home

we're home. flight was only delayed about 45 minutes. we got to go in the cockpit afterward--awesome. everyone was picked up promptly at church.
I'm tired.
no work tomorrow--yay!
more later.

heading home

We're on our way home today, via the Closing Celebration here at Passport, and via the IMAX theater at the Audubon Institute, and possibly via the Lower 9th Ward, which is not on the way to the airport but should be on our mental, emotional, and spiritual journey nonetheless.
It's been a good week--the youth did lots of hard work, there's been some good opportunities for worship, celebration, study, and fellowship (both spiritual and just fun). But we're all tired after 6 days away that have also been filled with sleep deprivation and southern-college-cafeteria food. I'm ready to go home, pet my kitties, sleep in my bed, and eat some vegetables and fruits.
See you back in the CL....

how you KNOW it's bad

(if you couldn't tell already, that is...)


Now, I have many many issues with the big W-M, so I can't say I feel sadness for the corporation when I see this sight. But I feel sad for the bigger picture of which this is just a small part.

There are more extensive reflections and many many more photos over here...enjoy!

New Orleans, day 3

It was another busy day. My group went to a new site in a new neighborhood, right by the Six Flags. We could see the roller coasters from the corner, but of course they aren't running--the park has been closed since the storm.







The neighborhood was much more damaged than the one from the previous day. We could see water lines, the windows were blown out, the brick facades were damaged, the whole neighborhood was nearly deserted. The kids did a lot of really good work--they brought the ceiling down and all the insulation out, they gutted the second floor (not in that order!), and a group made short work of another person's yard...all in 2-1/2 hours before a thunderstorm came through and lightning put a stop to our work.



Last night's fun was the masquerade dance...the youth were awesome about making their masks and costumes. They were instructed to "imagine who you really are" and then make a costume that reflected their true selves. It seems to have gone reasonably well--we have two clowns, two princesses....average! :-) the dance was a great time, and everyone went to bed exhausted at the end of our third day.

New Orleans, day 2

Well, we got to work at last. At least the kids did! I spent time supervising and taking pictures, as my job is supposed to be encouragement and supervision rather than actual working. So here's our first house--the debris pile at the end of the first day. You can see some of the kids in their suits in the driveway. They're super hot, apparently. The houses are full of mold, so we're gutting them down to the studs.





At the end of the first full day there was a huge rec party, with games galore. My favorite game to watch was the slip-n-slide Jenga...they had to slide down with the piece in their hand, then build the tower at the end. The team with the highest tower when time was called won. It looked really fun.



Today, being day three, deserves its own post after the activities are done, so I'll leave it for now. I'll just say that our group went to a different work site than yesterday, and it was....definitely different.

New Orleans, day 1

hot. humid. people stopping us on the streets of the French Quarter to ask about our t-shirts (which say "Katrina Relief" on the back) and to thank us for coming down to help. Opening celebration which was like a party. leg wrestling with other leaders on stage. one mosquito bite so far. Talkative group--a nice change!

Here's our group in the French Quarter, at our fave intersection (good signage!)...
And now it's time to get moving for our first full day!