News From Behind the Mall
June 7, 2006
Team Trashed
We caravanned the hour to <cityw:ston><placew:ston>New Orleans from Picayune this morning to attack a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house that had been totally underwater during the hurricane. Unlike the other houses, this one had furniture and appliances in it. Nothing had been done to it because the man of the house is in a wheelchair and has an eye infection from the contaminated water.
The refrigerator was in the living room and if the items weren’t anchored down they may have ended up anywhere. The men brought out the refrigerator and dropped it in the yard. It was still full of food and smelled of rancid road kill. The team carted the symbols of a family’s life to the dump pile in front of the house. Chairs, tables, boxes of photo albums, dinnerware, tools, a porch swing, clothing, DVDs, old tapes, and trophies were mixed into a mess of drywall board and pink insulation that we pulled down from the walls. Later in the day the owner came by and thanked us. We helped her salvage what she could from the mess. The owner was so grateful. When I say this, I cannot adequately explain how emotionally vulnerable most folks are down here. Again, when you have lost everything, possessions are meaningless and perspectives on life change to the things that matter most: family and friends and telling people how you feel about them and being humble and grateful for what you have.
We worked until 4 and didn’t get back to camp until 6. The entire team is trashed. We have to finish the house to get it ready for power washing tomorrow. Then we are going to see the 9th Ward, which is the poorest part of the city and the part that was the biggest mess. They just recovered a body there the other day because the searches have not been completed.
When you see each damaged house, there is usually a big “X” spray painted on the front. In one quadrant of the “X” are the initials of the searcher. In another quadrant, the date. The two other quadrants indicated the number of dead found - animals in one quadrant, and people in the other.
As we rode home tonite, we were frustrated because there is no good way to describe this place other than to come and see for yourselves. You cannot believe it. However, here is our best description: Imagine droving down
82nd St.in Castleton, past all the strip malls and Castleton Square Mall, the individual businesses and gas stations. There are very few cars because all these businesses are no longer functioning. Castleton Square Mall, with its big anchor stores, is totally empty. Windows are blown out, signs are hanging by threads of metal, traffic signals do not work, massive piles of trash line the road. In the parking lots of some of the strip malls, white FEMA trailers sit in rows, waiting to be occupied. Owners of land who have the desire can rent out their parking lots for these trailer estates. At night, there are no lights and no people. Now multiply this image by ten thousand. Add the smells of hot garbage and the oil refinery. Oh, there might be a couple of fast food places open. Out in front of the Taco Bell is a little yellow trailer. A couple of men sell tacos to you as you drive up in your car. It really gives “drive through” a more literal definition. People sell a few fruits and veggies from the backs of their trucks. One sign says “Pizza Drive Thru”, and again, it’s a little trailer sitting in front of the Pizza Hut. Now multiply this area by ten thousand and you might start to get the idea. It is clear that the media in our area has forgotten about this place. It is a war zone in a third world country. However, there is a spirit here that will cause a regeneration and indeed, parts of the area are coming back economically. There has also been a rebirth of human spirit as this tragedy has broken down the walls that existed between neighbors and churches. God is using this tragedy to cause a spiritual rebirth as well. The people we have met here are on fire for the Lord. We hope that we will be able to send more teams here to help. Enjoy the photos. That’s all from behind the Mall. Stay tuned for one more update.
News From Behind The Mall
Friday, June 9, 2006
Team Gumby
Stephanie said that she wished she could have found a “gumby” doll to reflect the fact that we were going to have to be flexible on our mission trip. We have found the need to be flexible and open-minded more true than we would like.
Today we finished up the house we gutted yesterday. The pile of junk was longer than the house, eight feet high at the highest point and ten feet wide at the widest point. After we finished, Charlie Dillion, our contact for homeowners who need our help, took us into the 9th Ward on the Industrial Canal. This area is one of the oldest in New Orleans and the land has been passed on to the black people of the area since the slave days. The row houses are frame and it is a very poor area. It sits right next to the levee, and as you will see from the pictures, was ripped apart when the levee was breached.
We met Daniel, who was sifting through the remnants of his house, looking for the remains of his mother, who refused to leave when Katrina hit. The houses, if they stand at all, might be at odd angles, or on top of cars, or pushed into the houses next to them. In much of the area, rubble stands where the houses used to be.
Seeing this for the first time is a very emotional experience. It is not for the faint-hearted. Our hearts were stretched to the limit as we drove through and saw houses that had not yet been searched. Some houses were GPS’d only because they are too dangerous to enter. The Greater Missionary Baptist church in this area, has vowed to come back. Charlie Dillion and his volunteers have been renovating the church. This gives people hope in the midst of despair. Our hearts were stretched as we listened to Charlie talk of his plans for block parties and community gardens. He is going to see Mayor Nagin next week to pass on his plans for the rebirth of this area.
Listening to folks who are on fire for the Lord is like being on a rollercoaster. On one hand, there is all this destruction, but on the other hand there is the strength of God apparent in people like Charlie, and Daniel, and Rhonda and her daughter (the homeowners of the house we gutted) and other people who are traveling about helping their neighbors. Church denominational walls are crumbling; race and ethnicity has been minimized; love is everywhere in the rubble.
Our heart’s desire today was to get the ABC TV footage from the local station so that we have some video to share with you. Our Indianapolis ABC affiliate, Channel 6, has worked hard to get this tape, but they have been blocked at every attempt. This is yet another example of our need to be flexible with the hope that God will work something else out that will help us to spread the word.
We head home Saturday with a lot to think about. We still can’t get our heads around the scope of this damage and the desperate need of the people who are still here. Please prayerfully listen to what we have to say. We are all somewhat different after having had this experience. You all will now have to be “gumbies” when we ask you what you might want to do to help. As they might say in these parts,”We’re fixin’ ta come home and love on ya a little.” Thank you all for holding down the fort while we were gone. See you soon. And that’s really ALL from behind the mall….until the next trip. J
