keithdoane's posterous

Reflections on this week..

As with any Mission Trip where God has called His people to serve a special need, our group of 17 has viewed life that is completely foreign to them. in many ways, New Orleans is just another metropolitan city in the U.S.  People working, tourists visiting to see the sights, restaurants serving, businesses doing what needs to be done. 

But in the places we have been this week, it is oddly strange. While we could not witness the initial destruction caused by the flooding during The Storm, the aftermath 6 years later is an odd monument to the inability of people to cope or care about rebuilding. Homes completely overgrown by vegatation, streets still in major need of repair, construction crews (large and small) moving from one project to another in a seemingly endless amount of work yet to be done.  It can be overwheming to think any of us may have made a difference this week. 

As I look back at this week, I see the love of God working through us to touch someone in need. Whether it be the administrative folks at Arise Academy, the kids we talked with during a few breaks at the school, Derrick Floyd's family, or simply talking with one another throughout the day, we have experienced God in our everyday lives. For that, this trip was certainly worth every drop of sweat, every aching muscle, and every new knowledge we gained about the kingdom of God. Oh that this would continue for each of us when we return to Crossroads.

This trip has been filled with great times together. Bridget's continual bubbly laughter and dancing, Blake's endless reading of seemingly useless facts from his iphone, an endless supply of knock, knock and blonde jokes, absolutely no complaining, discussions on our daily devotions, and work, work, work. I admire the stamina of our young people to persevere through the intense heat and humidity. And we would not have finished what we did without Dan, Will, Wendy and Vic working so hard every day at the Floyd house. And everyone had a skill that they used to complete the team. Wow, that almost sounds like Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:14, "For the body does not consist of one member, but of many." So we were many, but we were one at the same time. Working together, eating together, laughing together, and living together. and through it all God was at the center and in control. What an awesome God we serve, and what a privelege to serve Him.

To God be the glory!

-Bob

The Work Continues...

On thursday, half of our team continued their work on the Floyd's house.  While it seems to be slow at time, good progress continues to be made.  Driving around New Orleans, there is a real sense that the work to be done is overwhelming.  And though New Orleans will look much the same after we leave, we know that we have made a real difference in the life of one family.  The homeowner, Derrick Floyd, has a broken back and has purchased this home to help his parents.  Derrick has been so wonderful and gracious to our team - we have known him for just a few days, but we will remember him long after we are gone.  Please pray for the Floyd family and his neighborhood.  

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Prayer For the Children of New Orleans

For the most part, the public schools have failed them.  They are moving to Charter schools. 
We have been working at Arise Charter school of New Orleans.  A very appropriate name as they need a resurrection which only Christ can provide.
Our work consists of cataloging books, moving books, shelving, desks and organizing supplies.  This is work that the administrative staff would normally do,so with our help they will be able to focus on the job of educating the kids.
A staff member told us their school was the worst in New Orleans and New Orleans has the worst school system in the nation.  Many of these children are homeless.  The school is the only security they have and provide the only two meals they are assured of.
Last year 50% of the 3rd grade in the school failed the state test.  This year most of these kids passed through the hard work of the school staff.
Pray for the kids of New Orleans that the light of the gospel will reach them.
-Tony Burch
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Day 3

Today we continued scraping and priming the house, getting it ready for painting.  We have been making steady progress.  There is nothing like painting in 98 degree weather with a heat index of 110!

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Vic

 

The Floyd's provided lunch for us on the job site.  We had red beans and rice, cajun chicken, and smoked sausage.  As usual, Blake enjoyed his meal!

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Here is a picture of Fats Domino's house in the Lower 9th Ward...

I've got no time for talkin'

I've got no time for walkin'

New Orleans is my home

That's the reason I'm gone

Yes, I'm walkin' to New Orleans!

-Fats Domino in Walkin' to New Orleans

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After work, we toured the Lower 9th Ward.  It was remarkable how much work and rehab has gone on in the past 5+ years.  This is a picture of where the levee broke during Katrina.

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Here are a few pictures of some of the new houses in the 9th Ward

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STORY TIME WITH BOB

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For Dinner we drove to the North Shore of Lake Ponchartrain for dinner.  My grandmother was able to join us as we ate at Friend's on the Tchefuncta River.

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Day 2

We are settling down after a long day of working.  Our team split into 2 groups - one group worked at Arise Charter Academy, which is a school in the 9th Ward.  The group helped the staff move boxes and furniture and also helped organize curriculum for the fall.  Many of the students at the academy are from broken homes and some of them are homeless.  This school offers hope and opportunities in a bleak situation.

 

The other group worked for a local homeowner, Derrick Floyd,  who recently purchased a home in the 8th ward.  It is a duplex shotgun home and Derrick is planning on moving his parents into one half while he lives in the other.  The entire home had been gutted and it is nearing completion.  Our team is painting the exterior and we are also planning on finishing installing a wood floor.

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Here is a picture of Derrick, Eva (a Redeemer intern from London), and Ken (on staff with Redeemer)

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For dinner we ate WOW's which had all-you-can-eat hot wings.  Blake got his money's worth!

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Day 1

We left Indianapolis yesterday and it was in the mid 60's and we arrived in New Orleans around 9:30pm and it was in the mid 90's.  This morning it was HUMID and in the 90's by 6am!!  We worshipped at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on St. Charles Avenue, which is in a very beautiful part of New Orleans known as the Garden District, located on the trolley line.  It was a wonderful service led by a jazz piano player and the RUF Campus Minister from Tulane preached.  We were warmly welcomed by the congregation and they seemed genuinely glad to have teams come down to serve in their city.  It has been almost 6 years since Hurricane Katrina and as the city has slipped from the front pages, the number of Mission Teams that come down has also dwindled.  New Orleans is a very beautiful city, but the beauty is intermingled with much brokenness and despair. 

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After church we stopped by a Parkway Cafe for Po' Boy's and then is was off to the French Quarter to walk the river and enjoy some beignets at Cafe du Monde.

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We have already made some new friends here in New Orleans!

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I have owned a lot of camp/retreat/mission trip t-shirts over the years - most of them end up at Goodwill or as shirts for working in the yard, but Redeemer's has the coolest T-shirt ever - this one will be kept!!

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It has been a full day of worship, sightseeing and lots of good food.   Tomorrow we start work, right now the plan is to paint a family home and part of our group will be working at a local school.  Check back for more from New Orleans!