Wednesday evening

OK, we really packed it in today! Greg said that we should stop work early so we could tour the "levy district" (Lower 9th Ward) of New Orleans. We wanted to get just as much work done, though, so we really worked extra hard. Greg and I dry-walled a room (completely!) and the other 4 men (Adam, Matt, Bryan, and Steve) dry-walled the ceiling of what will be a laundry room.

Bryan and Adam had some quality time with Helen.


Anyway, the Lower 9th... we drove to the place where the levies failed (or were intentionally broken by the Army Corps of Engineers) and flooded a HUGE area. This area is between the Mississippi River and the Industrial (a.k.a. Navigation) Canal. The levies are about 18 feet tall and made of solid concrete, so breaking them took tremendous force!


The area is still mostly deserted, though there are few places where, between the tall undergrowth and the piles of debris, new homes are starting to emerge, like a phoenix from the flames. Many places are just remains of foundations; others had bows and notes left by their owner; others had signs like "Rebuild or leave!"

At dinner, we heard the story of one resident of this area named Jerome Terry, who is now an ordained Lutheran Pastor. He is officially the Pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church, though this church, which is also in the Lower 9th Ward, was destroyed in Katrina, and he is trying to rebuild his congregation. He told the story of he and his wife trying to bail out their house as the storm hit on Monday, August 29, 2005, only to have to leave it by foot the next day when the waters rose to about 5 feet high. They carried what they could and walked through the waters, eventually making it to the Convention Center along route 90. They eventually journeyed to Houston, where they have a daughter, and then to St. Louis, Missouri, where he finished his seminary schooling and earned his Master's of Divinity in January 2006. Though he got several calls, Pastor Jerome felt he needed to return to Bethel in the 9th Ward and help them rebuild.

Most of the area that we toured were neighborhoods that are no more. Just concrete slabs and an occasional set of stairs.We came across a house. You can see that the family just left and never came back. What struck us was that the magnets are still on the refrigerator. I think it really hit home that every one of the concrete slabs we saw represented a family whose lives were sent into turmoil. We are doubly motivated to work extra hard on our Howard and Helen's home to get them back to "normalcie".


When touring the 9th ward today, we saw a sign with a passage of scripture from Ezekiel -- it was about the valley of bones. Though the valley is filled with the dead -- beyond dead! VERY, DRY BONES -- Ezekiel recognizes that the Lord can breath new life into these very dry bones. HE CAN MAKE ALL THINGS NEW!
So, the lesson today is that God does let disasters such as Katrina happen and the bones of the valley get very dry and all seems hopeless. And though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, it is God; and through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who loves us so much that we may rise again and restore faith, home and community.

Signing out at 10:48.

God Bless,
Your Grace Team