tuesday ?

:D




i'm tired .
my ankles kind of hurt .

and my legs
ache .

and i've got itty bity cuts
on my arms .


but really ,
i'm
pretty happy .


neworleans
is pretty swell

if you have not
been before



you really should go

its like
disneyworld



all the doors of the stores are open

and at night
people spill from the inside


you can always hear
music
from somewhere


and everyone
is very friendly


and honest


it's
different






back home
people are nice



they'll smile to you
on the street


say hello
maybe




but here
you pass someone

and they are
just so kind

as if they were
and old friend

asking you
where you're from
and
why you're here

so thankful
when they discover
that were here
to help


if i were them


i'd be so bitter
and angry
about my loss

about everything
really



even eighteen months
later




but they're not like
that



its crazy


i couldn't tell you
if the hurricane
made them
nicer ,
closer
people



i didnt know them
before




but now
what i can say is


these peoples
houses
are destroyed
and
alot of their stores
are closed .

and they're still
much happier
then i could
ever imagine .



today when we were
at the house


this man stopped infront
of the house

honked
got out of his car


and yelled at us
"Thanks !"




we'd never seen him before .
just this guy .








it was
pretty
cool .










- sara

This is our house

And these are the people who are moving it toward being a home again.
Rev. Malcolm Collins owns this house. He has donated it to a team of "Missioneers" who will move in in September to provide a presence in the neighbourhood. They will share the duplex with another family. The more people who move in the more encouragement it will be to others to "come home". Eighteen months after the levee broke and this neighbourhood, the Lower Ninth Ward, was flooded, maybe 5% of the homes are occupied or within a few weeks of being ready for someone to move in. They are hoping that things will be back to normal within 10 years. The water level here reached to the street number.

Today was a work day and work we did. Pulling up plywood flooring, fixing a hole in the roof, some yard work, and "trimming" a dead tree. We had the delight and privilege of meeting, working, and eating with Pastor Malcolm Collins. As with so many of our trips, some of us got to know power tools and learned some new skills - including the skill of patience in waiting. (If anyone has to pick something up at the Lowe's on Elysian Fields please send Cam, Cam & Mike home - we think they are still waiting in line there) At the end of this day, we are all quite exhausted, we've had our time of devotion, prayer, and reviewing the day...and we're still disturbed - disturbed that New Orleans is (18 months later) still in the process of trying to begin to rebuild - disturbed that violence is infesting a city and neighbourhoods and it seems to be taken for granted by everyone but the people who it affects the most - disturbed that the little we can do for the very short time we are here is so very little when so much is needed. But we are here, and so very glad we are here and as one of us mentioned, we do know the truth. We'll try to do our small part as Jesus hands and feet (and backs & muscle)

The despair in these mostly-deserted, once-lovely subdivisions is palpable. We felt it in the enormity of the task of making a difference to one or two homes. What is it like for the residents and community leaders who see it each day?

We used the afternoon to tour the lower Ninth Ward, where we plan to be working this week, starting work on a Mission House that will house 6 young men and women later this year as they form a community group to help people come home. The other home we have been asked to do some work on belongs to a woman who is trying to move back in but who has been taken advantage of by unscrupulous contractors.

We were treated like visiting royalty at Christian Unity Baptist Church. And more so when we presented the stained-glass cross Gene Timpany crafted for us to take as a gift. Next week is their 18^th Anniversary. Their scattered folks from all over the United States will gather together to remember God’s faithfulness to them. Pre-Katrina they had 300+ at each of their two Sunday services. Today they may have reached 100 with us there.

As usual, our trip was an adventure.

Mike noticed that one of our rental vans was making an odd noise. One full 4-wheel brake-job later and we were on our way. Late. We planned on being in Louisville KY by 10 pm Friday night. We got to our rooms by 2. A.M. Saturday. That slowed us down on Saturday too, so we got to our hotel here in New Orleans around 10 pm.

Adventures aside, we travel well together, especially when favoured by Ron’s out of left field sense of humour and Karen’s steadying influence.

We leave tomorrow

Twelve of us are travelling south by van, another hopes to meet us in New Orleans.
This is the fifth mission trip for us in 9 years. We've been to Cielito, Puerto Rico, to work with the Baptists there to clean up after Hurricane Georges. We went to Inuvik, NWT, to repair a local Anglican Church and run a children's programme. We went to Windsor to put the finishing touches on a house for newly-arrived refugees. We were in Vieques working with the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques to make repairs to their camp. We are richer and blessed for all of these experiences, and anticipate the same as we work with the folk at Christian Unity Baptist Church.
Y'all pray for us on this trip.

March 4 Commissioning Service

Here we are, well most of us, and some friends/supporters, sending us off and telling us to come back.

We leave in a week

As March comes in like a lion, we anticipate better weather, and dealing with the devastation of weather and human error.