Turning The Corner

Here's our group, in two pictures, standing in front of MR GO: The Mississipppi River Gulf Outlet. This "short cut" shipping channel, carved between the Mississippi River and the Gulf Goast is part of the reason Katrina hit New Orleans with such force. MR GO brought salt water into the marshes, destroying Mother Nature's 'speed bump' for hurricanes and also became a conduit for the storm surge. The decision has now been made to close the outlet and allow nature to be restored.

We had the opportunity to hear a representative of the Army Corps of Engineers talk about the risk management plans that are in the process of implementation. In addition to improving the levees and closing MR GO, residents are being encouraged to build higher - thus some rebuilds are happening on pylons. The Corps has received $14.6 billion and plans to have a new hurricane risk reduction system in place by 2011, with many years to follow for the restoration of the wetlands.

We also enjoyed a driving tour on Wednesday afternoon. We stopped by a couple of the houses we worked on in previous years, which are now occupied. We drove through the Lower Ninth Ward, which is but a shadow of its former self. We saw the levee that was damaged when a barge was driven into it and is now repaired. And, Brad Pitt's housing project is now well underway. He has hired archictects from all over the world to design 150 houses that will be built in the Lower Ninth Ward. They are designed, not only to be hurricane-proof, but also to be envirnonmentally sustainable. Musicians' Village, in the Upper 9th Ward, continues to grow.

Today was the most satisfying day of work so far. In the first part of the week, both of our teams experienced many frustrations, as we tried to learn new skills and struggled with the difficulties of completing tasks in these homes that have been so badly damaged. Today, both teams turned a corner in their work. Floor scraping gave way to pouring and smoothing a new skim coat to prepare for the tile floors that someone else will lay. Hauling sheetrock up a flight of stairs gave way to more dry wall sheets, hung and taped. One of our teams enjoyed an authentic New Orleans lunch prepared by the resident of the home they are working on: gumbo, jambalaya, and fried chicken.

After work tomorrow, we'll probably go into the city to do a little more exploring. Then, we'll be rising early Saturday morning to begin our trip home. We look forward to sharing our pictures and stories with friends, family, and our congregations, when we return.

Blessings to all,

Cheryl