Home At Last, But Not Without A Glitch
Scribe: Cindy A
I don't know if anyone will see this last entry but since things didn't wrap up into a neat little package, I think we need some closure. So here's a brief rundown of our last day...
*+* On Friday morning, an unfortunate circumstance developed at one of our work sites, that we picked up in the middle of the week. It was discovered that it looked as though the family having work done on their home had deceived SMHA and was taking advantage of a system designed to help those with real needs. The team working there had to be pulled off and told of the possibility of fraud and it was quite discouraging to them. Thankfully, the other sites provided jobs for those folks and we were able to wrap up our sites and say our sad good-byes. Judy has promised to keep us updated and let us know when the ribbon cutting ceremonies happen at the homes we worked on.
*+* Friday night we had a wonderful devotional time, followed by much packing. Saturday morning we were to be in the vans and ready to go at 6:45am.
*+* So Saturday morning arrives and we head to New Orleans. Our flight was at 2:55pm and we really wanted a tour of the 9th Ward and where the levees broke from Hurricane Katrina. Remember that the work we were doing outside of New Iberia, in Vermilion Parish, was mostly caused by Hurricane Rita. As one of our homeowners said, "Katrina took the roofs off, Rita brought the floods and mud." What we saw in N.O. can only be described in single words and brief phrases: sad, disturbing, a war zone, devastating, obscene at how easily it might have been prevented. You'll have to see out pictures and talk to us in person to really understand what we saw. Holes cut in roofs where people tried to escape, one hopeful woman weeding her flower garden as a neighbor emptied the contents of his home with a wheelbarrow, the spray-painted notes on the houses regarding the other victims of the storm..."cat d.o.a.," "2 pitbulls found loose," "black lab." No living this was left unaffected by this storm.
We also learned that the water that washed through these areas came from the local lake, not the ocean. I, for one, didn't understand that. I would not have guessed that a lake could be whipped into such a frenzy that it could cause so much damage. I'm not sure who the rocket scientist was that decided it would be a good idea to build an entire city below sea level but what happened there is a terrible tragedy that should never be repeated.
*+* After the tour we had a wonderful lunch with a couple of 'gators just steps away. Then it was off to the airport. We were supposed to stop in Atlanta and then on to Boston, but Atlanta was closed for a while due to thunder storms. As a result, we had to stop in Birmingham, Alabama for fuel. By the time we landed in Atlanta, we had missed our flight by 20 minutes. 20 minutes! And they couldn't hold the plane for 29 people?!? Then the fun began. Given the circumstances, Beth did an amazing job trying to deal with finding us flights, dealing with 29 different people and all that that implies. The wait for the shuttle to the hotel was interminable but we finally arrived there at about 10:30pm. 22 of us, the bulk of the group that was left, had a 7am flight out of Atlanta. So, after about 3 hours of sleep, we caught a 5:30am shuttle back to the airport and we were homeward bound.
Thank you all so much for following our experiences and praying with us. We traveled with all of your hopes and dreams with us and we look forward to sharing it all with you in as much detail as you want.
The Future Of This Blog:
This will be my final post for now. Our next scheduled trip will be in the summer of 2008. It is my hope that as we plan fundraisers and begin to talk about where we might go, I will periodically update the blog so that you can be in from the very beginning. For now, thank you, God bless you and remember....we are all God's hands.
*+* On Friday morning, an unfortunate circumstance developed at one of our work sites, that we picked up in the middle of the week. It was discovered that it looked as though the family having work done on their home had deceived SMHA and was taking advantage of a system designed to help those with real needs. The team working there had to be pulled off and told of the possibility of fraud and it was quite discouraging to them. Thankfully, the other sites provided jobs for those folks and we were able to wrap up our sites and say our sad good-byes. Judy has promised to keep us updated and let us know when the ribbon cutting ceremonies happen at the homes we worked on.
*+* Friday night we had a wonderful devotional time, followed by much packing. Saturday morning we were to be in the vans and ready to go at 6:45am.
*+* So Saturday morning arrives and we head to New Orleans. Our flight was at 2:55pm and we really wanted a tour of the 9th Ward and where the levees broke from Hurricane Katrina. Remember that the work we were doing outside of New Iberia, in Vermilion Parish, was mostly caused by Hurricane Rita. As one of our homeowners said, "Katrina took the roofs off, Rita brought the floods and mud." What we saw in N.O. can only be described in single words and brief phrases: sad, disturbing, a war zone, devastating, obscene at how easily it might have been prevented. You'll have to see out pictures and talk to us in person to really understand what we saw. Holes cut in roofs where people tried to escape, one hopeful woman weeding her flower garden as a neighbor emptied the contents of his home with a wheelbarrow, the spray-painted notes on the houses regarding the other victims of the storm..."cat d.o.a.," "2 pitbulls found loose," "black lab." No living this was left unaffected by this storm.
We also learned that the water that washed through these areas came from the local lake, not the ocean. I, for one, didn't understand that. I would not have guessed that a lake could be whipped into such a frenzy that it could cause so much damage. I'm not sure who the rocket scientist was that decided it would be a good idea to build an entire city below sea level but what happened there is a terrible tragedy that should never be repeated.
*+* After the tour we had a wonderful lunch with a couple of 'gators just steps away. Then it was off to the airport. We were supposed to stop in Atlanta and then on to Boston, but Atlanta was closed for a while due to thunder storms. As a result, we had to stop in Birmingham, Alabama for fuel. By the time we landed in Atlanta, we had missed our flight by 20 minutes. 20 minutes! And they couldn't hold the plane for 29 people?!? Then the fun began. Given the circumstances, Beth did an amazing job trying to deal with finding us flights, dealing with 29 different people and all that that implies. The wait for the shuttle to the hotel was interminable but we finally arrived there at about 10:30pm. 22 of us, the bulk of the group that was left, had a 7am flight out of Atlanta. So, after about 3 hours of sleep, we caught a 5:30am shuttle back to the airport and we were homeward bound.
Thank you all so much for following our experiences and praying with us. We traveled with all of your hopes and dreams with us and we look forward to sharing it all with you in as much detail as you want.
The Future Of This Blog:
This will be my final post for now. Our next scheduled trip will be in the summer of 2008. It is my hope that as we plan fundraisers and begin to talk about where we might go, I will periodically update the blog so that you can be in from the very beginning. For now, thank you, God bless you and remember....we are all God's hands.
posted by Cindy @ 9:25 AM
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