[Previous entry: "~ Health Update ~"] [Next entry: "~ Out of work.... again ~"]

08/01/2007: "~ Okay, the Mission Trip ~"

I guess I sent out individual links, but didn't post the link here. For pictures with short narrative from the Mission Trip to New Orleans, look Here....

Then read "more" for some no longer off-the-record details........

This trip, for me, was fulfillment of a dream I've had since I was seven years old and first got the desire to be a missionary. Before this trip I didn't know if God was calling me, or if I was calling me. A certain husband of mine was not eager for me to go, but said if I went with this particular leader and still wanted to go on another trip, it would have to be God. Well, my answer came.... it was me.

This is not to say that I didn't learn anything or learn more of what God has planned for me. I did.

About New Orleans first:
Entering from the north I felt a spirit of despair descend. As we viewed from the interstate just a minor portion of the devastation, I relived the 2000 Owensboro tornado to the nth power. I felt as Tom said, "like a pissant on the top of a pyramid challenged with the task of moving it grain by grain." I recalled the words of our NOAH worker, "it is slow, and you can't get down. You have to count the successes as one by one we bring families back together." Then we took the bus tour.

Mike is a New Orleans several generation resident. He fared better than many from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, but was several months away from New Orleans before there was work for him to return. His apartment was flooded, but not disasterously, mostly just to the point of needing restoration. His landlord moved him to an upstairs apartment, and just a few weeks before we visited, (that would be more than a year and a half after the storm) he was able to return to his own apartment.

Because he is a lifelong resident, Mike knew the neighborhoods and the neighbors who lived/had lived where we toured. As he called their names and shared their plights--for instance the real estate agent whose $600,000 home was partially paid by flood insurance of $250,000 (maximum allowed) and $10,000 from his homeowner's insurance, leaving him with a vacant lot and over $300,000 remaining mortgage--I began my journey of taking locals into my heart.

The homes were each marked wih the date and results of rescue search, along with the team identification. Fortunately all I saw were zero fatalities. Some homes were marked where pet rescue returned to the home at a later date. Many holes in roofs indicated locations where residents failed to evacuate and had to chop through to be rescued. Recalling the news reports, I know they were there hoping to be found for days and weeks. But there were so many!!!!!!

Mike shared about the history of New Orleans and how it has changed over the past two years. He invited us to share in the hope residents have as they see their neighborhoods gradually coming back. The empty shopping areas are a reminder that jobs and people who support those jobs are gone. The newly re-opened gas station and grocery store, and the soon to be opened bank branch are reason for hope. Mike asked that we focus on the rebuilding, and thanked us for being part of the many who come to help that hope become a reality, one day at a time.

The home we worked on would have been dozed back home, but it was one that was in better shape than many others. Regardless of the buckled driveway, the concrete slab was still intact. Very few of the bricks were loose from the flood-damaged mortar, and after being gutted (drywall, carpeting, cabinets, plumbing fixtures, electrical and insulation ripped out) already the windows and doors had been replaced, the electrical rewired, and the studs were as dry as they probably will get--they were warped and stained from water and mold, but had been treated--and the roof didn't appear to have been severely damaged. Once our guys finished insulating and putting up drywall, I could see that within a few short weeks a family would return to the home. Thank you, NOAH, for coordinating the volunteers one week at a time to gradually progress to an inhabitable home.

Across the street from us lived a matriarchal multi-generational family still working on recovering their home, complete with the FEMA traileron the front lawn, as were the majority of homes that had working people trying to reclaim their homes.

Next door to them was an empty lot surrounded by a wooden privacy fence. Joe and his crew were pouring a driveway to the foundation, and work was soon to begin on rebuilding there. BTW, Mike reminded us that because land had been at such a premium prior to Hurricane Katrina, each vacant lot had been a home. Mostly what the government/state/local authorities have accomplished in the 22 months since the storm was cleanup of totally demolished areas, removal of abandoned flooded vehicles, trash and debris removal, and the beginnings of rebuilding (correctly) the levees. It appears that the levees that did NOT break are not being rebuilt correctly, but are being left as is at least until the breeches are repaired.

Next door one way to us was a home that was abandoned and basically stripped, as it had been hit by a fallen tree (most of which still remained on the roof). Next door the other way was the 3000 sq ft home of an elderly couple (he had died two weeks before we came) that was flooded not only in the basement and the main floor, but also on the second floor. The lady said she came by every now and then to look and see if maybe there is something she can salvage, but that her collection of antiques is all but destroyed. Brother Tom took pictures inside and might be willing to share. I couldn't stay inside because the mold and mildew burned my eyes and throat terribly.

In all this there was a wonderful witness from the New Orleans people: Christianity is taking hold stronger than ever. Of course the people who stayed or returned have to be those with hope--a benchmark of Christianity--but also, non-Christians have been recipients of the loving-kindness of Christians in the sharing, not only from Christian locals, but of all the volunteers. Most of the volunteers are from Christian organizations, from what I understand.

I had a couple of chances to share my faith with others one-on-one, but they were already Christian. I guess I kinda thought we'd go down there and "save" people, but mostly our witness was just part of the 1000 each week that NOAH organizes, and an even smaller part of the total volunteer force. It wasn't about us. It wasn't about me.

So. If you have read this far, you may be interested in how this trip affected me personally. I can say that I understand now more of the reason people help others in disasters. I understand now more of the reason people in disasters deserve help.

I also learned that my physical limitations are such that I can no longer do manual labor. I also was impressed with understanding that people wherever I am have needs, and that I do not have to be a missionary or go on mission trips to help others or to serve God. I can be who I am for Him wherever I am, and that is what He wants for me.


















Also, that I don't like to be yelled at anymore.