Well, I've now been in New Orleans for 3 nights total and the beginning of the 4th day. My impression so far? well, there is still A LOT to be done a year after the storm (as residents refer to Katrina) This isn't to say that nothing has been done up to this point, just that it's going to take a while. It is sad to see what was once such a vibrant, multi-colored, happening city become a much more subdued, struggling place. I'm working with Operation Nehemiah which in a part of the Carrollton Avenue church of christ. I've unloaded pallets from trucks, cleaned a lady's house, cleaned the church house where me and 2 other girls are staying and helped the exterminator people when they came a couple days ago. So it's Saturday now and it's raining which is beautiful.
Last night Laura, KT and I went to a small group study at a church member's house, Judy. Her house is Lavender...really...very purple and it's gorgeous. we had a great meal of spaghetti and meatballs...huge meatballs, and bread and salad and a cake. Judy and her husband Charles are so sweet...their house is victorian inside and so cluttered with all kinds of memories. i would love to ask Judy about every single piece of art/clutter/photos. Wayne and Ann Arnold were there...they are an older couple in the church and Wayne is very smart and he has good comments about the Bible. Ann is just so funny...she used to have a Vietnamese girl that stayed with her and the stories she tells are hilarious...her name was Tweetie in think. There was another lady named Sheila...big black woman and really nice. Kirk, the minister at the church and his wife were there and Kirk did the devo about God's grace and how we try to pretend that it's still us doing some of the things when really we should just admit that we can't really do anything and it's all God. We had a great talk and everyone agreed that we need to be more real with each other and quit pretending that just because we go to church that we have it all together. Another older lady was there, Martha.
There's a few guys who stay here at the church too...in the bunk house not the house. One of them, Bob, is a GREAT cook and he has been cooking for us...delicious meals like shrimp and tilapia poor boys one night and for breakfast great pancakes and oatmeal and eggs and sausage and grits and biscuits and gravy (that was a couple days, not all on one day =) so I'm definitely NOT starving. I haven't spent hardly any money while I've been here which is a good thing
I haven't found a job yet but I applied at a pasta place really close that would be fun I think. I need to find a place soon though because I need to start saving for next semester.
Fred Franke is always on the phone and always running around doing things for other people...he's a pretty neat guy.
Ronn is another guy that stays here and he is in charge of lots of repairs...he's a gruff guy but with a good heart i think and a very hard worker.
James is a guy with really long hair who came here in December from Ohio planning to stay just a couple weeks and just ended up staying. He does a lot of things here and is a good guy but a little odd =)
Tony stays here too...nice guy but i don't know his story yet.
There is the neighbor guy, Perry, who is a nut and really funny...he sits on his porch and reads the newspaper and talks all the time and is just funny but isn't really involved with the church...his yard is a bit of a museum because there are signs in it that pertain to Katrina that he says the Smithsonian wants but i don't know if that's true. He has a sign that says "Thanks Corps, This much!" with an arrow pointing to the water line on his house. funny but sad. Everything is sort of out of order here but slowly moving back...it won't ever be the same everyone says, but hopefully we can make it better and people will love their city. I pray that another hurricane stays away...especially as we enter the season.
well, that's a lot to write but i'm just trying to give a picture of the people and the way things go around here...there's more people that i haven't mentioned but i'll get to them in later posts.