Dancing Around the World

What a great way to document a trip! My favorite was when he was in Rwanda. When I went to Benin, the kids acted the same way when I brought my camera.

I couldn't get the video to embed into this post (anyone?? keeps saying the tag is broken).

Check it out and let me know what you think!

When You Pass Through the Waters...

Disclaimer: It's been about a week since we've been back from this trip. Blogger was giving me a bit of trouble with the pictures. There's a link at the bottom of the blog for all the pictures I took in N.O.
Wow. Words cannot express the emotions I'm feeling right now after our team got back from our mission trip to New Orleans. The devastation from Hurricane Katrina is exactly what the news photos depicted about a year ago... not much has changed, except now there is more mold, muck, and mire.

We arrived in New Orleans on Saturday night. Sunday after devo and lunch downtown (at a wonderful local cajun place called Mugate's), we drove around the 9th ward and surrounding neighborhoods to just look around. It was raining most of the morning, but it let up for us to take some pictures in this neighborhood. The picture to the left is next to part of a bayou that flooded and carried boats and set them on houses.

It hit me that as much work had been done by the Hilltop Rescue Mission Organization, it was not even a dent in the work that needed to be done. Questions were still lingering in my mind until our team actually went to the worksites and met some of the homeowners. Even though we weren't going to solve all of New Orleans' problems in the short week we were there, we could impact individual lives who needed us.

We began work on Monday morning at Jerome's house. He is a 70-some-odd year old ordained minister who sings Amazing Grace (over and over again) and other hymns, likes to waltz, and loves to talk about Jesus. He had been living in his once-flooded house since last October. Mold had crept its way up 4 feet of the walls, and bugs of all kinds had claimed his living quarters as their own. He was going to stay in that house, so our job was a bit different. We cleared one room, tore up the carpet, and gutted the room, cleared the next room into that now-gutted room, and worked our way down his shotgun-style house. We prayed with him before we began, before lunch, and after we had finished. I'm not sure if he'll ever have the money to pay for someone to re-work his home, but at least, he won't be living in the mold anymore. Katie and her crew did a great job of organizing his belongings and making his house a home again.

Day Two: Tuesday consisted of finishing up three houses that other groups had begun. It was also our nation's Independence day. Our group leader, Chuck, took us to have a picnic lunch at a battlegrounds from the Civil War. He dropped us off there and went to get us canteloupes! Underneath his tough exterior, he was a sweetheart and we really became attached to him!

Day Three: Mike's mom's house. This house had its own set of special issues: a refrigerator (imagine food and water decaying for 10 months), blown insulation in the ceiling, and six-inch mud on all the carpets... ick! Mike worked with us all day and his wife even brought us cupcakes (no icing because it was too hot outside, but they're not muffins, they were cupcakes!). ;) Mike and his family were also tending to his sister's house next door. She has not returned since the flood, so he has taken matters into his own hands to try to salvage anything. Before picture. After picture.

Day Four: Greg Price's house. Greg was a wonderful homeowner because he emptied the entire house before we got there! We could start by ripping up the carpets! It took us all day, however, because his house was bigger than the others, with very tall ceilings. His roof has a hole in it because his good friend lived in his attic for three days during the flood and escaped by sawing a hole in the roof and being airlifted! The news reports became even more real that day.

To view all pictures, click here.

AUGUST 29th: The last day to gut houses and help families is August 29th. On the 30th, the government will begin auctioning off houses or bulldozing. If you'd like to help, please contact www.hilltoprescue.org.