By Michael Gonzalez - Post-Tribune Coorespondent   

Days ago, the tiny, often overlooked park next to the North Gleason Pavilion was weed-choked with bottles, discarded cigarette packs and other garbage strewn around.

By Friday, a group of teenagers on a mission trip from a Hershey, Pa., Lutheran church transformed it into a family friendly site with the start of a new, roofed pavilion with benches.

"Every year, I'm impressed with how much work we get done in such a short time," said Michael Brommer, an organizer with LutheranHANDS -- the latter part of the name standing for Helping And Serving.

"They're gifted by God to come here and do this work for their neighbors."

LutheranHANDS was one of several groups working on parks and homes damaged by the floods of 2008. The groups were in Northwest Indiana on behalf of Lakeshore Area Regional Recovery of Indiana, or LARRI.

LutheranHANDS is in its third year of such mission trips, Brommer said. In 2008, the group worked in New Orleans and spent a week in Biloxi, Miss., last summer.

The Pennsylvania group learned of the work needed done in Gary through a Lutheran Disaster Response website, said Donna George, a LARRI spokeswoman. There will be other groups flowing into the region throughout the summer, she said.

"That's part of the mission of these groups, to make a big impact in the community," George said. "And, if they're not working on flood-related projects, we will probably be able to utilize other groups on other projects."

Along with erecting the pavilion's frame, the Gleason Park group removed mounds of weeds and sod and cleared walking paths and a site for another pavilion in the future.

The crew, staying in a nearby Lutheran church, spent the days working on projects. Nights were reserved for "evening programs," times for music, speeches from other missionaries and devotionals, Brommer said.

Sonya Lopatic, 17, was on her first mission trip.

"It's amazing getting people's reactions as they drive by," she said during a break from the 90-degree heat. "The difference we've been able to make here has been extraordinary."

Fixing up a family's house is great for the family, but working on a park reaches far more people, said Brittany Haak, 20.

"Instead of helping just one family, like I did in Biloxi, we got to work on a community," she said. "Walking away from here, I feel like I'm impacting the future of Gary."

Link: http://www.post-trib.com/news/lake/2505060,new-gplayground0717.article