And on the second day, there was much work. And the work was doable and completion of it was within the realm of possibility. And a few of us learned some new tasks, and met some exotic New Orleanian creatures in the course of our work, like midnight salamanders and a beautiful land snail.
Ginger, our photographer, who appears to be as comfortable on scaffolding as Spider Woman, helped finish putting up and painting the siding. Allison and Jake were exceptional lunch/coffee/snack-masters and can-do carpenters. Margaret, Dave and Lisette helped clear backyard jungles of tenacious-looking weeds softly rooted in sand, which was a weed-yanker’s dream. Emerson was the embodiment of hospitality, graciously helping wherever he could lend a hand.
Patrick and Brian collaborated on building stairs, with Margaret pitching in and showing them a thing or two about drills. With a few powerful women from Delaware, Lisette learned how to insulate the underside of a house (more comfortable than we imagined, as all the houses were erected on pilings, giving us a comfortable clearance).
While it was no surprise, we discovered that Saara is indeed the exemplar/poster-child of the Protestant work ethic, taking on whatever task was requested of her, scurrying around like an automaton. We can see why Saara has her own business, and believe that she must be successful. If Rome was built in a day, it is because Saara was there.
We learned that two families will be moving into two nearly completed houses in the Ferry Place neighborhood in time for Thanksgiving, according to a SCAPC photographer, who was busy snapping photos today, an especially beautiful day. The church is immensely excited about this, as one soon-to-be-homeowner has put in an immense amount of sweat-equity, working about 800 hours on his house, untold hours past the requirement. It is a testimony to the uneven progress here that directly behind these houses are several others that remain uninhabited, with sneakers, clothing and chairs remaining where the flood waters left them on the floor, near open doors and broken windows.
At our Bible study last night, we discussed the biblical mandate of hospitality, and discussed what our churches are doing well in terms of being hospitable, welcoming places that embrace newcomers, and make them feel that, in God’s eyes, there truly is no distinction between our natural family and our spiritual family. We will discuss that topic more tonight, and will look at the particular gifts each of us has been given that we can use to welcome strangers and turn them into family.
Tomorrow, we will take a tour of the still-blighted areas of the city which have yet to be reclaimed and reinhabited. For those of us who haven’t seen the devastation (which is nothing like the first year but still heart-breaking), we expect it will be a shock. Perhaps it will break our hearts enough to spur us to return like several others on our trip, including Allison who is making her fifth trip here this November.