February 01, 2011

We rang in the New Year in New Orleans!

Brian Hiortdahl, Kedest Kassahun, Eithne McMenamin, Deb Lund, Jen Peterson and Tanya Wiegel represented Resurrection on a fun, eye-opening and inspiring mission trip to New Orleans.
Our group arrived on Wednesday, December 29th and was treated to a late afternoon tour of the city by Pastor Leon Philpot of Grace Lutheran Church, which hosted us with air mattresses, linens, showers and kitchen privileges.  Pastor Leon told stories both of heartbreak and hope, and pointed out the Lower 9th ward, Musician's Village, the wide spectrum of progress in rebuilding, and the place where the levees broke, explaining how and why that breach turned a hurricane into a disaster.  We learned about the effect of eroded Louisiana wetlands and some of the many layers of unique bureaucratic nightmares following Katrina.
On Thursday, these lessons were expanded in a morning orientation from the St. Bernard Project, which coordinated our service.  After orientation and some hands-on training, we spent two days laying flooring and cutting baseboards for the home of Ms. Rosalie, a 71-year-old grandmother displaced to Baton Rouge.  Since the storm, Ms. Rosalie has twice been the victim of contractor fraud.  Now the St. Bernard Project is working to restore her house more than five years after the original damage.  After two days of work, we walked away with a sense of progress and hope as well as great appreciation for one another.
We spent Friday night ringing in the new year festively in Jackson Square with dinner, live music, festive beverages and beignets before an early Saturday morning to clean, pack and start back home to Chicago.
We are all grateful for the prayers and support of everyone at Resurrection who made this powerful and delightful trip possible.  Special thanks to Jen Peterson and Donna Wiegel for organizing our smooth trip so well.  We hope to do another one soon!


We posted LOTS of pictures on Facebook!  Check them out!


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