Airport at New Orleans

One of America's greatest cities. Home of our culture, our music and some extremely friendly people. The food is great, too (but only in moderation!)

Still a lot to do on the Gulf Coast

It was not unusual to see a few rebuilt homes and trailers scattered amongst the foundations of houses swept away by Katrina.

I Now Know What God Looks Like

I Now Know What God Looks Like – July 2008
(For the North Madison Congregational Church Youth Group members – and their adult chaperones - who recently spent a hot, hard-working week of volunteering at Mission on the Bay in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi)

I never knew
what God looked like.
I always thought of her
as an inspirational
spirit…
always present
always available if only you ask
but always unseen

But I saw God
in the smile of an old woman recently
in Waveland , Mississippi,
who was close to getting her home back.
And I saw God
in 60 teenagers
with hammers and nails
on a church mission trip
to help restore Katrina-ravaged homes.
They not only worked to restore that woman’s home -
but also to restore the home of a local firefighter who needed a new roof –
and to restore a neighbor's home that needed a new floor

They built upon the work
of other groups
before them...
Leaving these houses
one big step closer
to being homes again

I am convinced
these gestures
so seemingly small -
yet with results so grand -
can move others
to action

One nail puts
a board in place…
many more
makes a home
- and a community -
sturdy and strong

Hammer in a nail
then more and more
do one good deed
then more and more
then it catches on
then more and more
all it takes is one
then more and more
then one person sees it
then more and more
and thinks “I can too”
then more and more
and soon…
we all…
can make a difference.
what have you done
to make a difference today?

I saw God
in some teenagers
- 60 teenagers
with hammers and nails -
who were proud of the work
they were doing:
first time roofers
tapers
landscapers…
installing floors
hanging dry wall
rebuilding homes -
as well as lives -
and restoring a sometimes
forgotten
belief we probably all should have:
that people
really are
good!

I saw God
In a woman
who explained to the kids
That it took only six and-a-half minutes
(“What can you do in six-and-a-half minutes?” she asked)
for the water
of Katrina
to burst through her doors and fill her home -
basement to roof-
only enough time
to grab two coolers
so the baby’s could stay afloat.
Not enough time, though,
to help all the local elderly people
whose cries for help
filled the helpless ears of the neighborhood.
“We tried but we couldn’t save them all,” she said,
tears starting to stream
down her cheeks,
although the tears
couldn’t dissolve the smile
she had for the teenagers
who she was thanking
for coming to Mississippi
to help.

I saw God
in a group of adult volunteers
who worked with the teenagers
who started as nurturing, protective chaperones
and ended as nurturing, protective partners
in the projects the kids enthusiastically took on

I saw God
In the many people
Who said,
“Thank you”
to the kids…
and felt
the spirit of God
in the
hundreds
- if not thousands –
of teenage volunteers
who keep helping…
and saying,
“It’s OK…
You’re welcome!”

Rose's Home

Part of the crew that worked on Rose's home. The teens arrived with a lot of work to do. They did a lot to get it closer to being a home and left it in great shape for the next crew of volunteers. Sometime soon that home will be done thanks to the hundreds of youth groups that travel to the Gulf Coast to help. Rose has been living in a two-room little trailer next to her house, which was totally destroyed by Katrina. While working on the lawn, a crew of young ladies became extremely concerned because while raking they would turn up pieces of dinnerware, a shoe, a framed drawing, a wallet - basically pieces of the lives of the people who lost their homes in Katrina.
Like everyone we met while in Mississippi, Rose was very appreciative of the work the kids were doing.
One local teen, while walking by, talked about how he and his family were on the roof of their home for five-and-a-half hours when Katrina hit.
"What did you do for five-and-a-half hours?" one person asked.
"We were lucky. Our family was all together on the roof. We prayed," he said.

Our Home in Mississippi

Workin on the Roof

Jack at work