Sunday morning, a day off to charge batteries that had been run-down by a day of flying, most of us having answered alarm clocks on Saturday at 3 a.m. The only ones who worked were Jim and Pat, who spent half a day at Sam’s Club stocking our larder.
The rest of us took paddle-wheeler rides down the Mighty Mississippi, or had delicious coffees and beignets at Café Du Monde, or strolled up and down Bourbon Street.
To prepare for our week of work, we began Sunday with a short meditation on our discipleship as followers of Christ. One group playing the role of tourists was approached by a spaced-out, impoverished bicyclist who seemed intoxicated and asked for money to buy some food. He was offered, instead half of a delicious muffaletta (Italian cold cut sandwich with cheese & olives). He stopped and thought about the proffered sandwich, then reached out to take it with a broad smile that revealed spaces where about half of his teeth used to be. We know the answer to “what would Christ do?”
The ham dinner prepared by the Scotts was delicious. Everyone retired early with a full belly.
Monday, the first day of work:
A breakfast of cereal, toast & fruit was fast, leaving us time for each to make his own lunch sandwiches and snacks. Before beginning our work we focused on the parable of the Good Samaritan and we prayed to be moved with compassion at some sight today. We went to the area work station maintained by the United Methodists Volunteers in Mission, where tools and supplies were stored. We waited our turn to be briefed on where we were to work and what were the procedures for us to follow; three other volunteer-groups were ahead of us, one of them from Rochester, NY.
Our work site is a duplex. Team #1 worked on one side, Team #2 on the other. Today’s work was to put up insulation and prepare the walls for sheet-rocking, all in the midst of a heavy rainstorm. The radio said that 3 to 5 inches of rain fell in this area. There was a tornado watch broadcast, as well. We saw some of the piles of debris at curbside actually floated downhill, but the rain abated before the piles moved too far. Tomorrow is expected to bring an even heavier rainfall in some of the metropolitan area.
The owner of one of the duplexes is an 80 year old lady who has spent much of her retirement funds to prepare her unit. Many of our volunteers spent time visiting with her, and she captured their compassion. Not to be outdone, the owner, who lives on her lot in a government-supplied trailer with limited cooking facilities, ordered fast food to feed the 20 team members, not knowing that they had brought their own lunches.
After dinner of chicken and vegetables, a safety award was given to the first person to staple his own hand. He will remain anonymous, thankful that he did not require hospitalization or even medical attention. The safety award is a padded hand-puppet that will encourage his spirited voluntarism.
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