Eleven Southern University students participated in the Wesley Foundation's recent mission trip to repair a home in New Orleans damaged by Hurricane Katrina. From left to right are: (front row) Brittney Patterson, Katreka James, Taleisha Johnson, and Jasmine Reine; 2nd row: Cory Hill, Earl Kelly, Wale Animashaun and Jonathan Parker; and 3rd row: Kendra Smith, the Rev. Willie Laws (trip coordinator) and Paul Schiele.

SU students give up spring break to go on mission trip

While many students spent their spring break sleeping late or frolicking on beaches, 11 Southern University students helped repair a New Orleans home damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Corey Hill, Jasmine Reine, Brittney Patterson, Jonathan Parker, Earl Kelly, Wale Animashaun, Taleisha Johnson, Kendra Smith, Paul Shiele, Katreka James and Lauren Adams spent three days of their spring break on a disaster recovery mission trip with the Southern University Wesley Foundation and the Louisiana United Methodist Disaster Recovery Ministry rebuilding homes in New Orleans.

"It was overwhelming," said Hill, president of the Wesley Foundation Club, describing the work on the house in the 13th Ward area that he helped repair. The students installed insulation and dry wall in the ceiling and walls.

Hill said the mission trip gave him the opportunity to be a leader and see the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. He said he was glad to be able to really make an impact on rebuilding the city.

"It was important that we went to New Orleans because there are so many students that have been impacted by the storm," said Rev. Willie Laws, director and campus minister of the Wesley Foundation.

The Southern students, who lodged at Aurora United Methodist Church with two other mission groups from Maryland and Virginia, were among more than 300 volunteers from across the country that came out to help rebuild the city's 13th Ward.

Laws said that he hopes more African-American churches and groups will participate in the disaster recovery effort in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast. He is planning to go on another recovery mission trip to Waveland, Miss., next year and in 2010 the foundation will go to Mexico.

Students interested in going on the 2009 mission trip are invited to attend a seafood boil and Bible study at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 9 in the Wesley United Methodist Center located at 748 Harding Blvd., next to the Jaguar Plaza.