Day six was our last full day of work here in New Orleans.  Every morning while here the team has begun their days with devotions.  This morning's devotions took the team to 1 Corinthians 12 to once again consider Paul's Holy Spirit inspired metaphor for the church "the body."  We talked about God's intentional use of diversity.  What is true of the church at large is also true of our little group; ages, occupations, talents, hobbies are all different but sovereignly united for the noble evenly godly purpose of serving a "cup of cold water."  We have been priviledged to do that over and over again during the week that we have been down here.

Today held a few new twists and surprises on our typical workday.  The Blue Team headed off to the upper 9th Ward, which saw some fairly heavy flooding, to talk to a fellow named Art.  Art's house was apparently filled with "mud."  By mud, we're really discussing broken sewage lines that found a low spot in Art's living room.  No one was really excited about the project, but this is what we came for.  Fortunately, Art had recently received his FEMA check, and used a portion of it to contract out the cleaning work.  He was a notably optimistic guy given all he had seen and been through.  This always makes it more enjoyable for the work a team has to do, as the work is never very pleasant on its own. The Blue Team found ways to help Art with some other tasks, including emptying his attic and taking out one of his rogue trees.  A friendly reminder had been posted in the neighborhood and one of the guys took special note of it - "Loot & We'll Shoot."  At that point, the Blue Team decided to return Art's 52 inch plasma television.  Ha ha.

Afterwards, the Blue's Brothers felt they were being drawn to a down & out root beer stand and helped prop up the local economy with their purchase of a few frosty beverages.  This hit the spot nicely at the end of a week where we've had to do without some of the foods and drinks we enjoy so much at home.  They managed to grab some burgers at Frosty Top for lunch before heading into the afternoon workload.

The Red Team's day started with the return to a site we had scouted out a few days before near the famous Garden District of New Orleans.  One of the members of Fellowship Bible Church had a garage/shed that hadn't weathered the hurricane winds too well.  It was still very much intact, but leaning at a scary angle.  He claimed it had stood for 97 years.  One of our unneccesarily over-confident teamates (Andrew Hughes) claimed "It stood for 97 years and will fall in 97 minutes."  This cockiness wasn't well founded, as Andrew tends to hit himself with the sledgehammer more often than his target.  There seemed to be a lot of ideas about bringing the structure down, and no particular interest in more than one person pursuing any idea in particular.  Somehow in the ensuing chaos, the building just gave up, and everyone decided it was "their plan" that finished the job.  Mission accomplished.  Once down, there was a garbage collection crew in the area who used their awesome "Claw" machine to grab giant handfuls of the destroyed structure and load them in a dump truck. Down in the basement two of our crew who were sick of the unruly mob banging on the shed outside decided to tackle some drywall and plumbing removal.  Everything was going great until the shed monkeys finished their task and decided to "help" in the basement.  Nonetheless, all the tasks were accomplished, and no loss of life of limb took place.  For lunch, the homeowners graciously treated the team to a traditional New Orleans favorite, the Po' Boy sandwich.  This delicacy consists of French Bread and a variety of meat and vegetable options.  Chuck kicked it up a notch (Bam!) with his Po' Boy slathered in mayo and spicy cajun shrimp.  We weren't sure, but we doubted you could find such a thing at Panera.

For the afternoon, both teams found themselves at the house of the Associate Pastor of Fellowship Bible Church, Jon Kinchen.  Jon's been handling a lot of the logistical and organizational efforts for the many work crews affiliated with his church, and we felt it was time to work on his house a bit.  He had a downed tree and lots of wind damage which both teams tackled immediately using the new skills they've picked up this week. Bill was selected for some dangerous chainsaw work because he had lived and long and full life.  Several members of the team have been suffering from poison ivy which called for a stop at Walgreens for some Benedryl.  Justin decided to try "Greased Lightning" and now recommends that you do not try this at home.  For those of you not familiar with "Greased Lightning," it's a chemical typically used for cleaning things like shower tiles and rust deposits.  Pastor Traig would like to strongly remind folks that products mentioned in tonight's post are in no way recommended, supported, or endorsed by East White Oak, or any medical professional in North America.

One interesting story that came up from a unique source was from Chuck using his hand-held transceiver.  He had a conversation tonight with a resident of St. Bernard Parish who told his story about the flood.  Apparently the water rose so rapidly his brother only had enough time to get his elderly mother into the attic and was not able to return in time to save his elderly father from the flood waters.  During his conversation he mentioned to Chuck several times how very thankful he was for our being here and others like us.  It's difficult to accept gratitude from people who've lost so much when it feels like we're doing so little.

No matter how "typical" the days start to seem down here, we're constantly reminded of how utterly tragic the situation was just a few short weeks ago.  We see the evidence every day, but it's when you hear the stories that you really take it to heart.

Today we took a little break from our "regular job" and were given a tour of the harder hit areas of New Orleans.  This included places we'd hadn't heard of in the mainstream press, but who suffered from burst levees and serious flooding nonetheless.  The area was still under martial law, and there was a strong National Guard presence at various checkpoints in the area.  They questioned our need to be in the region, but a stern word from Chuck got them to back off.

Traig mentioned that up to this point in the trip he hadn't seen anything so far that seemed to match the disaster he witnessed on TV seven weeks ago.  Today we finally saw the things that made the storm so shocking.  Houses moved from their foundations, cars overturned and heaved into trees, and large boats and yachts had been tossed far inland by the floodwaters.  It's one thing to see these things while watching the news at night from your favorite chair, but we we're fairly stunned when seeing it in person.  Nearly every house bore the scar of the flood in the form of a line of rotted filth showing the high  water mark.  Doorways were covered with flourescent X marks and arcane codes indicating the number of corpses found and who found them.  No one said it out loud but everyone was hoping they wouldn't be the first to see a body count other than zero.  Our guide let us know they were still finding bodies in the same neighborhood, and the casualty count was still rising as people began to come back to the area to find out who had survived.  Many of the roofs had holes torn in them, with the debris being pushed outward.  People had clawed their way out from their attic to avoid the rising waters, and with any luck were picked up by a boat or helicopter.  A few guys pointed out how similar the situation felt to a third-world country; Armed personel on the streets, dusty mud covered buildings, and lots of immobilized cars.  We weren't just suprised by the devastation - we were a little frightened of the current reality.   Something we couldn't see but that overwhelmed us just as strongly was the stench.  We didn't know what created the odor, but it was stifling in the mid-day heat.  Both of our teams were able to make the trip, and tonight we're still affected by it.  It's apparent why the reception to our help this week has been so warm; the survivors we're helping know they are the lucky ones.

The rest of the Red Team's day was spent doing the tasks they've grown to love down here: tearing down drywall, pulling out wet insulation, and rolling up soaked carpets.  The Blue Team put down their chainsaws for the day and helped out another local couple needing some similar work.  Though it was only half a day, many people were still pretty worn out from the previous day.  The couple the Blue Team worked with mentioned something that stood out; apparently the couple, who was Catholic, was worried our team would hold the couple's Catholicism against them.  We used the opportunity to reach out and show them a Christ-like attitude.

Day Four:

The fourth day was a great day for the group.  Beginning again with the Blue Team, who was unfortunately not blessed with a lot of work to do because of the lack of needed materials, though they did manage to keep themselves busy.  Some roofing was on the books but once they arrived on the job they learned that the “small patch job” was nothing of the sort so they were unable to proceed with it today.  They headed back to Berean church where they cleared out a lot of blown over trees in the rear of the property and also helped a neighbor of the church with the loading of a moving truck with her salvageable belongings.  They plan on tackling the roof later in the week when the materials are available.

The Red Team on the other hand was very blessed with lots of back breaking work today.  They were deployed to the northwest side of town to assist a local contractor named Dennis and a very high-spirited lady named Sheila with her sister’s water-ravaged home.  This house was by far the worst we had seen yet with a water line up to six feet in the lowest parts of the house.  It is amazing to drive down the street block after block seeing the water line on the side of the houses and realizing that the van would have been almost completely submerged anywhere you went.  Sheila explained that the water sat for fourteen days causing everything to be completely destroyed until it was finally pumped out.  The work that we were given was to tear out the hardwood flooring that covered approximately 700 square feet of the house and then go to another house and do it again.  Four hours of bending over and prying at well secured wood flooring is enough to put a strain on any real man … so we did it for seven.  In fact, any thought of witty comments like those of yesterday’s log were probably evaporated around hour six of bending over and staring at moldy flooring.  Breaks were well sought out and a lot of stretching was done but even though the work was extremely difficult we were joined by a couple of extremely friendly and high-spirited people making us happy that we were able to help them do a job that would have taken them weeks to accomplish on their own.  Even though all we did was one small job in the grand project that they have in store it is astonishing that we continually experience relief in the voices and smiles on the faces of the people that we serve as we say our good-byes each day.

One non-work related note that seems appropriate to mention after today’s travels are the passionate people that we have met thus far.  We have been introduced to many Christians that are passionate about their beliefs this week and it is awesome to see that come through in their attitude toward the disaster that they have gone through.  Many people have been unreserved in their spontaneous sermons that emerged through our conversation.  Sometimes you might think things like “you are preaching to the choir” because we all attend a church with similar beliefs as they do but the fact that the people are not afraid to evangelize to anybody and everybody is twist on the party-town stereotype that New Orleans is commonly given.

After washing up back at base camp, the two teams had the wonderful opportunity thanks to the friendly nature of Justin, to dine at the home of Randel, Cindy, and their five daughters, Ashley (18), Rachael (16), Mariah (13), Taylor (11), and three year old Faith.  They also have a son, Randel Jr. (21), that is currently serving in the marines so we didn’t have the pleasure of meeting him tonight.  They were one of the most hospitable families you could ever imagine and cooked all eighteen of us a wonderful authentic New Orleans meal that included seafood gumbo, red beans and rice, corn bread, and peach cobbler for dessert.  Because of the size of the group half of us had a zealous conversation about topics that Randall and Cindy were quite passionate about while the other half were graciously entertained by the girls with great conversation, pet snakes, and the playful antics of the youngest daughter Faith.

Day three proved one of the most interesting yet.  We'll start with the Blue Team, who's time was filled with Birds of Paradise, Pitbulls, and Poison Ivy.  They spent the day at a nursery wind-torn by Katrina helping the owners Skeeter and Beth.  Mind you Skeeter's real name was Dale, but since Dale's father was named Dale, and Dale's father's father was named Dale, it seemed appropriate to go with the more formal "Skeeter."

The nursery had trees from neighboring properties laying across its fences.  The Blue Team's task was to clean up the downed trees and clear the fences.  Midway into the adventure some unlucky soul found out one of the trees was covered in poison ivy.  Regardless, our heros still had a job to do.  The only feasible way to cut the tree required someone (Dave Garrison) clambering up the tree, monkey-like, while carrying a chainsaw.  At the the top, he began retreating and cutting off sections every few feet.  Photos were taken, and the tree was felled, to the applause of many.  At least that's what Dave claims.

Pit bulls weren't something they were told to prepare for leading up to this trip.  Nonetheless, man's best friend had other things in mind for our intrepid Blue Team members.  As they progressed around the perimeter of the nursery, they found themselves in several neighboring yards.  One of them had a fine collection of pit bulls on chains - really long chains.  The loud equipment our team was using didn't phase the dogs in the slightest, and one of them headed for Dennis Mitchell at full speed.  Fortunately the chain went taut in time, and the dog learned a valuable lesson in physics and metallurgy.

The afternoon was spent cutting some of the nursery owner's downed trees, one of which proved a tough job even for the team's 36" chainsaw.  Afterwards the team was rewarded with the opportunity to pick any plant they wanted from the healthy remaining stock.  Bill Barnhart was almost giddy with his choice of a Bird of Paradise.  Scott While decided to get a somewhat rare Japanese Maple, which will be a lovely addition to his yard, until he cuts it down.

The Red Team deployed in two groups to tackle multiple residences at once.  They arrived ready to tear down walls and eliminate mold.  Half of the team spent a long day cutting the bottom four feet of drywall off of every interior wall of a three bedroom house.  When they pulled down sections of sheetrock they were greeted by some impressively sized cockroaches.  The team claims the insects were the size of pit bulls - or possibly a Japanese Maple.  The work was dusty and the insulation was still wet from the floodwaters.  The mold and the insect feces combined to form a pretty daunting mess, but the cleanup work wouldn't have been touched for weeks had the owner waited for an "official" cleanup team.  The team's arrival and help was well received, and the enormous pile of debris on the curb at the day's end attested to the hard work done.  It was a humbling and rewarding task for all the folks involved.

The second half of the Red Team tackled the ceiling, walls, and carpets in the rooms of the home of another church member.  The flood didn't reach their house, but a tree in their yard was uprooted, damaging the house and allowing rainwater to seep in.  The work didn't call for a lot of intricate planning, but anyone who didn't have a mask or goggles was in for trouble.  The ceiling was insulated with a blown-in variety of material, which tended to come down like an avalanche when the ceiling was torn away.  The insulation fell like a gentle snow on the two team members.  Pink, suffocating, extremely itchy snow that found its way into every bodily crevice imaginable.  Within seconds fantasies of a shower and a change of clothes became a topic of conversation.  As with the other homes, the efforts and work were extremely welcome.  People are ready to rebuild and move forward, and the team hasn't heard people complaining about their situation.  There is a lot of optimism down here.

Dinner was...memorable.

Sunday in New Orleans began with a trip across town for the Red Team.  The worship service at Fellowship Bible Church began at 10 AM and by the time we arrived the sanctuary was full.  The five of us had to split up just to find seats.  It was a good morning worshipping among those who have suffered so much over the last few weeks.  Songs that we sing without thinking were sung by them with deep sincerity “You give and take away.  You give and take away.  My heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be your name.”  Senior Pastor Bill Gebhardt preached from Psalm 40 encouraging the congregation to not let their circumstances steal their passion for Christ.  He illustrated by saying, “Katrina has left me not quite as passionate about hobbies or the Steelers (laughter) - and that’s alright - but we can’t let the storm steal our passion for Christ.”  After church we got to work tearing out moldy drywall in the church offices housed in a separate building.  Even seven weeks after the storm much of what we were tearing off was still very wet.  When we were done three of us went to work on several moldy walls in the church building and two of us went with Associate Pastor Jon Kinchen to a home where they removed furniture.  Several of our team members were certain the plasma TV hanging on the wall probably would soon be moldy and could be easily repaired by moving it to an Illinois climate.  The home owner was not convinced.

The Blue Team stayed at our host - Berean Bible Church - for their 10:30 worship service.  Senior Pastor Brad Davis preached a message about the goodness of God.  He explained that God was good before Katrina and God is good today.  In the sermon’s Scripture text, Mark 10:17, 18, Jesus suggests that God is uniquely good.  After church our team of chainsaw owner/operators went to a neighbor of the church, a Hatian family that actually doesn’t attend Berean.  Two huge trees had fallen in their backyard and needed to be sawed into pieces and carried to the street to taken away by FEMA.  This was followed by a trip to Ben and Donna’s home, members of Berean, to cut down multiple trees that had been blown over in the storm.  Their roof had also been damaged and rain had ruined their ceiling in an upstairs bedroom.  It had to be brought down and hauled out to the roadside.  One of the impressions that you are so powerfully left with after traveling around the city is the widespread damage of the storm.  Street after street is lined sometimes six feet high with personal belongs and building materials destroyed by water, mold, or both.

The day ended back at Berean Bible Church with showers and dinner.   Hamburgers and polish sausages were grilled to perfection by our resident Grill Master Larry “Flames” Sieben.

The trip proceeded on time leaving Friday, October 14 at 7:00 Pm with one less participant than we anticipated.  Fourteen hours, one bag of beef jerky, and two missed opportunities at a breakfast at Cracker Barrel and we arrived in New Orleans at 9:00 AM on Saturday, October 15.  Pastor Brad Davis, Berean Bible Church, met us in the parking lot, and a brief tour of the church facility followed.  There is another work team here from Ohio.  The gymnasium is filled with donated items including food, water, clothing, and diapers.  We got settled in and enjoyed a late breakfast of cereal and breakfast bars.  We each packed a lunch then half of us stayed and the other half journeyed across town to Fellowship Bible Church.  Associate Pastor Jon Kinchen met us there and took us to the gutted church offices and introduced us to Senior Pastor, Bill Gebhardt.  We were able to clear a neighbor’s driveway of all kinds of debris.  Debris is a word you will probably read frequently through the week.  Then we set out for Bruce’s home, a three bedroom ranch with water damage.  Before we were able to tear off our first piece of moldy drywall Nola showed up with our lunch a heaping helping of authentic homemade jambalaya.  The next four hours were spent making a lot of dust.  The other half of the team met Bobbi at her home to help move out all the family’s belongings into a rental van.  Her home had been filled with seven feet of water resulting in mold-covered walls and ceilings.  Their second project was the removal of moldy walls and ceilings from another home where the roof had been damaged and rain had poured in.  Everyone looked forward to a hot shower and Italian beef made by our resident chef Dave Garrison.