Mississippi’s building

Nearly three years ago, two hurricanes struck Louisiana and Mississippi, leaving a path of destruction from which the gulf coast is still recovering.

Last month, 14 teens from St. Thomas More parish in Lynnwood spent a week in the gulf, helping to rebuild.

Rhonda Miketinas and her husband, John, were two of the six adults on hand to work with the teens.

They’re from Gulfport, Miss. not far from Pass Christian, the town where the teens helped with three home rebuilding projects.

“My parents live in Long Beach and they lost everything,” Rhonda Miketinas said. “They took two changes of clothes with them in their car and went five hours north to stay with my brother, thinking they’d be right back.”

Her parents have since moved back into their house even though the flood washed away almost everything except an antique China bowl that belonged to Miketinas’ great-great grandmother.

Last month’s trip, part of the church’s annual youth mission, was an eye-opener for the kids.

“It was quite the experience,” said Hanna Naserjian, 16. “That’s the hardest I’ve ever worked in my life.”

Angela Northquist, the parish’s youth minister, coordinated the trip by connecting with the Catholic Archdiocese in southern Mississippi.

“It was a really different experience to go and see where everything was wiped out,” she said.

The boys and girls were accompanied on the trip by adults who guided them along during work sessions. Participants had to raise money to go.

This was the group’s second trip to the gulf coast since the hurricane struck. Last year, six parish teens volunteered to help in New Orleans.

Teens, who had help from the federally funded volunteer organization Americorps, slept at a Catholic church in Lizana, which is part of the city of Gulfport.

The youths helped a 78-year-old man rebuild his house.

“We spent a lot of time talking about how we were rewarding somebody who’d been helping someone else,” said Northquist, who arranged work sites for the youths.

The kids helped build decks, install insulation, move drywall and help re-roof a house, she said.

“Groups of us did everything from stair landings to decks,” she said. “A handful of teens and adults cut four-by-fours and treated wood for weather.”

To join the trip, teens had to apply and agree to a contract outlining acceptable behavior.

They worked through 95-degree heat with 90 percent humidity, sometimes for more than 8 hours.

“The humidity was ridiculous but it was so worth it,” Naserjian said. “I would do it again.”

Miketinas said she was “amazed” at how many old oak trees survived the storm.

“Some places you can’t even tell there used to be houses there because weeds have grown up and covered the foundation,” she said.

Miketinas, whose son Stephen was on the trip, was quick to praise the teens for their hard work.

“I can’t say enough good things about these kids,” she said.