Greetings to the Rapid City folks. Especially the Sullivans. I miss you so much!!! Some of us have been working outside cleaning up trash and debris. We are called the “Visionaries,” we basically are redoing a families back yard. It is very rewarding and the people are very generous and grateful. To my beautiful family, I love you and know that everyday I am here I appreciate you more and more. Lv, me

Hey guys this is Sabine and Holly!!!! It’s crazy beautiful here and the work has been a ton of fun. Yesterday we went to Seaside Heights and walked. We saw the rides that have once been there but now are destroyed. It’s sad to see homes completely broken apart and we have met many people whose homes have been washed away, yet they have this happiness in them and they know people like us are here to help them. We are missing home very much, but still enjoying our time here. We are praying for you guys and we ask that you pray for us over these next seven days. We love you guys very much. Sabine would like to give a special shout out to her Aunt Annie and Uncle Jacques, without you, I dont know if I’d be here!!

Salutations from beautiful New Jersey. We all are doing well despite cramped living situations and other disadvantages of rooming with many people. We spend our days working on houses that were almost completely destroyed by super-storm Sandy. It has been 6 months since the hurricane and still there is so much wreckage to be cleaned up. These houses that we are fixing up, although they appear in tact are almost completely hollowed out due to flooding. These houses were stripped to their frames and all new dry wall, flooring and siding had to be installed. Most of these people can not financially fund their own renovations, and they are not eligible for insurance money. They rely on others for support and they are perfect examples of humility. I hope you will all pray for us as we continue our work. :) With love from Jersey. 

Anthony Skaleski   

Greeting from Toms River, NJ.  We arrived late Wednesday evening and had a quick tour of the ocean and bay side areas. The team witnessed first hand the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. Seeing the damage and hearing the stories of the  people who lost their homes, put a real face on what we had previously only seen through the media. The pain and suffering is evident in everyday conversations, but once again we are experiencing the gratitude of people who have been through so much.  We are currently working on 2 different homes that received heavy damage.  Drywalling, painting, general clean up of debris in yards and landscaping are the tasks at hand. People have such great need and the burdens of the past few months are many, but they also have great hope. As one elderly lady who is displaced and staying in the same house as the girls said, "spring brings new hope in the crocuses and daffodils that are making their way through the rubble."