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Expertise: The Spirit of the Soveregn LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and to provide for those who grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his spendor.
Isaiah 61:1-3
Occupation: Student
Industry: Nonprofit
Message: message me
Member Since:
11/6/2005
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Hey everyone, so okay, we're NOT in Louisiana anymore, but we encourage you all to come to chapel to hear us speak tomorrow on our trip. Spread the word across xanga. We want to share our stories and our passion with the entire TWU community tomorrow!
--The Hurricane Katrina Team
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| Today, out team worked at a house just behind the levy and only 4 houses down from the main levy break in New Orleans. Similar to the other days the neighborhood was a ghost town. It was so sad to see houses still intack but many of them unrepareable due to the water dammage. Because the levy break was so close some houses had huge sections of brick and house torn away. The house we worked on today was built and occupied by a New Orleans fireman and his family. It was a very personal experience because Dennis and his brother had built the house with their own bare hands. It had a lot of sentimental meaning to them. It is hard to look and hear the pain of the families that have almost lost everything they have owned. One thing that Dennis, the home owner, had a hard time with was the constant flow of cars driving through the neighbourhood on the once paved road taking pictures of the damaged houses and walking through different peoples houses. Today the work that we did was similar to what we did on the first two days with more clearing out of soggy furnature and soggy sheet rock. With the help of our second team comming in the last part of the day, we were able to completly stip the house down the to framing on the first floor. At the end of the day the two teams gathered in a circle and prayed with Dennis and his bother Mike. After the prayer we presented him with a new Bible that our team had each signed, written and highlited our favorite verses.
Kris Kraakmo
What was so shocking about the area that we worked in today was that there were trees ripped out of the ground and thrown across the streets. Another thing I noticed was a house that was ripped off its foundation and plopped down on the middle of a street. There was a car that was thrown on top of a fence, and there were many abandonded vehilces. The streets are very desolate. There were signs on the doors of the houses that are marked with an X and that is to show how many were found or how many were deceased. The zeros on the bottom were for how many were deceased, the right and lefts of the x'es were for how many people FEMA and rescue services found. the top part was of the date that the house was searched in. The whole experience is so surreal and so much of New Orleans is destroyed that it is almost impossible to describe to someone unless one has been here. It has overall been an amazing and changing experience for me and I pray that this experience will affect me later on in the future and in my life journey. I hope that I can use what I have learned here to help those in our own community and remember the people of New Orleans.
Erica Froese
Pictures from today:
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| Our other group today went to the southern part of Slidell and worked in an area where only 25 out of 750 homes remain standing. Here are some pictures:
In His Service,
Mark
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| Today our group was back at the site that we were at yesterday in Chalmette (just outside of New Orleans). It was different from yesterday in the sense that the stench was definitely more potent and there were also other people in the neighborhood, being that it was a Saturday. As we were cleaning out the house, stripping the sheetrock and the nails from the 2x4's someone said "Ashes to ashes and dust to dust." That phrase really became real to me today. It's easier to say that 'things' don't mean much and we could do without, but after spending two days chucking someones photos and dishes and clothes in a pile in the street you begin to get a taste of how traumatic it actually can be. I spend so much time accumulating things and I think of my closet at home and my photos, scrapbooks, awards and journals and it begins to hit me that I treasure these things so much, and I realize the kind of hold that they have on me. They are so important to be, they are the record of my life, but at the same time 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust' should I really be clinging to these things so dearly when I have seen how one big storm and a day can destroy it? The idea of 'storing my treasures in Heaven' is being reaffirmed in my life.
There were also lots of opportunities for our team to talk with people today and it was so apparent that these people need a sympathetic ear, someone to listen to them who didn't experience the hurricane first hand. The people are weary and tired of moving and cleaning up and seeing debris all over their city. Many of the people we met today have not received any help except from the church, what an amazing opportunity we have been given to serve!! and I am loving it that the church is responding to the need. It has been hard for me to hear some of the stories yet eventhough I find it difficult at times I feel so incredibly honored that I have to chance to serve these people in God's name and offer what little comfort I can to people who are barely clinging to hope. It has been a good day!! There have been many laughs along with the sobering moments and I look forward to church tomorrow, when we will be able to worship with the people. Ya'll have a good night!! :)
Forever His,
Michaela Tissell | | |
| This group picture is of us at the house that we worked at on Lake
Katherine in New Orleans (pronounced Neworleans). The family lived in a
two story house that was built about five feet off the ground or more
and we did indoor demolition. The family members were Libby and Dean.
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