Thursday

Our day usually begins at about 6:30am (5:45 for Karen, our cook.) Since we are housed dormitory style, someone's alarm other than your own usually wakes you up. This is now day 4, and we've all developed a routine and how to dress for the particular job site we got assigned to. In my case, I was teamed up with four other Laurelton church family members. Our task for the week was to join us with our PDA Project Homecoming site manager, John, to put the finishing touches to a home before priming and painting the ceilings and walls. The home was located in the Upper 9th Ward on S. Claiborne and belonged to an 84-year-old woman named Margarite. Margarite currently lives in a FEMA trailer parked in her tiny front yard with two giant blue metal storage containers much like train cars. Inside these two 14' long, 6' wide and 8' tall containers were what was left of her previous life before Hurricane Katrina hit. After the storm, Margarite had gone to Texas for three years and returned two years ago to begin the tedious and frustrating process of rebuilding her damaged home after being submerged in 7 ft of water. Basically her entire 1st floor had to be gutted and re-drywalled. Well it's been an interesting experience to say the least. Some of us have family members who've made a living in construction. Others had limited exposure. Our team soon learned to apply drywall compound, sand and reapply and sand again making what were once rough and imperfected walls and ceilings smooth and seamless, our ultimate goal. We climbed step ladders, extension ladders, scaffolding and carried our tools which included sand planers, drywall spatulas, paint rollers and an occasional box cutter. Yes, we are now all trained professionals! Actually we like to be referred to as the MUDgicians. And yes we played in the mud each and every day making those ceilings right. We discovered that our most valued team member turned out to be Sarah, Jamie Smith's daughter. Boy can that girl work her magic with a spatula spreading drywall mud! She picked up various tricks from her dad and made everything look so easy the first time while the rest of us struggled to get the same reults. Would you believe me if I said that our site manager John even learned some tricks from her? We did manage to complete our portion of the work needing to be done. We were disappointed that during our week-long adventure, we hadn't had the privilege of meeting our homeowner but John was able to give us some insight into how she was doing and shared some stories about her 95-year-old house. We were all pleasantly surprised today, our last day on the site, Margarite decided to venture out of her FEMA trailer and say hi to us all, thanking us for all the fine work we put in. As one New Orleans' homeowner so graciously said to us, though our work might seem trivial to us in our short stay, we're helaing hearts and giviing love which is a far greater gift.

Chef Karen reporting from Chef Highway

Let me say first that the exit we get off of on Route 10 to go back to Olive Tree everyday (where we are staying) is called Chef Highway -how appropriate for me since I am the "camp cook" for the days we are staying here. The team I am on is working at 4436 Cartier Street - pronounced like the diamond/jewelry company. I am sure our owner thinks that her house is a jewel and precious and so do we as we have been working hard to put down ceramic tile throughout her small but lovely home. Our home owner has saved her insurance and Road Home money in order to have volunteers work on her house. How did we forget the post-Katrina issue of fraudulant construction companies/workers? Who would you trust to re-build your house? PDA/Project Homecoming and our team are some of the lucky ones that are entrusted to re-build this house. We have not met our homeowner and probably won't, but that's okay. I will never forget the salmon colored house with it's cream trim. And this long-time desk jockey has done some hard work along with my team and all the other volunteers here. I can feel the good feelings but unusual feelings of physical exhaustion.

I am very happy I took the opportunity to participate in this mission trip. I will be returning home with many memories and the wonderful feelings of community and being part of something special with a group of people - some I have never met before. One of my favorite hymns is "The Summons" which contains the words "Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?" and "Let me turn and follow you and never be the same." I like to think that I did that this week.

Tuesday

Our Tuesday started off a little damp. After a hearty breakfast of eggs, biscuits and gravy we headed back to our work sites. We returned to Rampart street where our group began removing the vinyl siding. Work continued between rain showers with some folks securing window openings, yard cleanup and tearing down rotted termite invested wooden walls. The contest for the grungiest individual continued today, although Linn was a tough act to follow from Monday. Dave got a head start on the competition when Rock dumped the contents of a sludge filled roof gutter on him. The rain stopped, the humidity increased, as did the temperature; NO one was cold. Regardless of the weather, a great deal had been accomplished by the end of the day and we were all MORE than ready for a refreshing shower! To top it off we ended with a great homemade meal of Pastalaya (Jambalaya without the rice) by a local friend of Colleen's. Devotions were lead by Kate, the RHINO Coordinator from St Charles Presbyterian Church, which lead to individuals expressing their feelings and very personal experiences relating to their mission work here in New Orleans.
We are looking forward to continuing our good rebuilding projects tomorrow as we rebuild hope in New Orleans.

Monday Monday

The first night was very interesting. The rooms are AC'd, the mattresses are hard and small, four people in all are in my room. I hear trains near and often reminding me of my childhood. We started at the warehouse and worked all day. We moved junk, we cleaned, we organized, we rebuilt, we were a good team and got a lot done. Gab and Ben are good guys, our bosses for the day here. GPS was a big help. Three of the four sites were started today. Fun was had by all. A drink is in order after a refreshing shower before dinner. Possibly a show tonight after dinner. Lovvvved this day. I gave my all.

Sunday - We Arrive!

We all eventually gathered at the Rochester 'International' Airport to begin our adventure. The day began with a service open to the public commemorating the 5th anniversary of Katerina and honoring Laurelton member Jamie Smith. The service was led by Laurel and Sam with Susan at the Piano, with an impromptu acapella voice session before we got the piano working properly!
We arrived in New Orleans, and headed to St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church to participate in a service to mark the fifth anniversary of the storm. Of the many words I heard to describe the service, "inspiring" is probably the most descriptive.
Dinner was at the Parkway Bakery & Tavern where Po' Boys were enjoyed by all.
Back at the Olive Tree Volunteer Village, we settled in to our new surroundings for some well deserved shut-eye!

Jamie Smith Memorial Week ready to go!

It’s almost here, the day we depart for New Orleans! Who can believe it? Back on March 2nd a small group gathered at Laurelton and selected our mission week. Snow was on the ground, but already we were thinking about the heat. Oh boy, and here it comes! Back then, we were hoping to attract 16 mission workers. Today, we depart 24 strong. We are excited, we are a little anxious, we are wondering what God has in store for us in the coming week.

This trip is significant for many, many reasons. We depart on August 29th, the 5th Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. We will begin our day with a 10am community-wide ecumenical worship service at the Greater Rochester International Airport. Once in New Orleans, we’ll head right to the St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church for the 6pm Community Service of Remembrance. This trip also honors Jamie Smith, a member of Laurelton United Presbyterian Church and dedicated New Orleans relief worker, who died suddenly at age 48 in May 2009. Jamie’s wife and daughter are participating in this trip, their first to New Orleans. We also remember as well Peter Orr, a Laurelton member and 4-time relief worker, whose 2nd anniversary of his passing occurs on September 1st. We come with heavy hearts, for our losses, for New Orleans’ losses. A common thread that strangely and uniquely binds these two communities.

And yet, we come filled with hope for the future. We’ll be working with Project Homecoming, the work relief agency of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance located in New Orleans. (www.projecthomeoming.org) We’ll be staying at Olive Tree in East New Orleans. Karen will be our “camp cook” for the week, and we anticipate getting to see all the sights and sounds this culturally rich city has to offer. We are most excited, however, about the work we are about to do.

We learned a little about our homeowners. We’ll be working on four different houses. As you read, please pray for each homeowner, for their losses and what they have been through, for their continued strength and courage, and for our ability to help them get one step closer to coming home.

Catherine Warrick is an elderly woman who is funding her own project with Road Home funds. She received about $70,000, not anywhere near enough to hire a contractor, and kept it in a savings account, praying all the while for a volunteer group. She purchased her home in 1972, paid it off in 1998 and has been a long-standing member of the community (a retired school board member.) Enter Project Homecoming! This project is in the middle stages. Catherine does not live on site but likes to come and meet the volunteers who work on her home (she's been known to cook for them too!) The April RH2NO group worked at this location.

Madeline & Elmore purchased their "retirement" home in 1996. Elmore is a retired firefighter. They created a living space in the first floor of their home so they could move out of their FEMA trailer. They have done a lot of their own work, borrowing funds from a firefighter's credit union, but due to their limited income, came to Project Homecoming for assistance.

The home on Rampart St. is a blighted home in the first stages. Currently, this home is not occupied due to the passing of the original owner and the lack of survivors willing to take over the property. It was purchased by friends in the community and donated to Project Homecoming to renovate and offer to a low-income family. Noelle, the construction manager, calls this home "old and mysterious" and after initial debris removal, volunteers will "explore" the indoors.

John & Mini purchased their home in 1979 and raised their children there. This total rebuild project started in March 2010. They also saved their Road Home funds, leery of contractor fraud. Currently they live in a small local apartment but, depending on the heat, like to come and meet their volunteers.

It is hard to imagine people not being back home 5 years after the storm. But that is truly the case and it is a testament to RH2NO that we have not forgotten. Yes, we will pound a few nails and lay a few tiles. But most importantly, by our presence, we will proclaim to Catherine, Madeline, Elmore, John and Minnie that we care.


Your Mission Team Workers:
Al Altobello, Sally Altobello, Linda Badger Becker, Jake Castor, Rock Castor, Ryan Crosby, Mary DelleFave, Brian Fitzgerald, Allison Gilday, Linn Hoover, Sarah Jacobs, Karen Kingsbury, Tom Link, Bob McDowell, Dave Morgan, Erica Morgan, Laurel Nelson, Susan Orr, Sam Picard, Charlie Plummer, Lea Smith, Linda Sullivan, Steve Tedesco, Sue Tedesco

---

---

Home again

We're all safely home. Yes, the final "Sunday blog" is coming on early Monday . . . can you spell "exhaustion." But it's a good exhaustion.
Friday concluded with an evening out for each of three groups, followed by a communion service focusing on the word "hospitality." We shared responses to four questions: (1) "Where have you seen or experienced hospitality this week?" (2) "So . . . what IS hospitality?" (3) "What gets in the way of hospitality (the "prayer of confession" part)?" (4) "In light of our experiences/observations of hospitality, and our awareness of what gets in the way of it, what is God calling us to do and be (individually and collectively) as we go forward?" Following the story of communion and the Great Prayer of Thanksgiving, participants were invited each to bring one of the other participants to the table, serve him or her, and return to seats. That way, each person was served in an act of invitation/hospitality. Brandi and I weren't prepared for the rush of pairs to the table. It was very moving.
Delta usually means "Don't Ever Leave The Airport," but not only did both planes leave on time; they also arrived early. Perhaps a fitting cap to a week of hard work and hard reflection.

I returned grateful--as ever--for the body of Christ. I am deeply grateful for the realities of the Body of Christ, that . . .
Strangers can become friends (in some cases lasting friends). . .
No one is alone in doing hard work (and work which for some of us stretched us way beyond our experience zone), that there was ALWAYS someone to help. . .
Compassion knows no bounds of time or space. . .
In the midst of serving, fears and anxieties have a way of melting away--or at least being put into a proper perspective. . .
Something powerful happens when worship flows into work (Monday evening) and flows out of work (Friday evening) . . .
At our best we fulfill St. Francis' observation: "Always bear witness to Christ. Use words if necessary."
That Paul's observation is true: "I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth." Each group stood on the shoulders of prior groups, and other groups will stand on ours and theirs. . . .

Our work was done amidst the signs of incredible human selfishness and greed. Already devastated homeowners were left destitute by contractors who collectively lifted several millions of dollars out of the pockets of victims and into their own. Our group was told that during levee reconstruction, large sections of the levee were discovered to have been thin concrete shells surrounding trash and newspaper. Those realities carried with me all week; I had to pray through the anger, the dismay. It is into such a world that the Word became flesh . . . and it is into such a world that you and I fulfill the calling Jesus gave us: "As the Father sent me, so I send you." Together and individually, we are incarnations of the love of Jesus Christ. I believe that each of us experienced that; I believe that others observed it. And when the insecurities and self-doubts creep in, I choose to hope that it was so.

I trust that I speak for all on the trip, that we are so grateful to have had this experience (the first for most of us), and that we are grateful for the generosity of so many people who supported this opportunity.

Grace and peace to you from the most recent New Orleans group -- "Out of Chaos, Hope."

Val Fowler