Katrina Mission Team - Day 2
Tuesday - March 17, 2009:
Another great day was had by all of our crews. We were off to our sites at 7:30 AM. John’s crew primed the entire house (walls and ceilings)! They were able to go out on a quick tour of St. Bernard parish with Kenny’s team in the afternoon, as both teams finished earlier than planned. They toured a middle class section of Chalmette and were overwhelmed at the sights - so many beautiful homes just waiting to be demolished. We were particularly touched by a home that still had personal belongings still sitting in what was left of the garage – trophies, teddy bears, vases, music CDs, etc. We wondered where that family was now and what it must have been like to lose their house and all they own. And then to not have any means to rebuild – to just give up. We met a couple of salamanders who were the only living souls on the premises.
Ken’s crew worked on putting bathrooms together and did some painting, etc. They met Sarah, the homeowner’s sister. She talked to the crew a bit about her family’s experience during and after Katrina. They didn’t waste any time when the authorities told them to evacuate, ‘They told us to get and we got!’ She spoke about how hard it was for so many who were displaced and then dispersed all over the country. Katrina tore up their homes and tore apart their families as well. And when they did return, they were made to feel as if they were ‘lower members of society’.
Bill’s crew did a lot of work with dry-walling. Cliff was there this time along with his wife, Pat. The crew took the opportunity to present the prayer shawl (which was prayed over by our entire team) to Pat. She was very moved by the gesture. She also shared a bit of what it was like to be a mother of 16 children. I previously mentioned 15 children, but I stand corrected. The crew had a very long day and were beyond exhausted when they returned to the Center.
In the evening we had a delicious spaghetti dinner at the Center and then headed over to Covenant UMC for devotions and communion. Along with our team, we met the team from Andover, Kansas that is working with Skip’s crew right at Covenant. The two crews work great together and have made a lot of progress at the church.
We had music with Skip and John on guitar and piano. Skip invited us to share our experiences from the day which is a favorite part of our day. Since there are four teams on this trip, there’s a lot to share. Pastor Mark and Pastor Jeff Gonner (of Covenant) served us Communion. Pastor Jeff also spoke about how important it is to restore the wetlands. He encouraged us to look into some websites to learn more about the need to restore the wetlands because if we don’t the areas around New Orleans will just disappear forever. He suggested Levees.org and wetlands.org.
