This year MissionPalooza brought together 100 youth from around the Episcopal Diocese of Texas to serve the greater Houston area in its continued Harvey rebuild efforts. Palmer was represented by five youths and two adults, including myself, as we worked at rebuilding houses throughout the week. 

My work group, which included Palmer's own Carter Bolin, served in Rosharon in a neighborhood called Little Cambodia. This largely Cambodian neighborhood is an agricultural community that was devastated by Harvey and has received little to no federal money to rebuild. It is a wonderfully close neighborhood that has been relying on volunteers and its own people to rebuild the homes and greenhouses that were destroyed in the flood waters.

We spent the week putting flooring into a home that was being rebuilt for a disabled women who has lived in a dilapidated trailer with five other people since the storm came. A man in the neighborhood provided supplies for the work and gave us watermelon every week as we helped him restore the neighborhood he loves so much.

God moved through every person on the trip. His love was present as we tried to make it easier for people to move back into their homes.