Teen groups invade BR

• By MARK H. HUNTER
• Special to The Advocate
• Published: Jun 27, 2009

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An invasion is under way in the Baton Rouge area, but it is a good thing.

Hundreds of young people from four denominations and dozens of churches around the U.S. are here on summer mission trips to help fix worn out or hurricane-damaged homes and churches from Gonzales to Baker to St. Francisville.

The invasion is coming in waves. The first, a week ago, was coordinated by the Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge and included 200 Catholic and 200 Methodist youth from several nearby states.

The second wave, this past week, was a cooperative effort with the Southern Baptist’s World Changers working with Mayor Kip Holden’s ongoing Operation Restore Pride campaign.

A third wave is expected in July when 36,000 Lutheran youth will descend on New Orleans and many of them will end up working on projects in Baton Rouge as well.

All of the efforts are focused on improving what officials call “at risk” neighborhoods and the interfaith and Baptist efforts are also multi-racial with local African-American churches feeding and hosting the mostly white youth.

At Gwendolyn Taylor’s house on Mission Drive a half-dozen Catholic youth were soaked with sweat last week as they put the finishing touches on a wheelchair ramp made of 2x6 treated lumber. For five years, ever since her grown son, Anthony, was paralyzed with a stroke, Taylor said she has had to wrestle his chair up and down four steps, either alone or with the help of her husband or neighbor.

“I’ve been trying to get a ramp for several years now, and I really do thank the Lord for these young people,” Taylor said. “I know this is from God. Now I can even bring him out on the porch where he can sit.”

The teens, who were attending a Catholic summer mission-camp entitled “Alive in You,” headquartered in Gramercy, said they were glad to be here.

“It’s really great to come out and help people by doing things like this,” said Audrey Anna Rabalais, 15, a member of St. Francis of Assisi, of Madison, Miss.

“It feels good to help,” added Maria Dahmash, 16, also of Madison, Miss.

Becky Reiners, of Catholic Charities, was coordinating the Catholic youth efforts with the Interfaith Federation and was effusive describing how the projects were developing.

“These kids have all paid to come here and they have come to Baton Rouge from Wisconsin, Mississippi, Atlanta and Dallas,” Reiners said as the sound of hammers pounding nails into hard lumber filled the neighborhood. “There is just no price you can put on how they have touched peoples’ lives.”