Celebrate '06!
It was a trip of two parts. One was the city. It was amazing to stay on the edge of the French Quarter and walk down to Bourbon St at night. That area of the city is alive and thriving. One day though, we took a bus tour through the city. We saw the destruction from Katrina and the spraypaint still left on the walls of houses counting the dead found inside. When we thought we had seen the worst, we entered the 9th Ward and saw true destruction. Some people talk about the "rebuilding" of New Orleans, but there is really no rebuilding being done in the 9th Ward. It has all been left just sitting there for over a year. Some of the houses have been stripped on their contents, some have had the walls gutted, but there is no sign of life. For blocks at a time you don't even see a trailer. The people are still waiting for a sign that their country cares about them.
One of the things that I heard most was people thanking us for coming. It was a clear message that they didn't need our pity, the just needed us to be there and take their stories back home. They want people to know that the struggle is not over. The first night we heard from the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, and we heard the pain and struggle through sound. The next night it was the Sounds of Praise choir, with personal narratives between the songs. Another night we had a procession through the French Quarter, bringing life back to the streets with the help of the LSU Marching Band. It was all so amazing.
We spent a day stripping the drywall off the walls of a house. After having being left for a year, the walls were covered with mold. The house was on a lake, and the waterline was about 6' high. We took everything out of the house and threw it onto the giant trash pile out front. We truly experienced the city, and became a part of it's pain and recovery. There was renewal and justice.
The second part of the time in New Orleans was the conference itself and the people there. I had the awesome opportunity to meet the rest of the STEP team and spend time with them, and they are wonderful people. We had so much fun. Getting to know each other. It's always great to meet people who can combine friendships and passions into one experience. I love those people and I love their passion for the ministry and mission of STEP. And I'm SO EXCITED to see them at the spring meeting!! And I'm going to Hawaii to live with Danica. There are also plans in the work to pull out some of them Southern Belles to spend some quality Nor Cal time avec moi. It's settled.
There were also all the Nor Cal people, and it was good to connect with them and introduce them to the national setting of the church. I hope that they will come to Synod and bring that excitement to the other young adults. There are also more people interested in Zimbabwe, which is great.
Overall, it was a great trip. I think it'd be so easy to go to New Orleans for a couple of weeks and just volunteer. It's not really hard work. It doesn't take a genius to demolish walls.
One of the things that I heard most was people thanking us for coming. It was a clear message that they didn't need our pity, the just needed us to be there and take their stories back home. They want people to know that the struggle is not over. The first night we heard from the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, and we heard the pain and struggle through sound. The next night it was the Sounds of Praise choir, with personal narratives between the songs. Another night we had a procession through the French Quarter, bringing life back to the streets with the help of the LSU Marching Band. It was all so amazing.
We spent a day stripping the drywall off the walls of a house. After having being left for a year, the walls were covered with mold. The house was on a lake, and the waterline was about 6' high. We took everything out of the house and threw it onto the giant trash pile out front. We truly experienced the city, and became a part of it's pain and recovery. There was renewal and justice.
The second part of the time in New Orleans was the conference itself and the people there. I had the awesome opportunity to meet the rest of the STEP team and spend time with them, and they are wonderful people. We had so much fun. Getting to know each other. It's always great to meet people who can combine friendships and passions into one experience. I love those people and I love their passion for the ministry and mission of STEP. And I'm SO EXCITED to see them at the spring meeting!! And I'm going to Hawaii to live with Danica. There are also plans in the work to pull out some of them Southern Belles to spend some quality Nor Cal time avec moi. It's settled.
There were also all the Nor Cal people, and it was good to connect with them and introduce them to the national setting of the church. I hope that they will come to Synod and bring that excitement to the other young adults. There are also more people interested in Zimbabwe, which is great.
Overall, it was a great trip. I think it'd be so easy to go to New Orleans for a couple of weeks and just volunteer. It's not really hard work. It doesn't take a genius to demolish walls.