Monday Night and Tuesday...

Ok, well now that I am home I am going to try and fill in the blanks about the days I missed while I was down there.

Monday night we had 3 visitors, Carolyn Mains and Nancy and Carlos Hernadez. Nancy is the librarian at the Warren Easton high school that I went to earlier that morning. Carlos is a Mechanical Engineer and has done work on the canals. They both joined us for dinner that night. Carlos gave us some history about the city and the canals. Nancy brought the group that visited her at the school some shirts. I got a Warren Easton sweatshirt! How kind of her to do that for us!!

Carolyn talked about Katrina and why the city flooded. She mentioned that different parts of the city flooded for different reasons. She talked extensively about the storm surges. How they affected the marshes and came up the man-made channels which caused flooding within the city. Other sections of the city flooded for different reasons - the levees breaking for one.

After most of the people went to bed, I had a nice conversation with Craig - a teacher at a Quaker Meeting School in Rindge, NH. He explained what the school was - an alternative high school for kids that don't quite fit in or make it in a main-stream high school. Some of them have drug and alcohol problems, some are just socially challenged, or don't quite fit in at a regular high school for some reason. It was interesting to learn about the school. Craig and Elizabeth are in the process of adopting a baby boy. During our conversation I had the prividledge to hold Elijah and feed him. What a cutie - but quite tiny! He was less than a week old!

Tuesday's festivities...

Liz and I (aka "The Bangah Sistahs") put together a set of shelves for the nursery room at the church. After the shelves were put together we emptied and sorted 2 boxes of toys on to the new shelves and existing shelves. Liz installed toliet paper holders in the women's bathroom and the men's room in the Sanctuary building at Good Shepherd. I helped a bit, but there is really just room for one in the stall! I gave moral support and company while she installed them! Well the first on was installed prior to our Home Depot run and with the lack of a set screwdriver - she used a razor blade and other assorted bad things! After our Home Depot run after lunch we had the proper tooling to finish putting in the toliet paper holder and life was wonderful! Liz loved her new "toy"!!

We had lunch with the Craft Guild. It was a Mardi Gras themed lunch with the table decorated with beads and mardi gras themed decorations. They brought us King Cake - which is delicious! After lunch I got some beads from the table - a purple strand with a icon on the end called "The Candy Man", a beautiful set of white, green, and purple strand that is now hanging from my dresser mirror at home, and a bright blue strand that is so long!

Liz and I went on our Home Depot adventure after lunch. The mission - to buy shelving for the laundry room. We only had about 20" clearance between the existing shelves and the door. We also had to pick up shelving for the storage room. While we were there we bought a set of shelves that we hoped would fit under the existing blue shelves in the laundry room (between the wall and the washer/dryer). We also bought this awesome tool boxes! They are smokin' man! There was also the wonderful set screwdriver that Liz loves so much... On our way home from Home Depot I saw 2 small kids playing out in their driveway like it was June. By the way Tuesday was a gorgeous day! Must have been 75 easy!

A tornado hit during Monday night - but me, I slept right through all of the wind and rain! Didn't hit too far from us tho. Another church that workcampers were staying at was hit. They had windows blown in and van windows blown in. No one from their hurt, so that was goood.

So now that we got our shelving we put together the ones for the storage room and loaded them up. The questionable set for the laundry room was put together. However it didn't fit. We tried to think of other places to use them, but couldn't figure think of any. So we took them apart to go back. Then George and Steve came home (well back to the church) and thought that it could be used in the storage room. So... Liz and George put them back together again!

The Good Shepherd congregation cooked us dinner on Tuesday. They made red beans and rice. Yes Julie - I did try it!! Not bad, not sure I'd pick it but I did try it! See I tried lots of new foods this week! :)

Carol and I hung out in "Lappy Land". We converted the Craft room into our laptop land. It was nice to just hang out.

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I'm Home...

Well I made it home safe and sound! I need to spend some time and catch up with the holes in my blogging... I guess I'll work backwards and talk about getting home. I flew home on Saturday the 17th with the group from Norfolk and John. I was lucky to get upgraded to First Class which was wicked cool! Although the steward guy yelled at Carol when she tried to come up and visit me on the leg from St. Louis to Boston. Bummer man! We landed in Boston to nice and cold weather. Dad met me at the baggage claim and I got my bags, said my good byes to my new friends and headed back to my folks house to get my car. On the plane I wrote my presentation for church on Sunday. Got back to my folks house and got my car. On my way home, when I was about 0.5 miles from my house, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the fact that I was actually going home! The fact that my home was in tact and all my stuff and 2 cats was still there seemed to be extra special to me at that moment. I got a bit teary thinking about it. How crazy is that!??

On Sunday I made my presentation at church. I wore my pink boa from Karen's classroom! I'll explain it later. From the minute I walked into church I was approached with questions about how my trip was and how they had read about my experiences in my blog. I am still totally blown away by all of the support I have from this congregation. People came up to me to tell me how proud they were to have me go on this trip. I don't get it, I just went and did some stuff - no biggie... or so I thought... I don't even feel like I did a whole lot while I was there, I'll definitely go again.

Last night I came home and go the mail and there was a note from Holly and Charlie Webster thanking me for representing our church in LA and for me for going on the trip in the first place. Wow... I was totally shocked to receive such a letter. What an incredible congregation I am a part of! Everyone should be so lucky to be a part of a group of people who are truly an extended family to me! Their support and encouragement means the world to me! Thank you all so much!!


Next entry will catch up Monday night and Tuesday....

Wow what a roller coaster of a day!

Well I think I need to start with today since it is so fresh in my mind right now. Today started out pretty regular day. Got up, showered, had some breakfast (lovely bagel with butter and jelly and the lovely Coke!). Felt really good today - I think it's the coke - the wonderful nectar of the gods...

Anywho, back to my day... Liz and I (aka the Bangah Sistah's) put together the shelving we bought at Home Depot yesterday to go into the laundry room. After putting them in the laundry room we started to clean out the room so we could populate the shelves and get some of the stuff off the ground. We also hung the broom racks that we bought. I got to play with a drill! :)

Our bottom shelf that we signed! Mom, Cheryl, Kathy, Judy, Bob, and Paul check it out when you come next week! It's in the laundry room at Good Shepherd!

That took us through to lunch time. We got these fancy sandwiches called muffalattas (I think...) for lunch. I was not that brave to have one so I had my staple PB and J sandwich, some chips, and a banana for lunch. During and after lunch Gary and Carolyn talked with us about some of the stories about Katrina. The thing that they were insistent upon was that a lot of the media coverage was not accurate. The stories about people being raped and killed in the Superdome were so not true - there was actually only 1 death. They kept telling us stories about people helping people. We all go into our cars after lunch for our tour of the city. During the putting together of the shelves I got a phone call from Julie. We chatted for a few minutes. I told her about our tour of the city later this afternoon. She told me to take pictures of a flower or some other "Happy Place". So I did.

We started out our tour by stopping at the 17th street canal. There I saw the Pontchartrain Baptist Church and they were back up and running! A happy site!

Hope returns to this church right by the 17th Street Canal. The sign says "We are Back! Join us Sunday For Worship 11:00AM"

From there we went to the Temple on Canal Street. This was flooded with 10ish feet of water that sat for more than 3 weeks before it was pumped away! It was amazing to still see the water line after 18 months! During lunch Rev. Gary told us the story about the Torah that belonged to that Temple. When a Torah is not longer able to be used it must be buried during a special ceremony. There was a Christian person from the area that knew the significance of the Torah and when into the Temple to take it. They notified someone from the Temple that they had the Torah safely tucked away for their burial ceremony once they were able to have one. Again a story about people helping people!

George gives the flood line some perspective!

We drove through Union Park - the largest urban park in the US. Bigger than Central Park - who woulda known!! After that we had our lovely caravaning issue... Ask me about it and I'll tell you! Well I don't know if I'll be able to properly tell you the story. SO, we'll just chalk it up to - "You just had to be there!"

The Central Congregational Church was next on our stopping grounds. What a pretty brick building that was totally uninhabitable inside due to termite damage prior to Katrina and now Katrina damage. Look at the steeple! How beautiful is that picture!

The steeple at Central Congregational Church.

Beecher Memorial Congregational Church was next on our tour. This is the church that is partnered with Good Shepard and is in the Ninth Ward - an area very heavily hit by Katrina. They used to worship at Good Shepard before they were able to get back into their own sanctuary this summer. Carolyn was telling us that they still do not have heat for their building and are running off of propane heaters! The congregation of that church, however, doesn't mind because they are just so happy to be back in their spiritual home!

On our way to the next site was quite a bit of an adventure. First we got separated from part of our group and ended up driving in circles trying to locate each other. Abby - the "interim" organist at First Church in Marlboro who lives in New Orleans part of the year - has a GPS system that she calls Merry Mouth... We used her to try and find Richard and his crew. John - from First Church in Marlboro - liked to press Merry's buttons and hear her talk. Towards the end of the tour he started talking back to her... Maybe he needs one of his own! :P

Anyway... Our next stop was a place called Musician's Square. This is a Habitat for Humanity community and was a vision of Ellis Marsalis. Her vision was to create a community where musicians could OWN houses - normally they couldn't afford to buy so they ended up renting - and also have a place to perform and rehearse. This is a strip of houses of rainbow colors where in the center of the square a Community Center is going to be built. The center will be able to host performances, rehearsals, and also have a place for childcare. Julie - this is my "Happy Place" for you! In the midst of all of this devastation and destruction there is a place where hope is blooming and happiness is starting!

My purple house in Musician's Square!! A little peice of hope and rebuilding among such great devestation and loss.

After the rainbow houses we went through the ninth ward to St. Bernard's Parish. Abby's sister Linda lived there and all that is left of her house is a slab on concrete. During these past few days - and I cannot believe that I have only been here for a few days, the bonds and friendships that I have made feel like I have known these people forever! I am SOO incredibly lucky to have landed as a part of this group and they have invited me to be part of their community and welcomed me! Ok.. so back to Abby's sister's house. When we arrived at the house - well really the slab - the 7 of us in the van just sat there. Abby was silent and said that she couldn't get out. It was too hard. I cannot imagine the pain that she must be feeling, not only for herself but for her sister who lost everything! She told us that Linda once said that she didn't even have a spoon. Can you even imagine that!??! Any way, the 2 guys (George and John) got out first and the people in the other cars started to get out. We just sat there for a minute and Sue told Abby that we have to get out and go. So, we did. I hung back a bit with Carol and just looked at the neighborhood and at Linda's slab of concrete - All that was left of her house. A house that she was in for more than 30 years. Carol and I walked up the driveway and onto the slab of concrete. Looking around and knowing that there was once a kitchen here and the bathroom there was overwhelming. Tears came to my eyes before I even realized what was happening. Seeing everyone standing there and listening to Abby talk about what used to be where in the house was so powerful. I took a picture of the concrete where you could still see where the walls used to be. I broke at that point and had to cry. Carol hugged me for a while and we just stood there! Afterwards, Liz and a few others were gathering pieces of the patio to take. Liz and Rev. Steve and I popped out a piece for me to take. What a powerful experience that was. Even now as I write this I am slightly overwhelmed by the experience.

Getting a peice of brick from Abby's sister's house in St. Bernard Parish. This is the peice I am bringing home with me!

Now that we had our sad part of the day we decided to head to the French Quarter to walk around and get some cafe ole and beignet (kind of like small squares of really thick fried dough) with powerded sugar on top - man were they awesome :)! Well Carol and I went into a shop to buy boas on Bourbon St! I got 1 for Jilli and 1 for Amelia! Of course we had to wear them and have our pictures taken under the Bourbon Street sign! We have now been named the Boa Sisters! What a great time! When we met up with the rest of the group I had gotten a wicked cool hat for Julie and Chris decided that he had to try it on! What a great site!! After our deliciousness of the beignet's at Cafe Du Monde we walked back to the cars and headed back to the church for some pizza and beer!

Carol and I with our Boas on Bourbon Street!

Oh, during the day today the internet came back up!! So, Carol and I are now sitting in our makeshift "Lappy Land" typing and playing away while we listen to the symphony of snoring! You have to hear some of these people! I swear Chris sounds just like my Dad - loud enough to wake the dead!! I am SO glad I bunk with Liz in the trailer out back! Sleeping life is nice and quiet back there! Well this is my brain dump for tonight, I don't think I have the stamina to write about yesterday, it seems like such a nothing of a day compared to today. Maybe tomorrow I'll write about it... I have notes so I won't forget what happened. Time to go and read some email. Hope all of you back in MA are warm and not covered in too much snow!

Oh I forgot to mention that since it was Valentine's Day Sue made up little baggies for all of us and put them on our beds during the day! Donna also had Valentine's day cards for us all and put them in the bags. How sweet is that? Ok, now time to add the pics!

Monday's Adventures...

Well I woke up today not feeling great. I'm not sure if the trailer that I am staying in is moldy or if it is just my sinuses acting up. But took some meds and my inhaler and started to feel better. We went to the Little Farm church for orientation. Afterwards Abby, George, Sue, Betsy, and Donna headed over to the Warren Easton High School to meet Nancy Hernandez - the librarian there. George's company donated 6 laptops for us to give to people. We brought 4 with us to the high school. They were very happily received.

On the way to the school we were able to see some of the city that was still not recovered. It was amazing to see houses deserted and boarded up. Some of them have been gutted, but are wide open for anyone to walk through. There was one house behind the school that sort of gutted and wide open. It was incredible to see.

Nancy telling her story to our small group!

When we got to the school we met Nancy who shared part of her story about the storm. Her and her husband and daughter evacuated. They go to Baton Rouge (I think) and stopped at a Ramada Inn looking for a room. There were none. The manager, however, offered her 2 rooms in his house. So they were able to wait out the storm in the safety of this guys house. When they were able to get back to New Orleans after the storm, she was amazed that their house - which stands on 6 foot stilts and in between 2 major water ways - was spared from flooding. She was told that the water came up to her front door but did not go in! There was some water damage from the roof, but nothing that insurance didn't cover and nothing too major. She said that they were incredibly lucky!

The empty shelves in the library at Warren Easton!

She talked about the library at the school and how before Katrina they had 9000+ books and because of all of the water and mold they were forced to throw away everything! She has been able to buy about 3000 or so books, nothing close to what they had prior to Katrina. The spirit that is there amazes me. After our meeting we had lunch and Nancy offered to buy us all lunch at the cafe. I believe this is the same school that Mom, Kathy, Cheryl, Judy, Paul, and Bob (I hope I didn't miss anyone!) are going to visit next week! I was amazed seeing the library with so many empty shelves! I am so glad that we are able to do something to help fill some of this great need!George with his Dragon Buddy and the Laptops!

We came back to the church and tried to see if the internet was working. Alas we couldn't get online... Rev. Besty and I walked down the street to Caffe Angelina to feel our internet withdrawal! A little while later, George showed up and said that the DSL line at the church needed to be renewed and that had happened. However it will take up to 6 hours before service is restored. So hopefully tomorrow we can get online to feed my internet addiction!

Tonight we are going to have meatloaf and baked potatoes!! How silly is it that I am excited about real food! Nancy Hernandez and her husband along with Carolyn will be joining us for supper tonight so I'm sure I'll have another opportunity to hear about their stories.

Well time to go to CVS to buy some razors.. Figures I bought new ones before I left and I left them in good 'ol MA! I'm sure you are all oh so interested in my CVS run! HEHE... More to come tomorrow I'm sure!

I Made it!!

Well I'm here and I made it!! I met up with Sue and George at the baggage claim. They were waiting for me to come off the plane. What was even better was that I recognized them! We got my luggage fairly quickly and hopped the shuttle to Enterprise to get our car. From there we drove over to the church. Most of the group was already there. I am staying in the back trailer with Liz and Lindsay. It is nice cause it is just the three of us... Wow.. that makes me think of the song.. ok, it's gone now.... We did some group building stuff on Saturday night after dinner.

My home for the next week!

Sunday we got up and had breakfast. This day we would worship with Gary and his congregation. Before the service he took us on a tour of the renovated building. We got to see the new conference room and the kitchen that a group helped to put in. Most incredibly we got to see the new Sanctuary. It was absolutely beautiful! The front of the sanctuary is all portable so that if they want to have a kids play or other things they are able. They also installed a new sound system and put a special stop in the back for people to run the sound system. The worship service was very similar to what I am used to in Bedford. The doxology and a few other things were the same. As part of their choir they have a drum set. Can't imagine us having something like that at our church!

Good Shepard's new Sanctuary!

This afternoon a group when and replaced a woman's roof. She is a member of Good Shepard. I had the opportunity to go and see what they had been doing! It was pretty cool to see all those people up on the roof!

A Couple of the Guys up on the roof!!

Helped to make dinner! I know me cooking! Someone took a picture of it so that we have proof of the event. I helped to put a meatloaf together. It was fun squishing all of the meat together and mixing it all up! Imagine me helping out with the cooking! We had an amazing dinner of lemon chicken with artichokes (no of course I didn't eat the artichokes.. I'm not the adventurous!) with rice pilaf. Yummy yummy! Sue is a great cook! She kind of reminds me of Mom making sure that everyone is taken care of and has enough to eat and all of that. Got a list of things to do for the week. Liz and I are going to build some shelves in one of the Sunday school rooms and design and build a set of shelves for the laundry room (haven't figured out where yet they will go, but I have faith that we'll manage it!). We are also going to organize the back tool shed. I think they will be Tuesday projects. Liz has named us the "Banger Sistahs". It should be fun.

I am amazed how this group has really made me feel like a part of them. They have really been quite receptive to me. All of my worries about coming into a group of total strangers have been erased! This is quite a group and I am honored to be a part of it.

There are a couple of us with digital cameras and laptops. We are going to consolodate all of our pictures and put them onto CDs at the end of the trip for people to take home with them.

Well this is quite a long blog so I'm gonna stop this one and continue today's activities on another post.

The Eve of My Departure...

Well it is Friday and I leave for New Orleans tomorrow morning wicked super early. Last Sunday I was commissioned during church for my trip by Jamie. It completely amazes me all of the love and support that was sent my way that day. Many of the people I go to church with wished me well on my journey and sent their love and support my way. The mission trip team, especially those who went back in November wished me well and gave me tips on what to bring and what was helpful for them. During this past week I kept getting emails from them with last minute cyber hugs and words of support! It totally blows my mind how much I am loved by this church congregation.

I've packed my suitcases and as usual, I think I have totally overpacked! But I have weighed my bags, to the best of my ability, and I do not appear to be over my weight limit! SO.... Everything gets to come... My cats seem to sense that something is going on. They have been overly attached to me lately. As I type this Loki is in my lap licking my hand. Makes typing a bit difficult. :)

I have mixed feelings about this trip. I'm not quite sure what to expect when I get down there, so that is tough for me. I like to know what is going on and sort of be in charge... I'm a bit nervous about meeting a group of people I have only met once before and some not at all. I am sure once I get there and settle in all will be fine. I have to put my faith in God and let him worry about what I can't control... Well that is MUCH easier said than done.

Anywho... I have a few last minute things to take care of before I can relax for the night. Fill up the cat bowls, sync my iPod to the computer, put the suitcases in the car, etc...

Well hopefully my next post will be from New Orleans in a day or so.