Louisiana 4 - August 19-25, 2007

Louisiana 4 - Friday

2007-08-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

As soon as we got to Ferry Place this morning, some of the crew walked down to the railroad tracks with coins in hand. They carefully laid them out on the tracks in wait for the next train.

Meanwhile back at the house, the first wall was going up. Wow!

After we learned the procedure for putting up the walls.

1. Lay bead of adhesive to the floor half way between the edge of the floor platform and the chalk line.

2. Move wall into position.

3. Line up inside of wall with the chalk line and nail bottom plate to the floor with one galvanized nail on each side of each stud (except in door openings).

4. Plumb the wall and attach braces to keep wall in square.

The platform became a bee hive of activity. Walls were going up everywhere you turned.

The Trinity Episcopal lunch truck arrived at about 11 a.m. and we ate lunch in the shade of the next door porch.

We also had to make a run back to the train tracks when we heard the whistle blow to pick up our flatened coins.

As we finished eating the reality that we only had two hours of work left and knowing that we were hot, tired and dragging, we circled up – hands in the middle – to charge us up for the final push.

It worked. By the end of the day all of the exterior and interior walls were completed. What an amazing sense of accomplishment. And to think that just four days ago, we eleven knew next to NOTHING about building a house. Now – just let us know where you want a new wall and we’ll build it for you! We’d also be glad to explain what a “King and Jack” is.

As the work of our work week ended, both groups gathered within the walls and circled up. We gave thanks to God for the gift of this week to us, for Billy and Seth from Habitat and Sarah from Rhino, and we asked God to bless the house and the family for whom this house will become home.

After a quick shower it was down to the Quarter for a couple of hours walking taking in the sites.

Then, like the groups before us, we had dinner at the Gumbo Shop and beignets at Café DuMonde (with the same waiter we had in April).

And now a word from Richie . . .

I came here not really knowing what to expect, and I am now leaving with the satisfaction of knowing that I had made a difference in these peoples lives. When I arrived at the church I didn’t know that many people. Throughout this trip I feel as if I made a special bond with each person here.

We started off the final day with another 6 o’clock morning. This is a hard thing to do considering all of the snoring that occurred in our room. We arrived at Ferry Place at 7 o’clock in the morning. We all started hydrating expecting another hot and humid day. The walls we were working on were now being put up and the house was looking great. After working all morning on the exterior walls we began putting in the interior walls, and by the end of the day we finished all of the walls. Meanwhile on the other house the other group was working on the floors. Towards the end of the day everyone had a greater appreciation about all we accomplished on both of the houses. All of us learned a lot about ourselves throughout this trip especially me.

After we put in our last interior wall David led us off with a prayer. I was touched by this prayer and wasn’t sure if I wanted to leave anymore. Later that day we went out for a great dinner at the Gumbo Shop and walked around Bourbon Street. I met this man on Riverwalk across from Jackson Square with a set of drum sticks in his hand. I ran up to him and grabbed the extra set of drum sticks and we played a beat together. When we finished he led us to a inspirational prayer and this was when I knew how much of a difference we are making in these peoples lives.

Now we are going to play an intense game of monopoly. Here we are done with our trip and what a difference it has made on me as a person. Each piece of wood that went up into these houses is a part of us and just as the house bonded together so did we.

-- Richie Davey

What an incredible week is has been. As Richie said, we're bonded together - one to another and all to a house.

Louisiana 4 - Thursday

2007-08-24T03:43:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay in getting today’s blog posted but a family from church invited both the Dayton group and us out to dinner. We wended our way down Tchoupitoulas Street to the Hilton Hotel – the home of Drago’s restaurant – famous throughout New Orleans for it’s Char Broiled Oysters. The food was fine, fine, fine – but we got home too late for us to run to Starbuck’s for the wifi connection.

Today was an incredibly productive day. We managed to complete all the first floor wall assemblies for the first house and the vast majority of the flooring platform for the back half of the second house.

One of our Habitat supervisors couldn’t be with us today and so Steve Hart donned his contractor’s persona and we didn’t miss a beat. Billy better get back tomorrow or Habitat may be kidnapping Steve.

David had a momentary flash of genius last night. Yes, hard to believe but true. And so as soon as Frankie’s and Johnny’s opened at 11 a.m., we were on the phone ordering Po’ Boys. It is alleged that it is the bread that makes or breaks a Po’ Boy sandwich. Another New Orleans masterpiece. As the picture below shows, Sarah (the Rhino coordinator) likes them too. In fact she’d rather chomp into hers than hold it up for a photo op.

Again today, the heat index topped 100. In order to be more consistent with water/shade breaks during the work day, David purchased a Harpo Marxesque horn that he keeps close at hand and which sounds every hour. The generator is turned off and mandatory 10 minute break is declared.

Today we went through 6 five gallon coolers of water.

A wonderful thing about tomorrow is that the anticipation of seeing walls go up easily counteracts our cumulative exhaustion of the week.

And now a word from Michael and Geralyn. . .

Greetings from New Orleans! Today started off strong; we had a fabulous breakfast of Lucky Charms and fruit. Every day we’ve been reading inspirational short stories called “Morning Watch” before starting construction; little nuggets of wisdom to remind us how to be good Christians (Today’s title was the Golden Eagle- TBD later). We arrived at the construction site and we were informed that one of the Habitat leaders would not be there today so we took direction on completing the interior walls and exterior walls from Steve (good thing he had his Lucky Charms as well).

We started the day off working on the last interior wall and by the end of the day we nearly finished working on the exterior walls. We had Po’ Boys for lunch; they’re the best sandwiches we’ve ever had, although that’s a serious understatement in itself. We’ve had some great food down in New Orleans and we simply can’t thank the chefs enough for providing us with fabulous Southern dishes.

Since we hadn’t discussed the Morning Watch in the morning, we decided to debate about it in the car on the way back to the house (which, by the way, is very, very comfortable). The story was about an eagle that grew up as a chicken. Thinking it was a chicken, the eagle looked up to the skies and saw an eagle flying. Another chicken told the eagle-turned-chicken that eagles belong to the sky and chickens belong to the earth. So the eagle lived and died as a chicken, because he thought he was a chicken. We had quite a heated discussion over the point of the story, as well as whether eagles are better than chickens. Tonight a family from our hosting church is taking us to Drago’s, a restaurant that reopened in New Orleans. The restaurant is known for its exquisite char-broiled oysters which we all look forward to eating. Afterwards we look forward to playing another intense game of Monopoly which we’ve played every night since we arrived.

We anticipate completing the first-floor framework on Friday. It’s really too bad Friday’s our last day for a number of reasons. We’ll miss the people we’ve met and the new friends we’ve made. We have completed a great amount of work on both houses, but we would love to have had the chance to finish both. Working on construction in New Orleans has been a beneficial experience in body, mind and soul. We hope you enjoy today’s pictures.

-- Michael & Geralyn

For all you folks who are jealous readying our blog – be the first on your block to sign up for Louisiana 5 – November 10-17.

Thank you for your prayer support. It has kept us strong.

Louisiana 4 - Wednesday

2007-08-22T18:07:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Ferry Place at a little after seven this morning and got to work unloading the equipment trailers and setting up our work areas. We are working on two houses which are next door to each other. At the first one the first assignment was to fabricate the window and door systems. At the second house they were at work installing the floor joists.

Meanwhile the cutting shop was in full force.

The day was quite productive, but it was all “on the ground” so to speak, getting all the different components ready for the “raising.” If all goes well tomorrow should produce some dramatic visual changes. Let’s hope so!

For the third day in a row Trinity Episcopal Church supplied our lunches. They have been providing lunches to volunteer groups five days a week since October 2005. Normally they serve Rhino groups once during their stay, but luckily for us, their scheduled groups have canceled and we are the beneficiaries. As you can see, Richhie likes the idea!

Here's a window "in process" and "finished."

At the end of the day, as clean up time came, the Cowboy Preacher with his super squirter showed up to cool things down!

Dinner tonight was jambalaya. And it was delicious.

Now a word from Emily. . .

After returning last night from dinner we took a group trip to Walmart to pick up all of the things that we had left behind. We rushed home and started an extremely crazy game of monopoly on our brand new Disney and Pixar monopoly board that we bought at Walmart. Tired from a long day’s work, most of us headed to bed pretty early.

This morning upon another 5:30 wake up call, we got our things together and headed back to the worksite for our second day with Habitat for Humanity. On the first house we continued to cut and fit wood to specific dimensions and even began building the walls of the house. On the other house, we began putting up joists in preparation for fitting the floor boards. All in all, it was a very intense day with the heat and the increase in work load, however, actually seeing the production of all our labor provided all the more satisfaction.

As for now, we’ll probably play another game of monopoly.

-- Emily Anderson

And a sidebar from David . . .

Let me tell you that this team is an absolute blessing! The kids are working like demons. They take care of each other. They are representing you exceedingly well and carrying on FPC Stamford’s reputation down here. AND they are a delight to be with. The laughter is almost non-stop.

Pray hard that we will be able to keep the energy going. It is dang hot!

Louisiana 4 - Tuesday

2007-08-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

5:30 a.m. did arrive early! We were off to the work site by 6:50. Ferry Place is just a few blocks from the Mississippi in the very south west corner of New Orleans proper. Of the seven initial homes to be built, two have the foundations and cement block pilings complete. The cement block raises the first floor about five feet off the ground. One of the houses has the flooring system in place. The other is just about ready for that step. After orientation,

our first mission of the morning was to carry the tools and lumber we needed from the storage trailer which is on the other end of the street – probably 3 to 4 hundred yards.

We were then divided into different groups, each with its own assignments. Like first floor “components” – which meant cutting and fabricating window and door framing. Then everything ground to a halt when the generator shut down and refused to be coaxed back to life. Nothing worked and they were actually talking about sending us home because there would be no way to keep us occupied. But most fortuitously, David Martinez came to the rescue. He removed the spark plug, cleaned the gap, reinstalled it and accepted the accolades as the engine roared into action.

Soon saws were whirring and hammers pounding. It’s exciting to be joining the rebuilding phase of post-Katrina New Orleans. The two Habitat supervisors are great. They break everything down into manageable pieces, teach us what we need to know to accomplish the task and then set us loose.

It was brutal hot today. Thank goodness there is an empty house next to our houses that has a front porch to provide shade. But other than that porch shade is none existent. We made a trip to Walmart this evening and hats were on high on the shopping list.

We went through 4 five gallon coolers of water today. (We bought two more tonight.)

Sarah told us about a “Snowball” shop not too far from where we were working and so we took a detour on the way home. The hardest part was deciding among the numerous flavor choices for our snow cones. When the owner found out that we were down working for the week, she would only take $1 per snowball. (And she let David into the back so he could take pictures of the machine.)

And now a word from Chris. . .

Hey mom, tuesday morning was really grand, since we got up bright and early after an intense monopoly game. Yawning and chowing down on various breakfast items, we readied ourselves for the rough day ahead. We were put to work on the houses that we’ll be building for the rest of the week, building the framing for the floors on foundations of one and laying out the studs for the other house. It is hot. Very hot….. Way hotter than anyone should ever do construction in. Our Habitat for Humanity supervisor Seth showed us many new things about building, and we are watching these two houses grow before
our eyes. We’re considering buying sombreros for the work-site, because the sun is really intense. After a water shortage, we decided to call it a day around 1:30, and on the way home we stopped at a little shop called “Snowballs” where delicious snow-cones were served. Showers and a stroll to the park are leading up to a dinner of lasagna and a trip to Walmart for things that we’ve forgotten, like my towel.

We continue to marvel at the destruction that has ravaged this city, and how much of the city is still demolished. We hope that our meager contribution will help this still recovering region.

-- Chris Stone

Tomorrow is "hump day," so pray hard!

Louisiana 4 - Monday

2007-08-20T20:10:00.000-07:00

Our Sunday travels went exceedingly well. No traffic to JFK. Flight left on time. Arrived 10 minutes early. Steve, Debbie and David were back from picking up the vans in less than half an hour and we were off for St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church. We found if with only a slight need for a U-Turn.

Our home for the week is a grand old home directly behind the church. Prior to Katrina the church had used it for Sunday school classes and meetings. After feeling called to begin the Rhino ministry the house became base camp for the visiting work groups. One room was converted into a shower room with four stalls. Two upstairs rooms became bunk rooms. Each has 8 bunk beds so a total of 32 people can be accommodated.

The church recently entered into an agreement with the New Orleans Habitat for Humanity to build 14 new homes in the western part of the city – on Ferry Place. They have committed to raising $350,000 from within the church toward the project. The plan is to build the first seven homes simultaneously. That work began this month and we will be working there Tuesday – Friday.

Today we worked through the Trinity Christian Community center. Trinity began as PCUSA outreach ministry, but is not a non-denominational program. It is located in an African American area of the city and since Katrina has housed and coordinated the work of a contingent of AmeriCorps volunteers.

Two of them, Kevin and Blake, were our supervisors for the day. Our project was to finishing removing the nails in studs and rafters in a home so that the wood could be de-molded and then chemically sealed to prevent both mold and termites. Respirators donned, the crew began with a vengeance. Nails, nails – everywhere. Once the de-nailing was completed. The wood was scrubbed down with a mixture of Pine Sol and bleach. One of our supervisors, Blake, told David Martinez early in the afternoon that he was completely surprised with the energy and thoroughness of our group. He said that he was more used to youth who seemed to work in slow motion and making sure they never missed a break. “Well done, good and faithful. . .”

David had a “New Orleans first experience” with his visit to the emergency room at Ochsner Hospital. One of the kids aquired a significant splinter that needed extracation, but fortunately the care was efficient and the injury not too bad. Never a dull day!

Later in the afternoon, we were given a tour of affected areas of the city by members of the congregation. Among other spots, we visited the “Musician’s Village” built through Habitat. The Upper Ninth Ward neighborhood of colorful homes – including one financed by the golfer Phil Mickelson – is a wonderful sight providing a glimpse of how Ferry Place will look one day.

One of the biggest gold stars to working with Rhino came at 6 p.m. as we made our way across the street to the church’s fellowship hall where dinner was waiting for us. In what we learned was a New Orleans Monday tradition, the menu was Red Beans and rice. Legend has it that this dish became associated with Monday because that was the day that women did the laundry and red beans could be put on the fire and forgotten. David’s not sure they were as good as Claudia Fulton’s but they were mighty fine!

And now a word from Ron & Perry

After arriving in New Orleans at about 5 o’clock in the afternoon Sunday, we were quickly driven over to our temp home in the northern part of town. After meeting our companions from Dayton, Ohio, the starved group from Stamford choose an interesting restaurant to eat dinner, McDonald’s. Lucky for the Dayton group they went to a nice café where the check was picked up by some very happy people who were very grateful for their mission trip. After that we had a short orientation and went over everything about this week. Our night ended with an intense Monopoly game and a lot of creeky beds.

Monday morning we awoke at 6:30, had breakfast, and left to work. After meeting the people who would eventually help us do our jobs and grabbing equipment we headed off in two directions. We help refurbish a home while the other group finished painting the exterior of an almost finished home. After several hours of tough work, pulling out nails and hammering others in, we ate lunch and took a couple minutes to rest. After that we scrubbed the wood with a mixture of Pine Sol and bleach to kill the mold Tomorrow they will be sprayed with some chemicals that seal the wood and prevent mold and termites. Later in the afternoon we took a nice tour of the city including the 9th ward, a place severely struck by the hurricane. The first day of work was tough, but at the same time a lot of fun.

-- Ron Quiroga and Perry Mattice

5:30 a.m. is going to come early, so enough for now. Keep praying!!!