New Orleans Mission Trip: Thursday Post
Graystone Church Family, we on the Mission Work Trip want you to know what a great time we are having doing this work for the people of New Orleans - and the Kingdom of our wonderful God and Savior. We have fallen in love with the city of New Orleans - and though we are weary and our muscles are aching - we feel priviledged to be helping these wonderful people.
Today, after having reached some of our goals yesterday, the gutting (destruction) crew has been split up - with some joining the construction crew, and the rest staying back at Redeemer house to do work there. A number of the gals have spent the day cleaning out closets and cupboards - throwing out items that are no longer useful to life there, while the men and remaining gals painted the entire basement with two coats of tan paint. The construction crew started the tedious work of drywalling Phil's house - finding that it is work requiring more skill than what it took to tear out walls, ceilings, and floors of the other house.
During dinner last night - Sue Shopland read to us a newspaper article which had been suggested by Neil Lehman - regarding how former president Jimmy Cater and his wife Roslyn had been in New Orleans recently - personally working on rebuilding homes. Though he is often criticized for this type of activity - we could relate to what motivates an individual to reach out and help our fellow man.
Tonight we had hoped to have "take out' steamed crawfish and PO-BOY sandwiches in a beautiful park here - but - it is raining. We have had just perfect weather prior to today so we cannot complain. There is a great front porch at Redeemer House - so perhaps we can picnic there.
Graystone family, you would be so very proud of your young people who are here working. They are amazing. We "older" members of the group have all been impressed with the character and unselfishness we have seen in them. All of us have enjoyed working together and getting to know each other better.
We rejoice that we have a wonderful church family to come home to - and a loving, merciful, gracious God to serve.
New Orleans Mission Trip: Wednesday Post
The team set off again early Wednesday morning to help the Katrina cause. We are thankful for good weather for the fourth consecutive day (nothing like Indiana) because the demolition team was able to finish gutting its house. Sarah and Amanda had a blast in the ceiling rafters kicking out the drywall, while the rest of the team collected the debris to throw in the dumpster. The team also spent the day digging nails out of the walls and ceilings, sweeping excess debris from the flooring and finally boarding up the broken windows.
We were visited by two dogs that lived in the neighboring house, Ilko and Gizmo, who lightened our spirits by having lunch with us.
Finally, Bob Wood blessed the house in the name of the Lord. We concluded our experience in the house by taking pictures of the group on the front steps.
The team held off on its after-lunch-frosty run at Wendys for snowballs at "Queen of the Ball," a small snowcone shop in the heart of New Orleans. The two older women who ran the shop could not have been more welcoming of our visit and patient will our inability to decide what flavor to have in our snowball. Some of the flavors that were offered were Tiger's Blood, Dill Pickle (yuck!) and Blue Kangaroo.
Showers could not have been more welcome when the team finally returned to Redeemer House; a lot of us were covered in dust and fiber glass.
Though complaints may arise and bodies may ache throughout the week, we still must remember the bigger picture and why we are here: to serve the Lord and bring relief to Katrina victims. This, in itself, is truly satisfying.
New Orleans Mission Trip: Monday Post
“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” After the first day of demolition and reconstruction, we are beginning to see the reality of this verse. We are thankful for the many who have prayed for this effort; God’s hand has been visible throughout the past three days. The demolition and reconstruction of two houses are well underway; in the house that is to be reconstructed, the insulation was fully installed in the second floor and the house to be demolished has seen significant progress in removing walls and debris. We have been encouraged by the people we come in contact with; despite the hardships, they continue to trust God for the future and have shown us immense hospitality.
The homeowner whose house we are rebuilding was almost done remodeling his house when Katrina hit. The house was destroyed; only two things remained: the frame and a small wooden cross. This amazing event draws a parallel to our own lives; when the storms of this world seek to destroy us, the only thing that matters is if Christ lives in us. When our lives are torn apart by this fallen world, all will see whether Christ is the doormat or the foundation of our lives.
New Orleans Mission Trip: Sunday Post
The team departed from Graystone’s parking lot at 9:00, Saturday morning amidst gray clouds and sprinkles of rain. Halfway to Pittsburgh, the sun was out and a smooth trek through the airport foreshadowed the similar conditions in the air. After a noontime flight out of Pittsburgh and a brief stopover in Memphis, our plane landed in the Big Easy to blue skies, comfortable seventy-degree temperatures and the tune of “The Saints Came Marching In” played by one of the airport’s jazz bands. Graystone’s 2008 mission to New Orleans was underway. We arrived at Redeemer House, a residence maintained by Redeemer Presbyterian Church, which Graystone is partnering with in this effort. For the week that we are in New Orleans, the women will stay in Redeemer House, while the men are spending the nights in Redeemer’s Church office building. The first two days have proved fruitful in developing a sense of unity and fellowship and have helped all of us to see this opportunity for the blessing that it is. When we arrived at Redeemer House, we found that everyone would need to stay in the house for the night as another group was staying in the church’s office until Sunday. God’s mercy and good planning were revealed by the opening of a closet door to stacks of air mattresses and the discovery of a just completed basement, which not only contained two extra showers, but air conditioning as well. We do indeed have much to be thankful for. Our scripture for that night was 1 Thessalonians 5: 11-24, a passage in which Paul urges the Thessalonians to encourage one another and have patience, as well as constantly give thanks, pray and rejoice. On Sunday morning we witnessed the faith of members of Redeemer Church during the time after Hurricane Katrina. Their worship of God was sincere and joyful and the stories they told bore witness to the cause of it. When we are truly dependent on God, we cannot help but live by his grace.
The waters of Hurricane Katrina no longer flood the city, but the memories and effects are, in many cases, vivid enough for it to have occurred the day before we arrived. We drove past upscale neighborhoods on high ground and overpasses h that cover the tents of some of the 18,000 homeless who have no place to go. Of particular awe was the 9th ward; once crowded neighborhoods are now fields of overgrown weeds, broken only by the occasional, lone, rebuilt house. It estimated that if every contractor in New Orleans built as many houses per year as possible, it would take thirty years to rebuild. Despite those odds, it is amazing to see how much the city has rebounded. There is a sense of joy and unity here that did not exist before the floods. 75% of the population has returned and we saw many tourists about the city. Work begins Monday morning at 8AM and we hope that mcuh will be accomplished. Please pray for this effort and especially for strength and untiy as well as the people of New Orleans, who need, more than homes, the hope that Jesus Christ brings.
