Well, technically, we've been back for four days now -- so long that some of us have already left on our next adventures. But as we settle back into cooler weather and sleeping in our own beds, we know that there will always be a piece of each of us left behind in New Orleans. We are also very aware that we will always carry our experiences in our hearts, long after the bruises and scrapes have healed, the drywall mud has been washed from our clothes and the paint from our hair, and the mosquito bites have subsided.
Since our last writing, the rest of the week was spent diving into work. Wednesday morning, we visited Mr. Dusuau, whose home we helped to finish in 2010. Mr. Dusuau was kind enough to let all 40 of us traipse through his home to show off the handiwork of our teammates, and told us about continuing to work his job at the water treatment plant during the Storm. For more of Mr. Dusuau's story, you can check out the 2010 video, accessible through our Links page.
On Wednesday afternoon we added an additional house to our lineup, a cute trailer owned by a sweet older couple named the Uplingers. At 70, Mr. Uplinger was in the house working when we arrived, despite his wife's scolding. A mini-team of four of us spent the remainder of the week working to finish up the home so that the family could move in by the end of this week. We also discovered that classmates from St. Ignatius High School had previously worked on the Uplinger's house during their Spring Break immersion trip! Wednesday was a day for switching tasks all around, as the Washington house progressed from mudding to priming, and the Buckner house team was able to begin drywalling!
Thursday morning, we visited Mrs. Phoenix, whose home we drywalled in 2008, and her sister, Mrs. Phillip, who lives next door. These wonderful ladies were our first introduction to the culture of New Orleans, cooking us down-home lunches of gumbo or fried pork chops daily from the tiny kitchen of the FEMA trailer they shared. Each year they have welcomed us back with open arms and fond memories, as the new team members look through the photo album of post-storm devastation the ladies chronicled.
On Friday we enjoyed a beautiful note from home sent by our "prayer buddies" of St. Raphael Church's JPC (Jovenes Para Cristo) young-adult group. we adventured to the French Quarter for begneits and shopping before heading off to our final workday. We returned home to an amazing dinner of 50 POUNDS of shrimp, along with crab, corn, and potatoes, that Mack had prepared for us as a token of his appreciation! After dinner, we gathered in a circle and each shared something that impacted us about our week. Our responses were often humorous (and sometimes interrupted by the killing of a passing cockroach) but always heartfelt. It is clear that none of us will be the same for having been, and that all of us are determined to continue to work to rebuild New Orleans and raise awareness of the ongoing need in the Lower 9th Ward and throughout the city.
We look forward to sharing our stories with you at our two upcoming Masses, as well as after Mass. This Sunday we will gather together at 9 AM at St. Raphael Church, and on Sunday, August 5 we will gather at 9 AM at St. Francis Church in Novato. We hope to see you there!
I'd like to close with a picture I spotted online as I was (procrastinating in) writing this post, that pretty much sums up how I think most of us feel about this trip:
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