Today is our last day, and we have three sites to finish up and another three to do some minor repairs to.  One house will be a lot more livable and colourful.
We took the afternoon off yesterday, got some rest and caught some culture.  Some took a buggy ride around town to learn more about NOLA, others drove down the Mississippi for a look at the bayou and the destruction from Hurricane Isaac.  A couple kept working ;)

Yesterday we worked at Christian Unity Baptist Church installing some drywall and ceiling tiles.  Finicky work but the team there was up to it.  The other half was at Rousselin continuing to fix the exterior.  A cool but dry day went fast.  We also checked out some other places that are hoping for help.  Some are heartbreakingly bad, rotting floors with no repairs since Katrina in 2005.  Others are fairly simple but if your son is in a wheelchair they seem bigger.  We'll get to what we can before we leave.  Once again we were impressed with the number of folk from all over the world who continue to come here and help one family at a time.  We've been invited to see some of the destruction that Isaac did in the area SE of here.  I think we'd like to have a look, although apparently there are some pockets that suffered their own mini-Katrina last summer.

Most of us woke up this morning relieved at the outcome of the election, although Louisiana is a "Republican" state most folks around here were worried Obama wouldn't get elected again.

1526 Rousselin Drive was surrounded today.  Lois' home was not adequately repaired after Katrina and Isaac took the house apart some more.  Weatherboard (wood composite siding) needed to be replaced here and there and there and there and there and . . .  and the whole place needs painting.  Old rotted boards and termite-destroyed studs were removed and will be replaced by tomorrow, along with some painting that we hope to finish on Wednesday if the weather co operates.  Fuschia and teal.  Or teal and fuschia.  We'll show you pics once Lois decides.
She lost her brother recently and her job contract ends Friday.  14 people worked today to put a little bit of her life back together.  And they worked together brilliantly.  They all also had a chance to have their first po boy sandwich for lunch created at a local bodega.

pictures tomorrow.

Although it is pouring outside, we are all feeling much better inside. We attended another inspiring 2 hour service at Christian Unity Baptist Church this morning. During the service, Cam made some remarks to the congregation and invited anyone with building concerns to see me after the service. We now have 8 jobs lined up for members of the congregation, an invitation to continue some renovations at Christian Unity - painting, drywall etc. and an opportunity to head out to Southwest Louisiana to help out there. The people in New Orleans are still struggling with insurance issues, unable to pay the $2000 to $4000 deductibles. Christian Unity is growing in numbers as well as close to 30 young kids in church this morning. That was great to see. The parishes in SW Louisiana were recovering from Issac but know that Sandy has hit the NE, FEMA has pulled all there people and resources from La and are now in place in NJ and NY. Amazing how things work in this day and age (which hasn't changed in hundreds of years).

Today has been a day which many of us needed and now we are ready to get to work early tomorrow morning.

 

-Lyle Jillard

It's Saturday November 3 and it's 5 pm CDT.
Most of us traveled yesterday from Ontario to NOLA, flying out of Detroit.  It took all of 3 minutes to cross the border and we arrived at the airport in plenty of time.  Most of us.  Thelma and Louise went the night before and arrived at the gate just as the flight was boarding.  We weren't worried.  Before we leave the subject of Thelma and Louise they just made it back to the hotel this morning to get the bus to lunch at The Joint (always smokin') BBQ.  They turned back toward the Mississippi on their way back to the hotel from the French Quarter.  They are now carrying tracking devices and we won't let them near a convertible.  But they weren't the only ones to get lost.  One of our gawkers got lost on Bourbon Street on the way to supper last night.  We found him.  Eventually.

Today we visited the Daycare that the folks from Aylmer Baptist have been working on for the last 5 years.  It was in worse shape even than last February when we checked it out in order to plan for this trip.  We don't know if we're going to be able to work there this week at all.  It was a tough day for those of us who have had it on our minds for a long time.  Unfortunately there's lots of work left to do.  Hurricane Isaac did plenty of damage in a couple of poorer parishes and we have invitations to help.  It will be a busy week.

We stood in the Daycare and had a couple of minutes of silent prayer.  Thanks to y'all for standing with us this week.

It's been five years

Since our first visit to post-Katrina New Orleans.  Recently I went back to find out if there is more work for us to do, especially to the Lizardi Day Care Center.  Here are some of my impressions, and some pictures.  Some will make you happy, others . . .

Things look better and don’t.

The house pictured on the church laptop has been rebuilt, now it has roosters.

Pride and determination have produced results, more is open in the Central Business District, including the Roosevelt Hotel.

The bridges we watched them piledriving concrete for over Lake Pontchartrain are now the bridges you use to cross it on I-10.

There is a new Seniors Apartment in the Lower Ninth.

The staff at cafe du monde are as sullen as ever

Vera is complaining about her neighbours, but loves her house still.

Miss June is as determined as ever, and still gives thanks for us every day.

The daycare is intact and will need cleaning and painting

The electricity connection to the building is painfully bad.

There are more Brad Pitt homes and there are posters and regular bus service in L9

The daycare could become a temporary home for a church and a seniors drop in center.  We are working with the L9th Community Association to figure out if it's feasible, including the Rev. W. H. Jenneford, who has a church meeting in an old garage and is raising funds to replace their building.  His grandfather started the church and he and his son and now his grandson have been pastors.

There is still work to do there and in the neighbourhood

The school we walked through on the first trip is gone, torn down.

There are folks living in all the houses we worked on in L9 including Caffin Avenue!

Brenda and James are doing well, the living room of their house is a shrine for the Saints.

"The Joint" BBQ has moved!