Serving

During our trip down there we stayed at an Econo Lodge in Grenada, Mississippi. The next morning we packed up and got in the car - we were on our way to church in Jackson, Mississippi. The church was called Galloway United Methodist. After the worship service they always have lunch and since we were their honorary guests, we got free lunch. We decided to make up a meal for a homeless person that we saw in the park. After we made him the meal we took it to him. The look on his face was great - our day was made, and so was his.

Brad, Christy, and Cassie

Stories...

Our mission trip has about ended but I feel so blessed for having been here.

God has richly blessed me; I especially realize that after all that I saw in the lower and upper 9th Ward in New Orleans.

Folks, we have done so much here, but we have just scratched the surface. There is much, much more that needs to be done.

On Thursday I had the opportunity to work in the UMCOR office answering the phones and setting up appointments for interviews next week. Trish, who works in the office, was a nurse at the hospital where the doctors are being sued for the deaths of their patients.

Trish told me that doctors carried patients up several flights of stars to the roof to get them to safety. She cradled babies for several hours because mothers had been discharged and babies had to remain behind. Trish also mentioned all those who had died long before the hurricane, whose bodies remained at the hospital through the storm because the funeral homes took a long time to pick up the bodies.

I learned so much, please pray for these people and don't believe everything you read in the papers or hear on the TV and radio news. It may not all be true.

What an awesome experience this has been for me. I hope to come again and encourage others to help in whatever way is possible.

Linda from RUMC

Trip to New Orleans

Our trip to New Orleans was enlightening. I was there in March, and I am glad to say that there has been a tremendous amount of debris removed. There are no longer mountains of soggy personal possessions, dry wall and insulation spilling into the road everywhere. Mnay houses have been gutted; however there are some that seem untouched. The city of New Orleans has started tagging the untouched houses for demolition. In the upper 9th Ward most of the houses were brick, and so the shell of the house remains. These were nice homes, the type you would see back home. I wondered what has become of the families that lived in these houses, and what has happened that would cause them to walk away from their homes without trying to salvage any of the value.

There were a few FEMA trailers around. To have a FEMA trailer in your driveway you have to have a building permit, so these home owners are starting the long process of rebuilding. In the areas of Slidell where we are working there are trailers in almost every driveway. While it is hard to imagine living in a camper for a year, at least those folk are making progress. In the 9th Ward there are still whole blocks with no progress being made, and then some with a single FEMA trailer. There are no streetlights and in many areas, no police patrol. I try to imagine the courage and hope it must take to be the first home owner to make the commitment to stay and rebuild.

The Lower 9th Ward has also had a lot of debris removed, and the grass is taller. Other than that, nothing has changed. The silence is deafening.

We've heard over and over that folks like us are critical to the recovery of this area. I pray that we will continue to be able to be a blessing to our sisters and brothers in this devastated area.

Kathy from TRCP

laworktripumc

We are into day 3 of our mission in Slidell and it has already been an awesome experience.

Sunday evening several ladies and I drove route 11 and saw all of the damage still evident. We drove back on route 10 and saw even more destruction. I realize how blessed we are when I see the devastation from more than a year ago.

My hair turned white from all the sanding that had to be done, but thank God for running water and hot showers. We are about to see the fruits of our labors and I am so thankful that I am here.

Linda from Riverside

Hope amidst devastation

This is my first UMCOR trip and my first trip to Louisiana. There are so many sights to take in--sights of hope as well as sights of devastation--even a year-plus after the hurricane. Our crew's been working in a "mixed" neighborhood--mixed because some homes are being rebuilt while others appear to be all but abandoned. You can tell the ones that are being rebuilt because the front yards are taken up with FEMA trailers. At the abandoned ones--no utilities, no trailers, no sign of life. Nothing but a "For Sale" sign in the front yard.

Thankfully, we've been able to work on the side of hope, working in homes owned by people who are generally elderly and who had no flood insurance. If UMCOR had not come to their aid--and if the volunteers had not come in along with UMCOR--these people would have been left with nothing--absolutely nothing.

I'm thankful that at the last minute I decided to pack my power drill. I've used it often here to hang drywall. And I had the joy of teaching a couple of teen girls how to hang drywall and "mud" it. Tommorrow we'll texturize it and bring it one step closer to completion--a most gratifying feeling.

I'm amazed by the scope of UMCOR's recovery efforts here in Slidel--including the staggering generosity of Aldersgate UMC which is hosting both us and this UMCOR station. The church is basically giving up half its facilities to UMCOR for three or four years--that's how long the relief effort will no doubt last. As a pastor, I wonder how would I respond--and how would our church respond--if UMCOR ever called on us for a relief project. Hopefully, that will never happen. But after this experience I know we would rise to the occasion.

Dave Schultz, Orion, Illinois

Day Three

As you can tell from the time stamp, it’s Wednesday morning and people are moving slower and slower and getting up later and later. I think some are just tired and others have finally become acclimated to the sleeping accommodations. Yesterday was a good day as we moved around and reassigned some people to different locations. I have stayed on the door hanging and trimming and will be hanging exterior and French doors today in Charmane’s house. It finally hit me yesterday that 1 week is not enough. So little time, so much left to do.
We took a drive yesterday along the lake that sits toward the south side of town that inflicted the majority of the water damage. It was a good thing to do because it help us to realize the magnitude of what was left to do. Tomorrow we go to New Orleans to visit areas that have yet to be touched. The UMCOR workers do that so we don’t forget that this project in the South is years away from being completed.
Just a short before I close to say what a joy it has been to have the teens with us. They are fantastic workers and have added a bit of youthful vitality to the effort. I know that they have been working as hard as the adults and still spend the afternoon running and chasing after each other.

Pastor Jim