Presbytery Travel Blog

We returned late Saturday evening. By the time I got home my voice was failing. It only got worse on Sunday along with the post-Katrina cough. I cancelled my plans for the day and went back to bed. Both Sunday and Monday were spent quietly at home recuperating. Talking was difficult so I didn’t even spend a lot of time on the phone.

If you know me, you know I am not a quiet person. I think out loud most of time. But since I hardly know what to say about the situation in New Orleans, it’s just as well that I lost my voice. The circumstances there are so complicated and frustrating, that it is depressing. In many ways, there is so much to say that it is hard to know where to begin. 

Our team was amazing and we had a wonderful experience of spiritual community and comraderie. As Millie summarized for us in a recent email ”five families in New Orleans are in a better place than when we arrived; several animal friends were cared for and loved; we met many people who just needed someone to share their story with; and we lived out and can pass on the mission of the St. Charles Presbyterian Church.” People helping people, rebuilding hope—that’s making a difference right now.

I’m better now, back in the office, and finding my voice again. The photo gallery is posted on the web. I’ll offer an interpretation at the next Presbytery meeting November 28th at Batavia, First. And yes, I am planning to return, one more time. (watch for details.)   

Thought for the Day: What circumstances in your world need your voice? Find your voice and  remember to use and your feet and hands as well.    

                 

It was a tough day and a good day. We went to the neighborhood called affectionately “Backatown.” It is a colorful neighborhood dotted with “shotgun” houses. These are long narrow homes that just go straight back. The idea being that you could shoot a gun right through the house without hitting any walls.

The home we worked in had been partially gutted and Evila Alvarez is still living there because she has no where else to go. There is a tarp on the roof but water still gets in. She has two young Mexican workers living in the house with her paying a little rent. She and her friend Victor had been at the Superdome. They are both from Cuba and have been friends since childhood. Evila’s niece Fay has been trying to get her to leave. The morning was complicated by the fact that Evila speaks very little English and was not expecting us today. Still she was grateful.

It was very difficult work. We had to remove all of the belongings and put them under a tarp to protect them from the morning rain. These would all have to be returned at the end of the day. We were asked to remove and save the cypress wood baseboards and painted door frames. These are expensive to replace, so while it was hard work for us, it will help a lot in the long run. Then there was the plaster which is so much harder than drywall. And then there was the beautiful “tongue-in-groove” cypress wood paneling put in with what Peter can only describe as “freakin’ railroad spikes!” Very tough work and we had several nasty injuries! Sarah and Bev have been earning their keep nursing all of the wounds.

Millie found her ministry caring for the two dogs in the yard. One had a small litter of puppies. She also encountered a stray dog and will report that to the animal rescue folks. Millie will spend tomorrow, our day off, at the rescue shelter helping out.

The highlight of the day was the arrival of the lunch truck from Trinity Episcopal Church. Volunteers prepare sandwich lunches and bring them to the work site on Tuesday and Thursday. They go wherever they are asked and always have enough food for neighborhood folks who drop by. Again we find the people of New Orleans to be so grateful for our presence here. One of the volunteers thanked us publicly saying, “There has been so much good that has come out of this.” We had lots of conversations all day about this a particular house. Is it worth saving? Aren’t we just making her living conditions worse? Evila sat outside all day watching us literally tear her home apart and trying to engage us in conversation. Many of us nodded politely saying “si,si” as she told her story in words we could not understand. At the end of the day, she went back into the house to look at her kitchen which had been stripped to the bones and said “Beautiful!”

Thought for the Day: We are not called to be successful, we are simply called to be faithful. (…thanks to Merl)

Okay, first I want to finish yesterday because it was just a rich day on so many levels. I sent the blog out before worship to get a message out there so you would know we are here and well.

And then came worship, which was wonderful. The St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian congregation is worshipping in the fellowship hall while extensive repairs are being made to the sanctuary roof and ceiling damaged by Katrina winds. It happened to be stewardship Sunday and Pastor Frampton offered a sterling sermon on giving and living, portions of which I will shamelessly steal. It was also RHINO volunteer recognition Sunday. Pastor Seelman introduced our group and also recognized several pillars of the congregation who have helped to sustain this important program. Each received a stuffed rhinocerous.

What a warm and amazing and committed congregation. This mission is a huge undertaking and yet they expressed so much gratitude to us. Hmm…living is giving.

We had the rest of the day off and some people went to the Audobon Zoo, while others went straight to the French Quarter. About eight of us went to visit some houses that Peter and I had worked on last March. First on my list was the house on Perelli Street in New Orleans East. It was the house that I had been the most emotionally attached to, probably because it was our first. It was a bittersweet experience. The neighborhood was showing some signs of life but it was still pretty empty. Nothing more had been done to the Vicky’s house since we left it. I wanted to cry. But then I saw Leonard.

Leonard Frasier was the next door neighbor who came in to the city on the weekends to work on his home. Volunteers from RHINO had gutted his house and he was doing much of the rebuilding himself. He had bleached the studs (five times) and treated them with a special coating. This weekend he was re-wiring.

We first met Leonard when we were working on Vicky’s house. His wife Gloria came over to pray with us. Somehow he remembered who we were, or at least wanted to. He was just so thrilled to see us and grateful that we had returned to check on the neighborhood. He took us into his home to show us the progress and told us his story. He even called his wife Gloria on the cell phone so I could say “hello” to her. Our presence just means so much to these people. It is humbling. This pretty much made my day although I do have to say the meal we had at Café Pontalba, blackened Cajun shrimp with shrimp and crawfish étoufee, was the icing on the cake!

So now for Monday’s activities! We launched at about 7:00 am and headed to Gentilly to work on Debbie’s house. She is a preschool teacher and her husband works for Lowes. Their home is so very near the lake. It was under @10 feet of water for a month. We proceeded with the usual work of emptying belongings, removing cabinets, baseboard, fixtures, drywall, and insulation. This was all accomplished by noon. However, it was not without drama. Merl took a fall in the neighbor’s yard, stepping into a hole about one foot deep, falling and hitting the side of his head, and somehow putting a hole in his earlobe. It looked worse then it was but still Sarah and I took him to a doctor’s office (Wes Alden is a church member who offers his services to RHINO). Luckily he didn’t need stitches.

The next house was not far way in Lakeview. Jake was diagnosed with cancer three months before Katrina so he is on medical leave. His wife Eileen is a school teacher. Though Jake is not supposed to be doing this work he is slowly chipping away at the task. The front half of the house was gutted. We went to work on the back and probably saved him 50 hours of work. He was grateful. We ended our work day with prayers for Jake and Eileen.

Then back to the house for showers, a good meal of red beans and rice, and bible study. It was a full rich day and we are blessed.

Thought for the Day: Giving is indeed living. What have you given today?

We have arrived safely and are settling in to our wonderful home. The Land Building at St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church is just a beautiful old palatial southern home that has been owned by the church for many years and used as a Christian education building and office … until Katrina. Then it was converted to a dormitory for relief workers. It is very comfortable living with spacious rooms and a nice front porch newly equipped with ten wooden rocking chairs.

New Orleans is a delightful quirky place and they seem to like it that way. Last night we had the compulsory dinner at Franky and Johnny’s. I had asked for several smaller tables but they wound up putting all twenty of us at a giant table with one waitress. And what a waitress she was! Sonia had a sweet spirit, delightful sense of humor, and devoted herself to our well being. She was a blessing!

I wrote a little thank you prayer in our prayer journal that we will keep for the week. We found out later that she has just received some bad news about her health. We will double our prayers.

Today we will worship at St. Charles, get oriented to the work, take a driving tour and enjoy New Orleans and its people. Each of our experiences will connect us with people like Sonia trying to rebuild a life here in the city and facing the daily trials that life brings. God bless Sonia.

Thought for the Day: The people that we meet each day all have the potential to bless us. You are blessed to be a blessing. Who will you be a blessing to today?