Sunday, February 17, 2008
We are on our way home from New Orleans, having slept and worshiped again this morning in Chattanooga, TN. The Rivermont Presbyterian Church members were eager to hear about our week in New Orleans, as they had sent us off just a week ago with prayers and well wishes. They also extended a warm invitation to stop over again in the future.
Our last day on the job (Friday) was interrupted with rain about 2 p.m., but we were pleased with all that was accomplished in the week. It was good to hear, also, that Seth, our Habitat supervisor, was pleased with the progress made. The five homes can now be secured to protect from vandalism, as all the windows and doors are in, more of the siding was finished, outside trim was put up, and baffles which serve as barriers to prevent blown-in insulation from escaping, were put in place by the ‘closet blockers turned bafflers.’ All in all, it was a very productive and satisfying week, but there is much, much more to be done just in this little Ferry Place ‘village’ of 14 homes.
St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church (SCAPC) partnered with Habitat for Humanity in November 2007 and has committed the resources for building all the homes to be built here. Each home costs about $125,000 and is sold to the qualifying Habitat for Humanity homeowner for $75,000 with the mortgage being about $600 per month. As mortgage money comes in, other homes will be financed. Several of the prospective homeowners spoke of the great blessing this was to them, as rents in apartments had often doubled after renovations, making them out of reach on their incomes.
The Session of SCAPC first committed to hosting groups in November 2005 and has committed to continue hosting through 2010. The calendar is full through this year and is beginning to fill for 2009. Our group believes WV Presbytery should send another group next year and many expressed interest in returning themselves.
This year’s group included: Margaret Bolt, John and Sandra Bowles, Frank and Genene Gourley, George Lilley and Mavis Grant-Lilley, Frank and Joan Mansell, Mark Miller, Mary Quick, Alan Thomas, Joy Wright, and Lucy Youngblood. Please talk to us about our experiences and consider if you might be called to make such a trip. We were amazed at the diversity of skills that were recognized and warmly received – from sweeping floors, supporting ladders, and picking up nails to laying shingles, putting in windows and doors, and cutting and installing siding. There’s opportunity for everyone to help Restore Hope in New Orleans (or elsewhere.)
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Today was another full day at the work site, working from 7:30 to 3:30. It is exciting to see the progress we have made on the five houses. Two of the houses are now ready for the pre-drywall inspection, and the other three have all been roofed and have most of the siding up. Door locks have been added, insulation has been stapled up, and most if not all the closets, kitchens, and bathrooms are ‘blocked.’ Everyone worked really hard today, wanting to get as much done as we possibly could with only one day remaining to make a difference.
On this Valentine’s Day, we are reminded of all the love we have been shown in a very tangible way – food! This evening we had a delicious gumbo dinner in a church member’s home. Each week a member does this for the RHINO volunteers. In the year and a half that this has been happening, no member has served more than once – “they are lined up, wanting to do this,” we were told. This is their way of showing their love to people who come to ‘help us out.’ Our hostess was Michelle Murphy, mother of three children and the Director of Christian Education at the church. Her parents were present also and we were told that her grandmother was a charter member of the church.
At the work site today, we were delivered lunch by the Trinity Episcopal Church. We were told that someone donated the specially designed truck that delivers lunches to volunteers 28 days a month. The ministry is called Mobile Fishes and Loaves. Church volunteers stock up the truck and head out about 11 a.m. to spread some love in a tangible way to other volunteers.
The other evening meals prepared by Jim and served by volunteers at the church have been a culinary delight. Jim takes great pride in preparing nutritious and filling dinner meals, and in keeping our kitchen stocked with breakfast foods, snacks and lunch makings.
We have been very grateful for these love offerings as we find ourselves becoming more and more tired from our physical labors. We are finding new muscles each day and they are beginning to feel overworked.
We are grateful also for the love offering from the Presbytery which has helped make this experience possible. Happy Valentines’ Day!
Today was another full day at the work site, working from 7:30 to 3:30. It is exciting to see the progress we have made on the five houses. Two of the houses are now ready for the pre-drywall inspection, and the other three have all been roofed and have most of the siding up. Door locks have been added, insulation has been stapled up, and most if not all the closets, kitchens, and bathrooms are ‘blocked.’ Everyone worked really hard today, wanting to get as much done as we possibly could with only one day remaining to make a difference.
On this Valentine’s Day, we are reminded of all the love we have been shown in a very tangible way – food! This evening we had a delicious gumbo dinner in a church member’s home. Each week a member does this for the RHINO volunteers. In the year and a half that this has been happening, no member has served more than once – “they are lined up, wanting to do this,” we were told. This is their way of showing their love to people who come to ‘help us out.’ Our hostess was Michelle Murphy, mother of three children and the Director of Christian Education at the church. Her parents were present also and we were told that her grandmother was a charter member of the church.
At the work site today, we were delivered lunch by the Trinity Episcopal Church. We were told that someone donated the specially designed truck that delivers lunches to volunteers 28 days a month. The ministry is called Mobile Fishes and Loaves. Church volunteers stock up the truck and head out about 11 a.m. to spread some love in a tangible way to other volunteers.
The other evening meals prepared by Jim and served by volunteers at the church have been a culinary delight. Jim takes great pride in preparing nutritious and filling dinner meals, and in keeping our kitchen stocked with breakfast foods, snacks and lunch makings.
We have been very grateful for these love offerings as we find ourselves becoming more and more tired from our physical labors. We are finding new muscles each day and they are beginning to feel overworked.
We are grateful also for the love offering from the Presbytery which has helped make this experience possible. Happy Valentines’ Day!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
First of all, a correction in yesterday’s blog. I said that the homes we are working on are at ground level. That’s wrong. Every new home built in New Orleans now has to be elevated at least 3.5. In fact the homes at Ferry Place are elevated almost five feet. I don’t know why I thought I was on ground level when I was going up and down ladders all day in order to get into the house, but so be it. The blog stands corrected.
As I write today’s blog, we are more than half way through our work week. We were on the work site by 7:30 and most of us went right to work on whatever it was we were doing yesterday, i. e., roofing, closet blocking, picking up debris or new tasks of cutting and hanging vinyl siding, or cutting 2 x 4s to order. It was much cooler today and windy so it wasn’t quite as pleasant to be outside as before, but a lot was accomplished by the time we left at 3:30.
One person had a particularly frustrating day, in that she couldn’t find the task that really suited her skills. “Every job I tried felt very tedious and impossible to accomplish. I tried to move shingle bundles to the second floor for the roofers and they were so heavy, I couldn’t do it. I started to pick up debris and take it to the dumpster, but the dumpster was so full it couldn’t hold any more. I was told to put insulation behind the showers (a job which should have been done prior to installation of the shower) and I couldn’t get that to work without ripping it. I looked for teams that needed help, but none did. It was not a good day because I wanted to feel useful and I wasn’t.” But then she went on to say, “One can always be content when we have we want, whatever that is. The trick is being content when we don’t have what we want….so I guess part of my Lenten journey is to be content regardless.”
Another person spoke of her experience of ‘closet blocking' and the repetition of trying to nail little pieces of blocks in between studs. Never having used a hammer before, she was part of a group of women who experienced many frustrations in trying to hammer from many different directions often in very small quarters. “It’s not easy to feel so inadequate when I am so competent in other areas of my life,” she said.
Another person spoke of visiting with one of the future homeowners who came on site. This married man with three children aged 15, 13 and 10, is driving 65 miles to work as a ‘detailer’ (of cars) and his wife comes in to work as a hotel receptionist. He spoke of having lost everything in the flood and the goodness of God. The woman, reflecting on this said, “This sounds like resurrection and Easter,” and was very moved by his faith.
This work trip is more than hammering, sawing and putting on shingles or siding. It’s more than getting to know our fellow workers. It also is about personal journeying – an appropriate activity for this Lenten season.
First of all, a correction in yesterday’s blog. I said that the homes we are working on are at ground level. That’s wrong. Every new home built in New Orleans now has to be elevated at least 3.5. In fact the homes at Ferry Place are elevated almost five feet. I don’t know why I thought I was on ground level when I was going up and down ladders all day in order to get into the house, but so be it. The blog stands corrected.
As I write today’s blog, we are more than half way through our work week. We were on the work site by 7:30 and most of us went right to work on whatever it was we were doing yesterday, i. e., roofing, closet blocking, picking up debris or new tasks of cutting and hanging vinyl siding, or cutting 2 x 4s to order. It was much cooler today and windy so it wasn’t quite as pleasant to be outside as before, but a lot was accomplished by the time we left at 3:30.
One person had a particularly frustrating day, in that she couldn’t find the task that really suited her skills. “Every job I tried felt very tedious and impossible to accomplish. I tried to move shingle bundles to the second floor for the roofers and they were so heavy, I couldn’t do it. I started to pick up debris and take it to the dumpster, but the dumpster was so full it couldn’t hold any more. I was told to put insulation behind the showers (a job which should have been done prior to installation of the shower) and I couldn’t get that to work without ripping it. I looked for teams that needed help, but none did. It was not a good day because I wanted to feel useful and I wasn’t.” But then she went on to say, “One can always be content when we have we want, whatever that is. The trick is being content when we don’t have what we want….so I guess part of my Lenten journey is to be content regardless.”
Another person spoke of her experience of ‘closet blocking' and the repetition of trying to nail little pieces of blocks in between studs. Never having used a hammer before, she was part of a group of women who experienced many frustrations in trying to hammer from many different directions often in very small quarters. “It’s not easy to feel so inadequate when I am so competent in other areas of my life,” she said.
Another person spoke of visiting with one of the future homeowners who came on site. This married man with three children aged 15, 13 and 10, is driving 65 miles to work as a ‘detailer’ (of cars) and his wife comes in to work as a hotel receptionist. He spoke of having lost everything in the flood and the goodness of God. The woman, reflecting on this said, “This sounds like resurrection and Easter,” and was very moved by his faith.
This work trip is more than hammering, sawing and putting on shingles or siding. It’s more than getting to know our fellow workers. It also is about personal journeying – an appropriate activity for this Lenten season.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Today we joined up with Habitat with who we’ll be for the remainder of the week. Five young men and women are supervising the construction of a Habitat ‘Village’ on Ferry Street. This area was heavily flooded and new drainage pipes have been installed with the hopes that it will be a safe area now. In other parts of New Orleans, new homes are required to be built on stilts from 3.5 – 8 feet above ground level but these are at ground level. Five homes currently under construction are scheduled to be dedicated in May with a total of 14 homes planned. Having several homes under construction at one time is very efficient for our large group of workers. (With our Idaho friends, we make up 26.)
We divided into groups according to need, so some spent their time atop houses roofing; others put in doors or windows; others picked up debris and fed the dumpsters; and others became ‘closet blockers’, preparing the way for shelves. We met J, the young single mother of a 4 y. o. son, who is to inhabit one of the homes. She works as a bank teller and is thrilled that she will have her own home. Other homes in the area have been rehabbed, but there are two yet that will be taken down after the titles have been released, at which time Habitat will get the land. Habitat has been very active in New Orleans since Katrina. Prior to Katrina they built 12 – 14 homes a year. Their goal for the five years beginning in 2007 is to build 1500 homes. Not only do they build homes, they build communities. In one area, prior to Katrina, Habitat built 25 homes in a historic district that was designated a blighted neighborhood. After completion of the homes, property values had risen by 18% and crime had fallen about 15%. It is wonderful to see this community taking shape and to know that so many families will have a brighter future.
We were expecting rain around 4 p.m., but it showed up around noon so it was a good time for lunch. The rain stopped for awhile but when we learned that tornado warnings were in effect until 4 p.m. and when the rain started up again with a vengeance, we started putting al the tools away and left the area around 1:30. Since most everyone was soaked, the hot showers at the house were a welcome treat. Since there is only one shower room, men and women follow a schedule that changes every 30 minutes. After everyone was warm and cozy again, we were free to spend the rest of the afternoon however we wished – reading, playing cards, working a jigsaw puzzle, visiting, etc.
One of the real treats of this trip is the opportunity to form new relationships with others in the Presbytery and with fellow Presbyterians from Idaho and New Orleans. Even though some of us have known each other for many years, living together provides the opportunity to know the other in new ways.
Our meals are self serve for breakfast and lunch, but dinners for the RHINO volunteers are prepared and served in the church next door. St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church has created a wonderful ministry of hospitality. Buechner said that call is lived out when a need intersects with the joy of fulfilling that need (loosely paraphrased). It seems that St. Charles Avenue Church has found and is living out of its call for this time. We are very grateful to be the recipients of this hospitality!!
Today we joined up with Habitat with who we’ll be for the remainder of the week. Five young men and women are supervising the construction of a Habitat ‘Village’ on Ferry Street. This area was heavily flooded and new drainage pipes have been installed with the hopes that it will be a safe area now. In other parts of New Orleans, new homes are required to be built on stilts from 3.5 – 8 feet above ground level but these are at ground level. Five homes currently under construction are scheduled to be dedicated in May with a total of 14 homes planned. Having several homes under construction at one time is very efficient for our large group of workers. (With our Idaho friends, we make up 26.)
We divided into groups according to need, so some spent their time atop houses roofing; others put in doors or windows; others picked up debris and fed the dumpsters; and others became ‘closet blockers’, preparing the way for shelves. We met J, the young single mother of a 4 y. o. son, who is to inhabit one of the homes. She works as a bank teller and is thrilled that she will have her own home. Other homes in the area have been rehabbed, but there are two yet that will be taken down after the titles have been released, at which time Habitat will get the land. Habitat has been very active in New Orleans since Katrina. Prior to Katrina they built 12 – 14 homes a year. Their goal for the five years beginning in 2007 is to build 1500 homes. Not only do they build homes, they build communities. In one area, prior to Katrina, Habitat built 25 homes in a historic district that was designated a blighted neighborhood. After completion of the homes, property values had risen by 18% and crime had fallen about 15%. It is wonderful to see this community taking shape and to know that so many families will have a brighter future.
We were expecting rain around 4 p.m., but it showed up around noon so it was a good time for lunch. The rain stopped for awhile but when we learned that tornado warnings were in effect until 4 p.m. and when the rain started up again with a vengeance, we started putting al the tools away and left the area around 1:30. Since most everyone was soaked, the hot showers at the house were a welcome treat. Since there is only one shower room, men and women follow a schedule that changes every 30 minutes. After everyone was warm and cozy again, we were free to spend the rest of the afternoon however we wished – reading, playing cards, working a jigsaw puzzle, visiting, etc.
One of the real treats of this trip is the opportunity to form new relationships with others in the Presbytery and with fellow Presbyterians from Idaho and New Orleans. Even though some of us have known each other for many years, living together provides the opportunity to know the other in new ways.
Our meals are self serve for breakfast and lunch, but dinners for the RHINO volunteers are prepared and served in the church next door. St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church has created a wonderful ministry of hospitality. Buechner said that call is lived out when a need intersects with the joy of fulfilling that need (loosely paraphrased). It seems that St. Charles Avenue Church has found and is living out of its call for this time. We are very grateful to be the recipients of this hospitality!!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Monday, February 11,2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Our first day on the job! We were up and out by 8 and spent the morning working under the direction of AmeriCorps volunteers for the Trinity Community Center.. We will be paired with Habitat for Humanity but their work week is Tuesday through Saturday in order to be available on a weekend day for local working people who want to volunteer. Most of us spent the morning painting a house that is being rehabbed for a middle-aged lady, who has her daughter’s family living in the home. With almost 30 of us working, we painted most of the house in the three hours we worked, using plastic drinking cups as our paint ‘cans’. It was delightful to see this frame house being transformed from a dingy pink with white trim, to a brilliant blue with white. The owner of the home, Mrs. P. was thrilled to see her house getting a face lift. Bothher home, two doors away, and this house were severely damaged and she has been trying to get the inside rooms done one at a time, as she can. She was eager for her daughter to come home from work. “She’ll drive right by it and not even recognize it,” she said with glee. She was very grateful and we were filled with joy at helping her.
In the afternoon, members of the Presbyterian Women of St. Charles Ave. Church came to fulfill their mission to ‘provide tours of our hurricane devastated city to RHINO volunteers’. As they said “We take seriously the words ‘to whom much is given, much is required.’” We had quite an experience as they guided us in small groups throughout the city for about 3 hours. It was evident that they loved New Orleans and they had great passion about sharing the story of Hurricane Katrina and its destruction. For us, it was overwhelming. Even after two and a half years, we saw so much devastation. Homes were standing empty, their windows broken, roofs and walls damaged, seemingly beyond repair. Many have been deserted with owners having no intention of returning. Others were being worked on and there were piles of debris in the yards. In other areas, homes and businesses have been bulldozed leaving large gaping areas where there used to be active communities. It was apparent that the chaotic water was not discriminating, as we saw the same results in both low-income and upper scale communities.
We saw several churches for sale. Most were heavily damaged and members either have no resources to rebuild them or have moved away, leaving empty buildings with no members. We were taken to the areas where flood walls had given way allowing the water to rush in until the level of that water was at the same level as Lake Pontchartrain from whence it came. In some areas the water stayed covering the area for up to three weeks. We saw Tent City where homeless people lived in 50 – 60 pop-up tents, forming a community under the bridge of Interstate 10. We saw FEMA trailers standing in yards where homes are being rehabbed; water stains on buildings and retaining walls, and concrete pads where houses once stood, all grim reminders of the past.
What are our reactions? “It breaks my heart to see it all.” And “It reminds me of all my blessings. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life.” And “It makes me think – how prepared am I for a disaster?” And “the chaos of change is no respecter of class.” And " What is being done for their emotional and spiritual health? What is our church doing?” And “Many people are using this disaster as an opportunity for change - both for themselves and for the city.” And “Perhaps the greatest disaster is the loss of community for so many people.”
It was an eye-opener for all of us. Amidst the chaos, we seized upon the hope that people have for a brighter future. A good expression of that was in Musician’s Village where Habitat for Humanity is building new homes and helping with rehabbing existing homes, and they are all painted in bright varied colors in the tradition of New Orleans. Community is being rebuilt.
Our first day on the job! We were up and out by 8 and spent the morning working under the direction of AmeriCorps volunteers for the Trinity Community Center.. We will be paired with Habitat for Humanity but their work week is Tuesday through Saturday in order to be available on a weekend day for local working people who want to volunteer. Most of us spent the morning painting a house that is being rehabbed for a middle-aged lady, who has her daughter’s family living in the home. With almost 30 of us working, we painted most of the house in the three hours we worked, using plastic drinking cups as our paint ‘cans’. It was delightful to see this frame house being transformed from a dingy pink with white trim, to a brilliant blue with white. The owner of the home, Mrs. P. was thrilled to see her house getting a face lift. Bothher home, two doors away, and this house were severely damaged and she has been trying to get the inside rooms done one at a time, as she can. She was eager for her daughter to come home from work. “She’ll drive right by it and not even recognize it,” she said with glee. She was very grateful and we were filled with joy at helping her.
In the afternoon, members of the Presbyterian Women of St. Charles Ave. Church came to fulfill their mission to ‘provide tours of our hurricane devastated city to RHINO volunteers’. As they said “We take seriously the words ‘to whom much is given, much is required.’” We had quite an experience as they guided us in small groups throughout the city for about 3 hours. It was evident that they loved New Orleans and they had great passion about sharing the story of Hurricane Katrina and its destruction. For us, it was overwhelming. Even after two and a half years, we saw so much devastation. Homes were standing empty, their windows broken, roofs and walls damaged, seemingly beyond repair. Many have been deserted with owners having no intention of returning. Others were being worked on and there were piles of debris in the yards. In other areas, homes and businesses have been bulldozed leaving large gaping areas where there used to be active communities. It was apparent that the chaotic water was not discriminating, as we saw the same results in both low-income and upper scale communities.
We saw several churches for sale. Most were heavily damaged and members either have no resources to rebuild them or have moved away, leaving empty buildings with no members. We were taken to the areas where flood walls had given way allowing the water to rush in until the level of that water was at the same level as Lake Pontchartrain from whence it came. In some areas the water stayed covering the area for up to three weeks. We saw Tent City where homeless people lived in 50 – 60 pop-up tents, forming a community under the bridge of Interstate 10. We saw FEMA trailers standing in yards where homes are being rehabbed; water stains on buildings and retaining walls, and concrete pads where houses once stood, all grim reminders of the past.
What are our reactions? “It breaks my heart to see it all.” And “It reminds me of all my blessings. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life.” And “It makes me think – how prepared am I for a disaster?” And “the chaos of change is no respecter of class.” And " What is being done for their emotional and spiritual health? What is our church doing?” And “Many people are using this disaster as an opportunity for change - both for themselves and for the city.” And “Perhaps the greatest disaster is the loss of community for so many people.”
It was an eye-opener for all of us. Amidst the chaos, we seized upon the hope that people have for a brighter future. A good expression of that was in Musician’s Village where Habitat for Humanity is building new homes and helping with rehabbing existing homes, and they are all painted in bright varied colors in the tradition of New Orleans. Community is being rebuilt.
Sunday evening, February 10, 2008
After two days on the road, fourteen W V Presbyterians have arrived safely in New Orleans. Somr of us spent last night in a house provided by the Rivermont Presbyterian Church in Chatanooga, TN and attended worship with them this morning. This congregation has a wonderful ministry of hospitality for groups who pass through the area, so we were blessed to be with them. The others came on their own after visiting friends and family along the way. We have joined with others from Idaho and Delaware to live and work together for the next week through RHINO, a ministry of the St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Chrurch, in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity. RHINO stands for Rebuilding Hope in New Orleans. In our orientation this evening, it was stressed that our presence is as important as our job skills, as the people of New Orleans need to know that others have not forgotten them - so they can hope for the future.
We are being housed in a historic home owned by the St. Charles Avenue Church. It has been reconfigured to house about 40 people at a time, and it seems that each week there are about this many present. We feel blessed to be here to share in God's work. We will send more information tomorrow.
We are being housed in a historic home owned by the St. Charles Avenue Church. It has been reconfigured to house about 40 people at a time, and it seems that each week there are about this many present. We feel blessed to be here to share in God's work. We will send more information tomorrow.
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