The St. Bernard Project, etc.

The blog is finally back! My apologies for the super long time between posts, but I've been busy and just have not found myself inspired to write, but here goes nothing. After two weeks of training to understand both why and how we do what we do with the St. Bernard Project, I am now in my second week as a site supervisor, leading groups of volunteers in rebuilding the interior of Katrina-damaged homes. It may seem ridiculous that 5 years after the hurricane, there are still people not back in their homes. It is. And it is not just a few. The St. Bernard Project has rebuilt 315 homes in the Saint Bernard Parish, is currently working on almost 50 more, and still has almost 2o0 families on the waiting list, awaiting funds from grant money or private donations as well as volunteer groups to help with the work. If you are looking for a mission trip, consider the St. Bernard Project. The house that I have spent the last two weeks working on belongs to Mr. Leroy Jarvis. Leroy didn't plan on leaving during Hurricane Katrina, but one day one of his friends came to his house, packed up all his stuff, and told him that they were leaving, which probably saved his life. His home was destroyed down to the foundation. After living with friends in Texas, Leroy received a call informing him that there was a FEMA trailer waiting for him. Upon arriving back in New Orleans, he found that there was no such trailer. Luckily, friends took Leroy in while he was able to get some money together and purchase the trailer that we are currently working on making into his new home. Leroy is one of a ton of people who have had several setbacks since the storm that were largely out of their own control. Since we arrived here, we have seen 5 Welcome Home Parties, with families moving back into their finished homes. There is nothing more rewarding. It makes the long days and weeks of hanging drywall, mudding, sanding, priming, painting, flooring, etc. well worth it. And I am developing some pretty great life skills that may come in handy should I ever decide to purchase a fixer upper. Now for the bullet points of the really interesting information:

• I am getting ripped. Maybe not, but I have really begun to enjoy the physical training and am definitely improving my physical fitness level.
• I saw a girl get arrested on Bourbon Street for running underneath the horse of a mounted policeman. Probably my favorite non-work-related incident so far.
• You can check "ride a mechanical bull" and "eat alligator" off my bucket list. My bull riding performance was decent at best. The alligator was delicious.
• For the opening day of the NFL season (Saints game), NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Hall of Famers Tim Brown, Thurman Thomas, and Marcus Allen worked with SBP. They actually worked on the same house that I had been working on for the majority of the week. Together, we welcomed a family home and at part of a 50 foot po boy.
• It has recently come to my attention that the Alanis Morissette song "You Oughta Know" was written about Dave Coullier aka "Uncle Joey." This only makes me love the song even more.
• My awesome sister sent me a collection of notes from my Auburn Presbyterian Student Fellowship crew yesterday. It reminded me how lucky I was and am to have such a great group of friends and to have been surrounded by such funny people. It was a great mixture of laughter and sentiment from some of the people that were with me through my most formative years.
• Louisiana seafood is safe to eat. If it makes it to your grocery store, it has been through so many tests that you can guarantee it will be fine. I have had plenty of seafood in the form of gumbo, jambalaya, shrimp and grits, etc. and can guarantee that it is fine and tastes delicious when properly prepared.
• We have 2 1/2 weeks left in Chalmette/New Orleans. We should find out where our next project will be in a few days. On October 15th, we head back to Vicksburg for 10 days of transition.
• War Damn Eagle, 4-0 and #10. I have gotten to see most, if not all, of each game and though a decent amount of luck has been involved, all the pieces are there for this to be a really good team.
• I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean. Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens. I hope you take the time to give faith a fighting chance. And if you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.

Disaster Assignment and First Project

When last week began, our plan was to have our project clearance meeting Monday, have our induction ceremony Tuesday, and leave for Chalmette, Louisiana for our first project on Wednesday. *Disclaimer- we were told repeatedly in our interviews that flexibility was a key attribute necessary for being in NCCC. Monday afternoon, ten minutes before our clearance meeting, we found out that we would instead be leaving right after induction on Tuesday to head to New Orleans on a disaster project. So instead of having two nights to pack, prepare, and say our goodbyes, we had less than 24 hours. So we washed our van, grabbed our tools, put on our big boy/girl panties and got to work packing the next six weeks of our lives into one red bag about the size of a backpacking pack and one backpack. Needless to say, stress was running somewhat strong for the team as we attempted to complete a tri-fold poster for induction, clean our rooms and kitchen, and prepare to leave for a disaster project we knew almost nothing about. So Tuesday morning we sat down with the big whigs of Vicksburg and the National Service family, got inducted, and headed out for Lefitte, Louisiana. Wednesday morning, we unloaded a truck full of food, water, and toiletries donated by Peyton and Eli Manning. In total, we unloaded 800 boxes and 286 cases of water and distributed them to families affected by the oil spill. Lafitte is primarily a fishing town, so many of its residents have been severely affected by the spill, both directly and indirectly. We watched as families of all ethnicities and social classes came to gratefully receive food and supplies to help aid them through their tough times. Many of the fisherman are finally returning to work, but the 3 plus months without significant income has put them severely behind. At the end of the day, all of the boxes and water were distributed and we headed out for our new housing in Chalmette, Louisiana, about 15 minutes from New Orleans. We have since begun training with the St. Bernard Project to be site supervisors in the rebuilding of housing interiors destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. I will go into further detail on the St. Bernard Project and our training as time goes on. Now, to the bullet points.

• The drive to New Orleans over the water is absolutely amazing. Quite similar to what I saw driving to Key West a few months ago, though the water is not as clear. The sight of being completely surround by water with the exception of the bridge you are traveling on is breathtaking.
• Bourbon Street is absolutely nuts. I have never seen a crazier place in my life.
• I haven't yet had a beignet, but will hopefully change that by the end of the week.
• The team that was here before us left our house absolutely trashed. The last thing we wanted to do after 7 hours working in the sun was spend 3 hours cleaning up another team's mess. Oh well, we did it and the house is actually really nice now.
• The neighbors here are really friendly. As we were doing some yard work yesterday, one guy came over and edged the lawn for us, and another brought us a big broom to sweep away all the grass. We were told about the extreme sense of community here that existed even before the storm, and it has been very evident in just the first couple days.
• I'm not feeling very profound today, so I will be back with more when I feel something interesting coming on.
• War Damn Eagle! Cam Newton is a beast.