WOW
New Orleans update –
Well, it is Wednesday night and we are trying to post the first blog of the trip! I can’t believe the whirlwind we have been in since Saturday when most of us arrived! I’ll give a brief overview of each day to catch you up, but just know that God is blessing us with an incredibly rich experience!:
Saturday – we began to gather here at Woodland. Some of us drove over from Houston, Phil & Caitlin arrived in N.O. at 1:30 and Dick & Sharon pulled in with the 5th wheel at about 5:00 p.m. We shopped for food, put together a quick dinner (avoiding the large bag of cooked crawfish in the fridge left by the last group!) then managed to stay up to greet 12 others who arrived at about 11:30 p.m. By the time we were done with luggage, rental cars, and the drive back to Woodland House, it was nearly 1:30 a.m. before we got to bed!
Sunday – Everyone arose a bit tired, but eager for the adventure to begin. We stopped at Café du Monde before heading up to Canal St. Pres for worship service. The service was beautiful and filled with the Spirit. We shared communion and prayers, as well as praises. A group of college students from First Pres. Boulder are staying at Canal St., so the sanctuary was quite full between all of us. The interior of the church continues to be worked on and improved. When I remarked on the sponge/faux finish of the paint in the hallway, a parishioner was able to joke “it reminds us so much of the….mold!” We saw Louise, Dan, Eleanor, Mike, and other familiar faces. Louise kids are both about a foot taller than last September!
In the afternoon, we picked up our remaining four team members, while others waited a LOOONG time for lunch at a restaurant up by Lake Ponchartrain. We discovered, however, that God had a beautiful plan for our delayed service and long wait! After lunch, we stopped by Garland and Lanita’s home, which we had worked on last September. They were not home, so I snapped a photo of the front of the house which was now sporting stairs to replace the one’s that had washed away. As we pulled away in our van caravan, Jessie noticed a car turning in ahead of us – it was Garland and Lanita! We had an amazing tear-filled reunion as we hugged and hugged, toured the house, and shared & prayed for a long time on the front porch. We knew then that if we had not been delayed so long at lunch we would not have seen them! What a blessing they are! They came over for dinner at Woodland House that night to spend time with us.
Monday – Our first day of work! This very eager team was assigned to a home of a woman named Iris. We worked in an area of New Orleans that none of us had been to – in St. Bernard’s Parish. Our commute involved the ferry instead of the bridge & its tolls! It’s different commuting to work on a boat! St. Bernards Parish still looks pretty bleak, dotted here and there with an open business or home being rebuilt. Iris’ house is in the final stages of drywall installation, tile floors being laid, painting, and other finish work. While we waited for specific instructions, we removed an above the ground swimming pool in the back yard that was ruined by the flood. Yuck! It was covered in muck and we befriended a bullfrog who now probably has to find a new home. In the afternoon, we met Iris' father in law, Donald, who is the contractor on her home. He gave us what we needed to be able to begin working inside. Soon there were drywallers, painters, grouters going to work all throughout the house.
We met the neighbor, Dave, who is living in a trailer outside his house and struck up a friendship. Some of the folks headed over to his place to clean out gutters and his backyard. As a show of thanks, he offered to cook a crab dinner on Tuesday!
Tuesday
This morning we sent a team over to Carolyn Park Presbyterian Church to spruce up the outside of their building with flowers. This church is struggling to recover in one of the hardest hit areas. We were overwhelmed with thanks from people stopping by just to say "thank you". This is how it is here in New Orleans. One small act of arriving here and we get thanked by everyone - the ferry operators, the store clerks, the homeowners, church members, neighbors, and even a man named Chance, who told us he lives under the bridge nearby the church. It is an amazing outpouring of love and a picture of the body of Christ pulling together - words truly cannot describe this - you must come and experience it!!
Dave, true to his word, threw the most amazing crab boil party at the end of the work day! When the planting crew arrived, we found the rest of the team sitting at tables in the back yard with newspaper on the table top, covered in crabs, potatoes, sausage, mushrooms, and garlic. It was such a celebration of culture and community! Folks who had never had crab were bravely diving in and getting into the spirit of it. Our youngest team member, Joe, even ate the eyes!
So much more to tell.... Each day is rich with experiences and blessings.
We've had trouble getting to where the internet is, and apologize for the lateness of the report. Please re-visit as we have so much more to say already! Thanks for your prayers!
Phylis
Well, it is Wednesday night and we are trying to post the first blog of the trip! I can’t believe the whirlwind we have been in since Saturday when most of us arrived! I’ll give a brief overview of each day to catch you up, but just know that God is blessing us with an incredibly rich experience!:
Saturday – we began to gather here at Woodland. Some of us drove over from Houston, Phil & Caitlin arrived in N.O. at 1:30 and Dick & Sharon pulled in with the 5th wheel at about 5:00 p.m. We shopped for food, put together a quick dinner (avoiding the large bag of cooked crawfish in the fridge left by the last group!) then managed to stay up to greet 12 others who arrived at about 11:30 p.m. By the time we were done with luggage, rental cars, and the drive back to Woodland House, it was nearly 1:30 a.m. before we got to bed!
Sunday – Everyone arose a bit tired, but eager for the adventure to begin. We stopped at Café du Monde before heading up to Canal St. Pres for worship service. The service was beautiful and filled with the Spirit. We shared communion and prayers, as well as praises. A group of college students from First Pres. Boulder are staying at Canal St., so the sanctuary was quite full between all of us. The interior of the church continues to be worked on and improved. When I remarked on the sponge/faux finish of the paint in the hallway, a parishioner was able to joke “it reminds us so much of the….mold!” We saw Louise, Dan, Eleanor, Mike, and other familiar faces. Louise kids are both about a foot taller than last September!
In the afternoon, we picked up our remaining four team members, while others waited a LOOONG time for lunch at a restaurant up by Lake Ponchartrain. We discovered, however, that God had a beautiful plan for our delayed service and long wait! After lunch, we stopped by Garland and Lanita’s home, which we had worked on last September. They were not home, so I snapped a photo of the front of the house which was now sporting stairs to replace the one’s that had washed away. As we pulled away in our van caravan, Jessie noticed a car turning in ahead of us – it was Garland and Lanita! We had an amazing tear-filled reunion as we hugged and hugged, toured the house, and shared & prayed for a long time on the front porch. We knew then that if we had not been delayed so long at lunch we would not have seen them! What a blessing they are! They came over for dinner at Woodland House that night to spend time with us.
Monday – Our first day of work! This very eager team was assigned to a home of a woman named Iris. We worked in an area of New Orleans that none of us had been to – in St. Bernard’s Parish. Our commute involved the ferry instead of the bridge & its tolls! It’s different commuting to work on a boat! St. Bernards Parish still looks pretty bleak, dotted here and there with an open business or home being rebuilt. Iris’ house is in the final stages of drywall installation, tile floors being laid, painting, and other finish work. While we waited for specific instructions, we removed an above the ground swimming pool in the back yard that was ruined by the flood. Yuck! It was covered in muck and we befriended a bullfrog who now probably has to find a new home. In the afternoon, we met Iris' father in law, Donald, who is the contractor on her home. He gave us what we needed to be able to begin working inside. Soon there were drywallers, painters, grouters going to work all throughout the house.
We met the neighbor, Dave, who is living in a trailer outside his house and struck up a friendship. Some of the folks headed over to his place to clean out gutters and his backyard. As a show of thanks, he offered to cook a crab dinner on Tuesday!
Tuesday
This morning we sent a team over to Carolyn Park Presbyterian Church to spruce up the outside of their building with flowers. This church is struggling to recover in one of the hardest hit areas. We were overwhelmed with thanks from people stopping by just to say "thank you". This is how it is here in New Orleans. One small act of arriving here and we get thanked by everyone - the ferry operators, the store clerks, the homeowners, church members, neighbors, and even a man named Chance, who told us he lives under the bridge nearby the church. It is an amazing outpouring of love and a picture of the body of Christ pulling together - words truly cannot describe this - you must come and experience it!!
Dave, true to his word, threw the most amazing crab boil party at the end of the work day! When the planting crew arrived, we found the rest of the team sitting at tables in the back yard with newspaper on the table top, covered in crabs, potatoes, sausage, mushrooms, and garlic. It was such a celebration of culture and community! Folks who had never had crab were bravely diving in and getting into the spirit of it. Our youngest team member, Joe, even ate the eyes!
So much more to tell.... Each day is rich with experiences and blessings.
We've had trouble getting to where the internet is, and apologize for the lateness of the report. Please re-visit as we have so much more to say already! Thanks for your prayers!
Phylis
posted by Phylis Ritscher at 5:36 AM
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