Mississippi moon won't you keep on shinin'...

ight after graduation (but before moving out), I went on a mission trip to New Orleans to help with Katrina relief. It amazes me that almost 6 years later there are still people without homes and still homes that are completely unlivable. On May 11th, at the crack of dawn, 13 (soon to be 14) of us started our long, long drive from Charlotte to New Orleans....

This trip to New Orleans was not the original plan. 20 of us had planned to head back to Bocachia, Colombia for an annual mission trip we take every May. Unfortunately gas prices and plane tickets were not in our favor and our trip was cancelled. As upsetting as it was and as much as my heart longed to go back to Colombia, I was willing and ready to serve wherever God needed me.

For the first 4 or 5 days that we were in New Orleans, we were given the opportunity to serve at a local foster care facility. We worked on a side "dorm" where we taped and painted all the rooms, painted the ceilings, repainted a room and laid new flooring in all the rooms and hallway.


I won't lie - I was a little bummed that on this trip, it didn't seem that we would be interacting with people as much as I had hoped. I was hoping to hear stories - stories about Katrina. Where were they when the storm came, how did they survive, where did all the water go, where did all the trash and debris go, how did they get new cars??? Questions like these flooded (no pun intended) my mind and I wanted to sit down and talk with someone and hear their story. We did get to play with a few of the girls living at the facility and have a "field day" but I wasn't able to hear any stories.

 

We were able to take a driving tour and were told it was going to be really intense - a reality check. Finally, something to give me perspective as to how people were affected by the storm. Unfortunately, I think the tour was out of date because we didn't really see too much. We saw houses that were empty but for the most part, everything was being rebuilt - which is great!

We went to downtown New Orleans and took in the sights. One of my favorite things was the Louisiana Museum that was having an exhibit on Hurricane Katrina. I learned SO much and was quite impressed. There were so many stories, written and audio, that allowed me to gain an insight into this crazy time of despair.

 (an actual side of a home that had been "tagged" after the storm indicating that the house was searched on 9/12 and there were 2 cats and a dead dog...)

One of the craziest things to see while driving was Six Flags - or what was left. They closed right before the storm and it is still closed. The salt water from the flooding did too much damage. It was quite creepy to drive by this place. Here is a video and a link that I found that was made years after the storm, showing the damage of Six Flags.
video: Six Flags New Orleans video
pictures: Six Flags tour

On the last day, we worked in an actual home. The owner was living in Oklahoma while waiting for their house to be rebuilt. We were told that on this street where the owner lived, water was above - ABOVE - the roof. That just blows my mind. We did a bunch of sheetrock and puttying. At the front door, you could still see where they had spray painted an "X" during the inspection of houses after Katrina.

This trip was definitely an experience and I was very glad that I went. It was crazy to think that there is so much need in our country while we head off to other countries to do work. On the long drive home I read such a heartfelt story. It was about a family living in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and how the storm affected their lives. It was such a crazy and sad story. It was a quick read and I highly suggest you give it a shot. Amazing!