Glorious Weather for Day One

Choose your Car!

Blew into New Orleans this afternoon and haven't slowed down yet! 

The sign at the Alamo Car Rental said, "Choose your Car!" so Jean and Colleen decided on the red convertible.  Rick wanted the Dodge Challenger, but we ended up with a couple of vans.

Charlie unloads the car top carrier full of sleeping gear

We had a bit of a delay leaving the Syracuse airport due to a computer sensor but we arrived in Cincinnati in time for our flight to New Orleans.  We arrived at the Olive Tree Village east of New Orleans about 5:30 and were met by the folks who had driven down.  Their only glitch was running out of gas - conveniently right by a gas station - but unfortunately for the Good Samaritan who stopped to help push the car, it was on a hill so he really got a work out.  We unloaded the car top carrier and stowed our sleeping gear in time for dinner at the Village - burgers and hot dogs cooked on the grill. 

Following the meal, the Village Managers gave a brief orientation and we learned our work assignments and chores for the week.  We're getting ready to head for bed, knowing that breakfast comes early tomorrow.  We expect to have an orientation to Project Homecoming about the work done to help families rebuild their lives and their homes from Hurricane Katrina.

Out of Chaos, Hope

We gathered last weekend for an orientation with the group heading to New Orleans March 20 - 26, 2011.  There will be 10 of us flying south, and 5 driving.  Those driving will carry sleeping gear - right now it's piled in our front living room like a sleeping bag display at a sporting goods store.  There are family connections - two father-daughter pairs, a couple sisters in law, and a pair of sisters.  Some friendships have been cemented by working side by side on past trips. We range in age from 17 to 65.  Our hometowns are scattered around central New York.  All are united by a calling from God to go to the Gulf Coast and serve God's people.

During introductions, we reflected on Presbyterian Disaster Assistance's slogan, Out of Chaos, Hope.  The group, some newbies and some repeaters, shared thoughts on times in their lives when it was chaotic, and when they found hope.  Topics shared ranged from home remodeling projects completed, to job loss, and to serious legal issues, now resolved, for a family member. We all try to imagine the sense of chaos in the lives of those we'll help - being uprooted from home for more than 5 years since Hurricane Katrina. We wonder how we can come alongside and be of service, aware that rebuilding the house may not be as important as helping the people rebuild their lives. 

"Can you imagine me in a hurricane?" I've asked my husband.  Smiling, we agree it would not be pleasant - I  like planning and order as evidenced by my "What to Pack and How to Pack it" demonstration for the team.  All I need to add is clean underwear and my devotional book and my luggage is ready - neatly rolled into Ziplock bags.  Our trips to the Gulf Coast have made me a little more flexible, but not yet ready for my own  hurricane, I don't think!

As needs change in the New Orleans area, PDA's intensive involvment with the recovery is winding down.  Project Homecoming, a ministry of the Presbytery of South Louisiana, will operate the Olive Tree volunteer village where we will stay.  A former church and preschool complex, it's a far cry from the pup tents pitched on a baseball field that housed the first Southern Comfort team in the fall of 2005, or the corrugated plastic huts and dining tents that were the feature of the trips through 2009.  It will be our home base for a week later this month - our place of refuge as we help bring hope out of chaos for sisters and brothers in New Orleans.