New Orleans 2011 - April 16-21

Our Hands, His Hands

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 23:27:14 -0500

Today was our final day in New Orleans, which is why we wanted to get a large amount of work done. We got to sleep in a little later, eating breakfast around 8. The group got into the car and headed on their way to another work day. As soon as we got there we dove into our work, putting up scaffolding, ladders and getting all the paint and primer that we would need. Many of us started off scrapping the old paint/primer off of the house. This took lots of strength and patience. we worked high and low on the house, climbing scaffolding to the rooftop.

Tyler and Christian found problems with the overhang of the rooftop, the last group forgot to scrape the old paint/primer off before they put down the new paint. Skylar and Christian then fixed this problem by redoing the job. Tori conquered her fear of heights by climbing up the scaffolding to paint. Lisley painted the front of the house from the roof, which was a bit frightening. Brendan and Pat sanded and scraped to prepare for primer. The rest of the team painted and primed, to finish our week of work with a bang.

After lunch Lee took a team of a people out for a prayer walk. It was fun walking around the town but after the first couple of blocks it wasn't going well, we didn't run into any other people so we didn't believe that this walk was going to be very effectual. However, after praying to run into inspirational people, on the next block that is exactly what happened. We ran into a older lady that was just chilling on her enclosed porch. After creating some small talk, we prayed for her and others in the community. The group ran into many interesting characters. We ran into many southerns that where open to share their story of both faith and the horrible storm. It was very interesting to see how God impacted the city of New Orleans after the storm.

After a long day of work, we joined other teams to throw a block party in another part of town to give us the opportunity to meet new the people in the area. In order to inform the community of the celebration, we had to walk around and tell them where it was located. This allowed us to communicate with the people and gave us another chance to hear their stories. We then headed to the hotel to clean up before dinner.

Dinner was at Mulate’s where we get to try many new and interesting dishes such as grilled alligator. There was also live music where we got to square dance which everyone enjoyed.

Tonight we had our last meeting where we shared our expectations of the trip and what of these were actually met. It is sad to leave Nola and we all wish that we could do more work, but in the end we realized how many lives we have touched and how much we had accomplished.

-Tyler & Skylar (with honorable mention to Krista)

New Connections

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 22:50:34 -0500

We began our third day with a later wake-up than the second, which was very much appreciated, and headed to the Garden District helping to aid in the awareness-spreading of a new NOLA church plant. After passing out fliers and we walked around the neighborhood talking and praying with the community members and with our small groups on street corners. A few people insisted on visiting a coffee shop, considering that Christian gets cranky if he doesn’t get his morning dose of caffeine. And then…. OFF TO WORK WE WENT!

Just like yesterday, we scraped and painted, but we started some new things, such as, shutters and new areas of the house. While on break the owner of the house, Cammie Carroll, stopped by to meet us and share her story. We all found it incredibly touching, and appreciated her openness. Her story of angst and disaster left us dumb-struck and intent on learning why, on the personal level, we are doing what we are doing. Mrs. Cammie’s inspirational story made us work harder because then we had a personal connection to the house and the work. As a team, we were given the opportunity to pray for her and her openness towards us allowed us to openly pray for her. For lunch we experience some New Orleans culture by eating the famous Po –boys. Energized, we charged ahead and worked very hard at painting and all that jazz... (haha get it?).

After hours of scraping paint we took a break to walk around the neighborhood and pray with the people that we met. On the walk we met Katherine, Patrick, Jackie and her dog Spanky. Katherine who let us pray over her medical issues also prayed for us and our time in NOLA, a unique experience. Jackie who was sitting on her front porch with her grandmother, daughter, and dog Spanky told us about what the community looked like post Katrina. She said most of her neighbors came back after the storm which was something that all of us had not heard many times before. While talking with her, a neighbor Patrick came to join us. He was excited for a prayer circle and passionately told us of his double knee surgeries and how he claimed the crown for “world’s biggest sinner”. He told us about how the Lord was speaking to him through the Bible and how God was helping him with his addiction to alcohol. The group left feeling ready to work and serve the community after praying with the people a little while longer. Then before we knew it it was time to head back to the hotel after a long day of work.

Once the grimy work came to an end, we went back to the hotel, showered, went to dinner at Mother’s and strolled the streets of N’awlins at a fairly slow rate, because, after all, we’d just eaten, As we all knew by this point, Lisley’s birthday deserved a little celebration so a jazz band just off of Canal Street played Happy Birthday to her while everyone danced. What a great way to end such a fun day!!!

-Elizabeth, Tori, and Nick

The Work Begins

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 23:11:17 -0500

We woke up early this morning (5:30-6:00), got a quick breakfast, and at 6:15 we departed for Trinity Church across the lake. Although approximately a minute and thirty seconds late, we listened to a devotional by John who later helped us out at the work site. We also went over safety rules. By 9:30, we were ready to go to our work site in the mid-town neighborhood of New Orleans where there are many wrecked and abandoned houses.

We worked there for about 5 hours, scraping paint and applying new coats of green paint to the exterior of the house. Before we started, John, who was previously mentioned, set up two-story scaffolds for those volunteers without a fear of heights to work on. Elizabeth, Skylar, Rachel, Tyler, Christian, Nick and Kate braved the heights and painted for hours on end. Yes, God did protect them and they are alive as of right now. We are praying for the same protection over the next few days! At the same time, others were scraping and painting the lower walls and succeeded in painting the lower half of one side of the house in green paint.

After working several hours, we left the work site, had some Subway subs, and got back to work. After more hours of work, those who had finished their assignments went on a Prayer Walk. For about half an hour, Lee and five students walked around the surrounding neighborhood and prayed for the people that they saw. They talked to a few groups of people and had some meaningful conversations. We do the Prayer Walks because Crisis Response believes that the formation of personal relationships is an important way to show God’s Love. It encouraged the teens to be more understanding and aware of the situation of the people living in New Orleans.

To end the day, we went to a great Mexican restaurant for dinner and enjoyed frijoles, enchiladas, burritos, tacos, chips and salsa. An immense amount of food was consumed. The group then had ice cream. To add to the New Orleans experience, Lee parked close to a trolley stop and we were on the trolley for 15 minutes until being dropped off at the restaurant. The houses near the restaurant were beautiful and grand, as were the campuses of Tulane University and Loyola New Orleans…these were seen from the trolley. A great day was had by all and we look forward to working together and becoming better friends tomorrow.

- Anthony and Rachel

See the Sights

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 23:46:52 -0500

The adventures in arrivals meant a short nap for some and a long rest for others but we woke up on time and went to the First Baptist Church of New Orleans for 9:30 AM worship. We prayed, sang and listened to a great sermon that was liked by most. Then we headed over to the French District where we ate yummy Beignets for brunch!!! =)

In the early afternoon we split up into two groups: one made a bee line for the shops and the other explored the streets of the French Quarter. Additionally, we saw an Iron Man Competition completing, which was exciting to cheer and see them complete.

Later we went down to the Lower Ninth Ward that experienced the most severe damage during Hurricane Katrina. For the ones that have been before, it was amazing to see how much progress has been made. For the new comers, it was fascinating to see the comparison between the old levee and the new huge concrete wall, which now makes up the new one. It brought a grim realization and hearty respect for the residents.

After that we traveled across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway (a 23-mile long bridge) and ate at LEE’S (a burger stand with sadly no relation to our Lee) where we had very yummy burgers mmmm! After a brief trip to Wal-Mart we headed to Trinity Church, the host church and part of Crisis Response, where we had a training/devotional meeting with the fellow two groups (who were coincidentally from CT, as well). Lastly, we made our one hour trip back to our hotel, had our family meeting to discuss what’s happening tomorrow and broke for much needed sleep! AMEN!!

-Lisley & Pat

The ups and downs of our Travels

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 23:32:11 -0500

This year’s group departed for New Orleans with a larger than usual number of itineraries. Despite the wicked weather, most of the groups took off and landed on time. Only one group (not pictured here) was delayed making their arrival to New Orleans - 7 hours behind schedule at 5 AM the next morning - all the more sweet.

While some will choose to put the day’s events behind them, one traveler won’t soon forget it. Elizabeth Crozier’s first flight started with a turbulent take off and ended with the welcoming sunny skies and warm breezes of New Orleans. Despite the setbacks, it was a good start to the week.