NEW ORLEANS TWO YEARS LATER

- by Jim Scott

I thought it would be useful to reflect on my observations of New Orleans Two Years After Katrina. It’s easy to see, through the media and indeed firsthand, the socio-economic challenges that plague this city. But these existed long before Katrina. And they are not that unlike those that are faced by many other major cities in the United States where there are high percentages of poverty, unemployment, crime, drugs, poor government, poorly performing schools and administrations. Indeed these exist, to some degree, in Concord, Oakland, Richmond, Pittsburg and Antioch. This is a blight on our country, one that needs to be addressed and corrected. A huge mission field for us to consider.

I don’t want to deny the problems that exist in the hurricane recovery effort. There are still huge opportunities to improve and to help. At the current rate of recovery, some people are estimating it will take 15 years to complete the task. I visited New Orleans after my first mission to help rebuild in Pascagoula, Mississippi, in November 2005 (just two months after Katrina). There were very few people in the residential areas because they were largely without power or other utilities, there were cars that had been flooded left abandoned all over, rescue boats had been left on approaches to some of the freeways, there was a brown film left by the flood waters all over everything giving an appearance of an old fashioned sepia photo. Huge mounds of debris covered many of the medians. Signs of recovery were slim to none. There seemed to be more police in the French Quarter than visitors. Few places were open for business. Trees appeared dead, grass and shrubs were all brown. There were no public schools open and no children to be seen. The airport was deserted except for recovery volunteers and home and business owners coming and going to assess damage and start plans to recover or just give up. The suburb of Metairie, west of the infamous 17th Street canal, was a hubbub of recovery activity. It’s easy to understand that I left very discouraged.

But two years later here are some of the bright spots I’ve seen:
The recovery activity in Metairie is essentially complete; the area is back to normal. The rebuilding activity has shifted to New Orleans (a much larger task to be sure). There are many contractors and volunteers providing services. Many trees have recovered, there’s green grass and many flower gardens. The French Quarter is crowded again, most businesses are open. The levees have been repaired and the flood gates and new pumping station on the 17th Street Canal are complete and operational. The airport is busy again with people on business, conventions and visiting. The Marsalis Family and Harry Connick Jr are funding and Habitat for Humanity are building a Musicians Village that will provide housing for musicians who lost their homes in the flood. Music is a key element of the spirit of New Orleans, so bringing the musicians back is very important. Worship services at Holy Ghost Catholic church are full once again. All the debris , cars and boats have been removed from the medians. Many public schools are open again, and children can be seen in most neighborhoods. The people we served are very grateful. They know they have not been forgotten.

Considering where it has come from and the conditions it’s had to operate in, the recovery could be considered remarkable. I feel much better about the prospects for complete recovery in New Orleans.

But those who haven’t been helped yet fear that the rest of the country will forget them. Indeed, the number of volunteers is declining. Even the United Methodist Church who have provided heroic efforts both in terms of monetary contributions and volunteers is seeing a drop in teams scheduling recovery missions. We, as a nation, can’t let that happen.

There seems to be considerable interest among the last team members as well as their churches and friends to go again. Pray on it to see if the Lord is calling you to join us.

In Christ Service,
Jim Scott

Looking forward to next time

- by Robin M.

It has been over a week since returning from New Orleans, all last week I was reflecting on the trip, considering what to say in this summary. So much to say, but I’ll work at keeping it short.

Coming home I found many people excited about our trip and several want to come and help next time. I expect some of the excitement comes from hearing how rewarding the trip was and the anguish about wanting to do more, more people can get more done. I tell them “Just one more day, we would have finished the sheet rock, oh well”. My hope is that a crew came in behind us and finished the job, sheetrock and “mudded” our gaps. (Jim’s note below indicates that a crew did come behind us. Yeah!)

Overall I came home to a warm feeling inside, I did something, just a little something, much like the starfish story Ron talks about, and I want to do more and I will whenever I can. This mission left me with a great feeling of accomplishment, giving back to the human condition. I now know why many young people choose the Peace Corps straight out of college rather then jump right into the workforce.

IT FEELS GOOD TO HELP YOUR NEIGHBOR, “What so ever you do to the least of My people, you do unto Me.”

I want to finish this years mission by saying a big THANK YOU to Dick Brothers and to Jim Scott…Dick for thinking of asking me along and Jim for great leadership, organizationally and spiritually. Without the Spirit this trip would have been a lot less successful.

I look forward to next time.

Postscript

- by Jim Scott

Pat and I stayed in New Orleans after the mission to visit family and friends. On Tuesday, we went back to Verna Mae’s house to take Mission T-shirts to her and Gwen. We were very happy to discover that there was another team of 14 people from Culver City in Socal working that week. They were finishing out the drywall and installing tape and mud. I apologized for some of the “challenges” we had left them because of large gaps. They said they had gotten over their initial anger when they discovered that most of the sheets they were installing were “trapezoidal”. The windows had also been installed. We took a tour of the house. It was really taking shape. I felt very encouraged that Verna Mae and her grandson’s family are going to have a very nice house to live in.

We also visited the Habitat for Humanity “Musicians Village” in the 9th Ward. That too was very encouraging to see. The homes are very neat, colorful, nicely landscaped. A sharp contrast to the still devastated homes in the surrounding neighborhood, very similar to what we saw around Verna Mae’s house.

We met a gentleman, who lives just down the street from the village. He was quite a character. The nearest I can describe him is a “roadie” for the jazz musicians in the area. He knows them all. He showed us a scrap book that included the plans for the Ellis Marsalis Cultural Center, a new venue for jazz concerts in the Village and many pictures of local musicians including early Fats Domino, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Irma Thomas etal. There were also pictures of Harry Connick, who with the Marsalis family is funding the village, and the Habitat Project Manager. I’ve enclosed a picture of the “decorations” in the front yard and house of the “roadie”. This too was very encouraging.

However there was discouragement to counter the encouraging things we saw. We also visited the lower 9th Ward. The devastation there didn’t appear to be any worse than other parts of the City. The difference was there we much less recovery activity. Most residences were still just standing. It’s very easy to take the position that so many “big picture” people have, eg it’s not efficient to extent city services to such a sparsely populated area. People should be moved to other parts of the City where there is a larger concentration of recovering houses. That would solve two problems; reduce the length of infrastructure and fill some of the unoccupied property in areas closer in to the City Center. But that doesn’t take into consideration the heritage and strong loyalty of the residents to the Lower 9th Ward where people have lived for generations. That makes me glad I’m not a politician having to deal with this issue. But I feel the need to continue to hold all the people of New Orleans up in my prayers.

Another discouragement was visiting Desiree Johnson whose house we gutted last year. Her house is also just the way we left it last year. She still hasn’t received her “Road Home” funding. She had just got off the phone with them. Only she and the next door neighbor have returned to live in their 6-plex. This makes her very uneasy because she feels isolated and vulnerable to crime, etc if she and the neighbor are the only ones in the 6-plex. She said she wants to move somewhere else in East New Orleans where there are more people living. In fact, she has bought another home meeting that criterion. But she continues to be upbeat. She is now caring for her grandson, Kawan, while her daughter works. She is also building her own cosmetic business. She says she has a booth in a Flea Market in Algiers every weekend. She and her family are another subject for our prayers.

The End of Our Week in New Orleans

- by Ron N.

Friday was our last day on the job site. We knew we were scheduled to stop working at noon, so we made good use of every minute. We did stop for a few minutes to take a group photo with Verna Mae (she's wearing a red shirt). After we ate lunch, packed our tools, and began to drive away, I felt a combination of peace and frustration at the same time.

The peace comes from knowing that we had made good progress on Verna Mae's home; with the exception of a few pieces, every one of the main rooms was sheetrocked. Verna Mae's daughter told me that new windows would be installed this next week and she was delighted at the prospect that they would be able to move in someday.

I feel frustrated because there is still so much work to be done in this city and the entire Gulf region. Thousands of homes are still abandoned, many of them destroyed beyond repairable condition. FEMA trailers are still the primary residence of many people. Trash piles overwhelm some of the streets. Schools and small stores are still closed and they will never reopen. The inequalities of living conditions are impossible to miss. I feel angry at my country for letting its own people suffer needlessly. Without going on a political or moral rant, I'll just say I think our priorities are a little off.

I am just beginning to get a sense of the many ways that this trip has touched me. I have reflected on my own attitudes and beliefs and learned again about the dangers of judgment of others. When I think about all the work left to do and the frustration that comes with it, I remember the Starfish story. (Read one version of it here) I know we can't do everything at once, but we can do something at once. And I recognize that we all have the ability to do something because there is one way we are all equal - we all have time.

Service to others

- by Robin M.

Note: you can view many of the photos from today at Robin's website and Ron's Flickr page.

SO where to begin, especially when it is the end; end of the week; end of the work; end of the fellowship? I think not. Many people this week, although diverse, came together for the betterment of another, Verna Mae Martin. Turns out it was also for the betterment of all of us.

Verna Mae’s home grew inside, formed rooms, living spaces, and places to stay warm, and comfortable. What I saw was some of us grew inside too. We struggled with, but worked through differences in work styles and living conditions. We raced to the shower, jockeyed for position to be first (there was one shower for the guys and one for the gals)…but all in good fun.


This morning we (Ron and I)…were treated to one of the best gifts; we were serenaded by Haati, Loisi, Teualoi, and Uinisa. They sang Rock of Ages in Tongan; what a marvelous gift that I will always cherish…

It has been a great adventure, one of the BEST, most rewarding and memorable vacations. I personally was touched by several kind, God loving people, including Verna Mae.

WORKDAY #5

- by Carolynn

It is a bittersweet day. We ended our work on Miss Verna Mae’s house. We celebrated tonight with her and daughter Gwen at a fellowship dinner at St. Paul’s. Afterwards, we all watched a slide presentation of our time here and our work on Miss Verna Mae’s home.


I wandered the house throughout the day, trying to absorb memories to take home. I didn’t want this to be over, and I’m certain I was not alone in my thoughts. I wanted to stay; to finish Miss Verna Mae’s home. As one of the group observed, I wanted to stay and make it pretty.

I did things I’ve never done before – hung sheetrock FOR REAL! Bought and used a dimple bit, and magnetic extender on my cordless drill. I DO love this work – and it makes me wonder why I worked a desk job all my life, rather than being out and dirty! Oh, the rewards of being grimy and tired and soooo happy at the end of the day. Oh, the rewards of sharing this experience with like-minded people. Oh, the joy of being here, helping, making the smallest difference in someone’s life.

I’m filled up again this year, and in some respects, will miss New Orleans even more than last.

God willing, I’ll be back next year.

Workday #4

- by Carolynn

Note: you can view many of the photos from today at Robin's website and Ron's Flickr page.

I’m a little “off” today, and I don’t think I’m alone! Perhaps we’re all a little down that our time here is almost over, and we haven’t accomplished as much as we would have hoped to. Never mind that what we have accomplished is incredible. And, OH, have we had fun.

There was such a buzz throughout the house today. Until noon-ish, the center wall of the double shotgun was open, and we could hear all the noisiness of drills, saws, cordless drills, ladders scraping across the floors as workers repositioned, sheets of rock moving from room to room, being secured first to the ceilings and then the outside walls. Insulation was hung in the center wall before sheetrock began to cover it. Suddenly, we were DIVIDED teams – bummer! As one of our group observed tonight, we could no longer communicate, no longer step across and borrow a tool or help a neighbor, just as the walls go up in our everyday lives. But, it was a real home, coming back to life…


Miss Verna Mae came over today, along with her daughter Gwen and Great Granddaughter Rory. Miss Rory was three years old last Thursday, and very shy. It took several minutes and hundreds of pictures before she gave us a smile… lovely pictures of three generations of strong, proud, gentle New Orleans women… Grace Under Pressure, at least to the outside world.

Tomorrow will be our last work day. We’d like to stay and finish this house, but know that we can’t. Maybe that is why many of us felt “off” today…