Day One in St. Bernard's Parish

Wow! Yesterday's tour of New Orleans and today's service were both AMAZING. Yesterday, we visited the Lower 9th ward, looked at the (new) levies, and talked to the people at a grass roots non-profit, Common Ground Relief. Did you know that not a single building in all of St. Bernard's Parish (FYI: in Louisiana "Parish" is used instead of "County") was untouched by the flooding that followed hurricane Katrina? The water rose at a rate of one foot every ten minutes, topping out at over twenty feet in some places. Imagine twenty feet of water surrounding whatever building you're in. Crazy isn't it?

We ate our packed lunches in the parking lot of school. During this short break a woman in a care asked us if we were volunteers; we told her we were. She then, in all sincerity, asked if we could help her this week. Several people in the group were ready and willing to work with this woman instead of St. Bernard's Project, but we told her that our time was filled and directed her to Common Ground and SBP. She thanked us profusely before driving off. This is essentially the response we've been getting from people. They are so gracious towards volunteers; it's a nice feeling to be welcomed.

Our travels yesterday made it very clear why we're here. There is unimaginable need but volunteers really can make a difference. Today, we were able to start making that difference. For seven hours our group worked on two homes. One group, my group, worked on "mudding." This consisted of applying a plaster-like substance to all of the seams of the house (there are more than you'd think). It was messy work and required a great deal of meticulousness but it was more than worth it when the homeowner came over and thanked us and worked beside us. The other group's work was more physically intensive. They were doing mold remediation, which started with scrubbing all the boards to activate the mold before killing it. They tell me they'll be sore for days. But it's a good kind of sore.

These last two days have been educational, fulfilling, and a LOT of fun. I only hope the rest of the week continues this way.