Check out the link below to see how you can help St. Bernard Project as they commemorate the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. There are several ways you can make a difference.
We arrived safe on Saturday and got settled into Vieux Carre Baptist Church Saturday evening. The church is in the heart of the French quarter and specializes in recovery ministry and street evangelism. Our host is Pastor Greg Hand and we are staying with a high school group of 30 students from Texas and Atlanta :) I'm having flashbacks.
Sunday we went to church here and then dropped the pastor off at the airport and then grocery shopped for the weeks groceries. Sunday afternoon we toured the lower 9th Ward and St Bernard project. It's amazing to see how much is still destroyed and how many txw signs (toxic flood water) are everywhere. At one point before the flood St Bernard had 70 percent home ownership, now lots are auctioning for $5000.
We also drove to Shell Beach to be greeted by the New Orleans police since no one is allowed in the area that is effected by the oil spill. We talked him into letting us go out to see and the whole area is closed down.
Monday
We arrived at St Bernard and got assigned a house close to 9th Ward. We are working together on a house for a single mom, Sharyn Williams and two girls whose house was flooded by 30 feet of water. They lived on the roof for 2 days until they were rescued to the Superdome. There the mother almost died of dehydration and was saved by the army medics. After trying to rebuild on her own and being swindled by contractors she ran out of options. St Bernard stepped in and we have been sanding, mudding, and sheetrocking her house. We got the kitchen finished and primed and will spray texture tomorrow.We spent Monday evening with Interchange Missionary Chad Carlson, who is impacting New Orleans through community living with other missionaries intentionally living as Christ did amidst people with spiritual needs. They host meals and connect to different spheres of influence. We had a great city tour and prayed as a group.
Tuesday
We worked on the house again all day and took our project managers out to lunch. Phoenix, our host, became a Christian in April as a result of a one year commitment here in N.ew Orleans. She actually gave me a book about missional living and how we are supposed to be the church in every environment. It was such a reminder of how amazing the growth is of a new believer.At night we toured the area of the rescue mission with prayer. There are still so many people sleeping on the street living in such painful situations.....
That's all for now I gotta get to bed, love to all from our team.
Scott
