Day Five: The Last Day / The Trip Home

After working on Thanksgiving our last evening on Thursday was highlighted with a delicious Thanksgiving Dinner at John Calvin and a presentation of a Check from John Sorensen to Jim McLain from FWFriends.

As planned, on Friday we all loaded up early and, even though we were all anxious to return home to our families, we reluctantly said good bye to Jim McLain and headed east towards Montgomery, Alabama and eventually to Atlanta.

On the way out of town we reluctantly (not really) donated 5 cases of MREs to the clinic that took care of the cut on Alex Ball’s head. They were very happy to receive them. After a 10 hour trip we arrived in Marietta at 6:00 PM.

Alex Ball's Clinic

After we arrived home this final Reflection was sent by Dan Valentine:

We all knew before this trip started that the future of the area that Peace Presbyterian and Eastminster Nursery were in was and still is uncertain. However, God has already honored the work we did there in several ways:

• We have given Jim McLain (minister of Peace Presbyterian) a renewed spirit to minister to those in the area
• We have reached several members of the congregation who were clearly encouraged by our willingness to fix up the church and nursery
• The Redondo Presbyterian crew changed their plans and spent a day and a half working on Jim‘s house after working with us (clearly a task unthinkable before we arrived)
• There appears to be a strong consensus among the team that Peace Presbyterian can be a beacon of hope in a gloomy area

Specific to the last point – we all heard that there is a lot of hand-wringing and indecisiveness about the future direction of New Orleans. Because of this, folks from this area of town are living in uncertainly and are certainly frustrated – and all this on top of having their home and lives turned upside down by the hurricane. Many of these folks are despairing and teetering on hopelessness. Is this not the exact place Christ’s light needs to shine?

Regardless of what ultimately happens in this area, the love of Christ needs to be very present now. With continued help and support, Peace Presbyterian can be that beacon of hope. When I heard Dan Roberts tell of how Minnie (one of Peace’s members) lit up when she found out we were cleaning up the church rather than preparing to tear it down, it spoke volumes about the impact an active church in this community could have. We can’t be sure how God will ultimately use our efforts but as the Bible passage below promises, those efforts will NOT be wasted. I believe that we need to do what we can to cause Christ’s light to shine brightly in this area of New Orleans even as others try to decide what is going to happen there.

Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time and effort. I Corinthians 15:58

To view many more photos of the Mission please visit: http://community.webshots.com/album/511521739OgeMqT

And from our California Team members:http://community.webshots.com/album/512574725SQqrIo/0

Day Four: A Day of Thanksgiving / Mission Accomplished

Thanksgiving Day - our Fourth and last work day arrived early for the First Presbyterian Marietta Mission team. We wanted to start the day early so we could finish the trip accomplishing what we came here to do. Like our other days we started with a devotional from Dan Valentine. The message today was ‘’A Place to Belong’’, which referred to the church and the fact that, as Christians, we are the body of Christ working together and that being a Christian is all about relationships with others. A fitting message as we left as a united and focused team for our last day in New Orleans

We left on time and had absolutely no traffic driving to Peace Presbyterian. We immediately started the day with Dan setting up teams to hit the specific areas we needed to finish up with. Again we had 2 energetic volunteers – one from Renando Beach, California and one local volunteer
What we focused on today and accomplished included:

• Totally removing everything from the kitchen area including counters and cabinets


• Finishing cleaning out the offices and closets of debris, counters, furniture, tiles and carpet.


• Removing all interior doors (around 20 doors) including Narthex, office, hallway doors


• Clearing the nursery area of all debris and furniture

While it was difficult for us all to leave our families during Thanksgiving we all ended our fourth day feeling so Thankful for our own personal blessings and a sense of Mission Accomplished.

Each team member shared some specific and meaningful memories of this Mission.
Some of them include:

• Cleaning up the debris in the flooded kitchen – including the Punch bowl and cups and remembering all of the happy wedding receptions which must have been held there at the Church


• The Free Wednesday Night Dinner at John Calvin Presbyterian open to the community which we attended


• How John Calvin Presbyterian freely opened their doors to us and their wonderful hot showers each evening


• Seeing all the Church Vans on Mission trips on the way down heading to New Orleans


• The Red Cross Volunteers offering us Turkey meals and cold drinks while we were working at Peace.


• How the emotionally draining all the devastation is while working here (and we don’t live here)


• Watching the positive uplifting changes in certain people around us as the days went by and as we made progress in the clean up


• The gratitude of everyone in New Orleans we met


• The sense of a Mission Accomplished as we drove away from the Peace parking lot the last time seeing the piles of debris 4-5 feet high all along the street surrounding the Church.


• Going back with the feeling that we need more people to help on the next trip


• How so many of the New Orleans residents we met have a great sense of humor, find the time to laugh and enjoy life despite their loss of homes and property


• How it’s hard to imagine our homes like the ones we have seen


• Finding numerous American Flags and taking them back to California and Marietta scout troops to take care of properly


• Throwing away so many beautiful Bibles, books, and so many children’s books including all Dr Seuss books


• The perfect beautiful weather conditions we had – being thankful that we are not doing this is 85+ degree temperatures


• Because of the flood and the area we were in how Peaceful and quiet (other than a few sirens) it was to work at Peace (Presbyterian).


• Getting an encouraging thumbs up from the National Guard and local authorities as they drive by


• Meeting the amazing New Orleans people, hearing their courageous stories and their warm hospitality with all they have going on


• Finding Christmas ornaments covered in muck – to take back and hang on our trees to remember to be thankful


• Getting a lump in your throat or a tear in your eye over and over through the day while you are working; but carrying on with your work

Finally the day ended with a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner of Turkey, ham, sweet potatoes provided by Captain Jim Umberger and his wife and Reflections of the day by Beth and Alex. The message was very fitting about the difficulty of giving thanks in the face of difficulty. Alex read many great reasons for all of us to be Thankful. We are all Thankful for the great success and we are looking forward to a early departure on Friday to Marietta and seeing our families again.

Day Three: "A Day of Service - A Life of Service"

Our third day in New Orleans began with a simple breakfast and a Devotional led by Dan Valentine. Today’s subject was serving God and being a willing servant in times of need but with humility – a perfect message for our long day ahead of us back at Peace Presbyterian.

After a drive through light rush hour traffic we arrived at Peace Presbyterian ready to continue the process we began yesterday of clearing out the debris in the church. With a full team of 14 today we were able to accomplish a lot. While the task at hand seemed tremendous we were all eager to see how much we could accomplish in one morning with this large team.

Unfortunately, 4 of our team members (John Chen and Will Howard from LaJolla and Claire Dunaway and David Mahan from Marietta) needed to return home after lunch because of other commitments.

With this energetic team so much was accomplished today including:

• All pews and linolium removed from the Sanctuary


• All furniture, books, and other destroyed materials as well as linoleum removed from Fellowship hall, Offices, Narthex, and Supply room


• Moving of very heavy objects like a refrigerator full of contaminated food, Coke Machine and fire proof file cabinet - all requiring not only muscle; but quite a bit of creative and sometimes conflicting opinions on the best methods of moving them from point A to point B.


• General clean up of a massive amount of clutter and trash caused by the flood

Before

• 

After

Perhaps the greatest accomplishment today was not the work done at the Church building, but a by-product of that work. The team saw a clear uplift in the attitudes and energy levels of those associated with Peace Presbyterian Church who were impacted by Hurricane Katrina and the flood - and this meant more to us than all the work we accomplished so far.

Fortunately the only accident incident so far has been with Alex Ball our youngest team member. With a small cut to his head from a door he had to visit a local clinic to be patched up.



After lunch we saw the departure of our four key hard working team members. One other highlight was the visit of a displaced member of the Peace Presbyterian who happened to stop by. Mini was her name and she was in the neighborhood visiting her destroyed home. She initially though the church was being gutted to be torn down. Then we saw her light up when we explained that we were there to help re-open this church and smile when she was told that her minister, Jim McLain, was in the church. This was a clear example to us, that we were indeed making a difference.


The rest of the team worked several more hours after lunch and then we stopped work in order to get cleaned up for a Wednesday night Church dinner of delicious Louisiana-style Turkey Gumbo back at our base camp, John Calvin Presbyterian. The dinner lived up to our expectations (Gumbo, Potato Salad, Pecan and Pumpkin Pies) and all we had excellent fellowship with families in the area and members of the church as we all sat at separate tables to get to know more folks and exchange stories. As we tried to express our gratitude to them for sharing their facilities (so we had a place to stay), they instead thanked us for spending our Thanksgiving week helping out in New Orleans.

The evening ended with a Reflection by Earl Stine where he commented that today was not as emotional as yesterday; but he echoed the excitement felt by all the team by seeing the impact our efforts are having on those close to Peace Presbyterian Church.

``…I will build my church, and all the power of hell will not conquer it,`` Matthew 16:18

Day Two: "Transformed by Trouble"

Tuesday was a day of highs and lows for the team. It started with a hearty hot breakfast of eggs, sausage, toast and grits and a Devotional which was a continuation of the Purpose Driven Life message by Dan Valentine.

“Transformed by Trouble” was the message Dan presented and it was fitting for what we experienced today.

The high point of the day was seeing the amazing progress we made at Eastminster Presbyterian in the Nursery and on the grounds. Large trees were finally cleared, the upper level Nursery rooms mopped and sanitized (after being cleared of debris from Monday’s efforts). The Sanctuary looked useable again as did many other rooms.

Another high point was being joined by 3 members of Redondo Beach Presbyterian Church – David Sergeant, Mike Chen, and Laura Krauss. We also had two local individuals from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (Elizabeth and Kurt) assist us. With this large team we were able to accomplish all of the final clean up effort before lunch.

After another enjoyable MRE lunch under the trees we headed out for a brief tour of other severely devastated areas including Jim McLain’s home. To most everyone in the group this was the low point of the day. While it was very important for the team to see this, it was a heartbreaking experience. Some things we saw:

• All of Jim’s many personal books he had collected over many years


• His pipe collection of over 100 pipes he had been collecting for over 20 years


• Large oak trees completely blown over on portions of his yard and roof


• The whole neighborhood of attractive middle income homes completely destroyed

This poignant visit was followed by an afternoon of work at Peace Presbyterian. This situation was also initially very difficult for the team to take in. Initially some of the team felt somewhat overwhelmed at the task, but in two short hours significant progress was made. The church was and to some degree is still a beautiful church. It has stain glass windows over 103 years old ordered from Germany by the church founders as well as a 83 year old pipe organ – all valuable and worth preserving. Progress today included

• Cutting up all the pews and hauling most of them out


• Removing many of the doors stuck shut because of the flood


• Clearing out much of the destroyed furniture and books in the Fellowship hall

After our time at Peace we left to get cleaned up for an amazing dinner of Grilled Oysters and Seafood at a famous local Metairie Restaurant called Dragos. Jim Umburger, Peace Presbyterian’s Clerk of Session and a retired Coast Guard Captain treated the group.

Afterwards the evening’s Reflection was presented by John Chen who spoke about his Grandfather who survived a Typhoon as an infant in Taiwan and all the trials and tribulations he endured through his life under the Japanese and World War II.

During our reflection, we discussed how we were moved by the day’s mixture of high and low experiences – the high being the accomplishments we made at both Eastminster and Peace and the low being seeing the destruction to Jim’s house, the community in general and Peace Presbyterian. However, the overriding feeling coming out of today was that even with the little bit we have done, the change in appearance of the building we have worked on offers hope to those who are feeling a sense of hopelessness over the Katrina’s destruction.

Day One: "It's Not About Us"

After a good night's sleep and breakfast our first day of work in New Orleans was started by a morning devotional by Team Leader Dan Valentine. His message was “It’s Not About Us” from Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life. It was a fitting and meaningful message for us to remember while we worked today.

The day started with a rush hour drive from John Calvin Presbyterian to East New Orleans and Eastminster Presbyterian Nursery School. Flooding and destruction were apparent and grew worse as we drove. When we arrived we scoped out the work to be done. The initial impression was that everything inside the church had been turned upside down and nothing was where it should have been.

Respirators (for Mildew abatement) for all workers working indoors were an absolute necessity. Fortunately we were blessed with a beautiful cool sunny day with a steady breeze. This helped air out the buildings and made our work easier.

In the building we found running water but no power. The tasks we faced and eventually accomplished included:

• Tree cutting


• Haul all branches and logs to the street


• Clean out sanctuary, disinfect and separate usable from non-usable pews and other worship related items


• Pull up all carpeting from all rooms (Sanctuary, Offices, Nursery)


• Haul all unusable items (most of what was in the church) out to the street


• Clean up areas in Nursery which several people fleeing the flood lived in for quite a few days

The team had a lunch break with “gourmet” MRE’s served. After a long afternoon of more work we stopped at around 4:30 to load up in order to leave the area by curfew time and be on our way by dark at 5:08.

After showers and a dinner of Barbeque and Ribs, Claire Dunaway did our evening of reflection on today’s accomplishments and how our lives are being changed by serving God. Claire referred back to Dan’s message of “It’s Not About Us” and how Christ said God’s purpose for us is our spiritual “Food” (4th Chapter of John).
This was a near perfect end to our day and we all went off for a much needed night’s rest.

Team Arrives Safely in New Orleans

After nearly an 11 hour trip (with the mandatory lunch, gas and rest stops) the team arrived safely in New Orleans around 7:00 Local Time. We immediately saw signs that life was not normal and recovery to this area was slow, even 3 months after Katrina hit. Piles of trash in front of homes and other volunteer teams from other regions were evident. After quickly unloading, we set out for food because many resturants in the area all close by 8:00 because of lack of workers or limited supplies. John Chen and Will Howard from LaJolla Presbyterian, a happy addition to the team, had already arrived and joined us. After dinner Jim McLean Minister of Peace Presbyterian gave the team a very interesting, sometimes sad / sometines shocking overview of the situation facing the people in this area. After going over basic safety and team assignments for Monday, we set off to get a good nights rest before a long day of work on Monday.

Ready To Leave for New Orleans

In order to get an early Sunday start the team took some time Saturday to load the van and trailer. Items loaded included tools, food, lots of coffee, water, gatorade, MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat), donated Build-A-Bears (please see story below), and luggage. We are all eager to hit the road and start on our Mission to New Orleans.

Clint's Build-A-Bear Party

Clint Davenport has a new friend named Nicholas. Nicholas, his four brothers and sisters, his mother and grandparents were all displaced by hurricane Katrina. Nicholas and two of his siblings have begun attending The Walker School, which is how Clint got to know Nicholas.

When he realized that the children in the Gulf Coast area lost everything, Clint decided to have his party at Build a Bear. Each of the fifteen children who attended made a bear to be taken to the Gulf Coast Area (each made a bear to take home too).

Nicholas attended the party, which made the gift bears even more special. Build a Bear gave us a 20% discount on the gift bears.

November 20 Trip to New Orleans

November 20 – Trip to New Orleans
The New Orleans Trip team is a team of 10 brave but willing souls. This trip consists of Dan Valentine (Team Leader), David Mahan, Earl Stine, Paul Cobb, John Ficken, John, Sorensen, Alex Ball, Beth Bailey, Claire Dunaway and Dan Roberts. Jane Cofer has graciously agreed to be the teams Home Based team member to coordinate and assist with our needs back home. We will be commissioned at the 8:30 service on Nov. 20 and leave immediately after that.

So far, we are off to a great start under Dan Valentine’s leadership and guidance. We are also fortunate to have the expertise of Paul Cobb and David Mahan who have been on previous missions. They have already giving the rookie team members some invaluable advice on what to wear, what tools we need and what to buy.

Earl Stine and John Ficken have volunteered to be our Van drivers for the 8 hour drive to New Orleans. The week of November 13 started with a meeting to meet and plan. The week has been full of emails, suggestions and preparations.

We are making room for 15 donated Build a Bears (donated by Clint Davenport) to travel with us. We will make sure they make it safely to their new home (more to come on this topic later).

John Calvin Presbyterian in Metairie – where we are staying

Our Mission / Our Goals / Our Plans:

• Four days stabilizing and/or rehabilitating the Nursery School property and Church property at Eastminster and Peace Presbyterian Churches in New Orleans


• Arrangements have been made to stay at John Calvin Presbyterian Church in Metairie (Transcontinental Drive).


• We will spend all day Monday and Tuesday morning at Eastminster Nursery School (Read Blvd. New Orleans) working and trying to make the building usable again.


• We plan to take a short tour of New Orleans in the early afternoon on Tuesday to get a better understanding of what the community is facing.


• On Wednesday and Thursday, we will be at Peace Presbyterian (Morrison Road) cleaning out church property, disposing of debris from the interior of the building.


• On Thursday at 3:00 p.m., work will stop for the celebration of Thanksgiving. Then on Friday morning, we will depart for Home sweet Home

Plans are to update this posting every evening as long as we can get reliable internet service (and we are not too tired!).
We also hope to include pictures of our progress, where we are working, and people we befriend.

Please keep us in your daily prayers:

• for us to make a difference in the lives of these families in New Orleans
• for our safety and
• that we will have the energy each day to do God’s Will.
  

Next post should be Sunday November 20th / Monday November 21st