We met our family today...in the ruins, in what they left behind. The water we found in this house on Louisa Street in the 9th ward belonged to a family who needed a six bedroom house. Two rooms were not yet emptied. The rest of the house, having been soaked in what is called "Katrina Punch" and then dried out about 75% (we found the punch in the bathtub, in the toilets, a kitchen drawer, and nooks and crannies you would have thought would have dried out months ago...New Orleans is not Southern California), was ripe for gutting.
And so we ripped, tore, pulled down, cut, slashed, pried loose, shook, toted to the street, the drive, the curb all the plaster, the fittings, the doors, the fixtures. We searched through and then threw away all the mementos, the papers, the books (there were MANY books) that we wished we could save but were too saturated with mold and mildew to save.
We did find papers of I think might have been the mother, Suzette, who had gone to college and became a social worker (I think) and Brenda, a daughter, who read voraciously, (based on the number of books we found, and loved study or write. And in the bottom of a closet we found a papier machez (sp?) bust of Yosemite Sam. It was about 18 inches tall and was in fairly good shape until I tried to move it and it disintegrated in my hands.
We worked from 8:30 until about 3. It was a lifetime. And tomorrow we will return to do more. This is just one of the 6200 homes the UCC has on it's waiting list. And it is just one of the homes of the thousands of homes in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi that were destroyed by the storm.
We were true missionairies today, on a mission to get a small part in a very broken puzzle back together.
Rob
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Katrina Came In..
It was all gone. gone with the wind and water...
2 comments:
Today we worked. Wearing paper and plastic coveralls, masks to keep us from breathing the black mold, gloves and safety glassess, we walked into a house where the flood waters reached 7 to eight feet high. The furniture that was left was tossed about the room as if they had been weightless. We found treasured family photos where the picture had been washed away. We found two dolls that we named Brenda and Sylvia and had them sitting up to remind us that real people once lived in this house. Somehow a few things survived. Yearbooks in good condition. Some photos with recognizable faces and trinkets we hope are meaningful to this family. We worked hard and long. We were hot, sweaty and tired, but we all kept going. Everyone encouraged and helped each other. A good day. We made good progress. We will return to this house tomorrow. We have a lot to learn about ourselves, each other,the people who endured the storm in New Orleans and our relationsip with God. I pray that God continues to give each a servant's heart. It is turning out to be a great week!
Today we worked. Wearing paper and plastic coveralls, masks to keep us from breathing the black mold, gloves and safety glassess, we walked into a house where the flood waters reached 7 to eight feet high. The furniture that was left was tossed about the room as if they had been weightless. We found treasured family photos where the picture had been washed away. We found two dolls that we named Brenda and Sylvia and had them sitting up to remind us that real people once lived in this house. Somehow a few things survived. Yearbooks in good condition. Some photos with recognizable faces and trinkets we hope are meaningful to this family. We worked hard and long. We were hot, sweaty and tired, but we all kept going. Everyone encouraged and helped each other. A good day. We made good progress. We will return to this house tomorrow. We have a lot to learn about ourselves, each other,the people who endured the storm in New Orleans and our relationsip with God. I pray that God continues to give each a servant's heart. It is turning out to be a great week!
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