Day 5

Time has come to say Good-bye to our hosts, and to say hello to our families at home. We headed out to our work-sites for the final day of work, to finish up what we could, and to give those who come after us a good place to continue.






There is a bit of frustration in not seeing the jobs through to the end, but just as God saw it best for us to be here at this time in this place, we trust God has things well in hand, and things will get done.


Our day began with Beneighs - a wonderful fried dough served in a bag of powdered sugar - messy but good! Then off to work.

Barb and Jay Luft were back on the job site, feeling much better, thank you! We painted, dry-walled, installed plumbing and tubs, and much more.






We wished our hosts God's blessings, and they, in turn wished us the same. Belinda wrote thank you notes to each one of the workers at her home, and bought a King's Cake home for lunch - a Mardi Gras tradition here in New Orleans. Hugs and thank yous were shared by all.

Jack Bokesch made wooden hearts with "Luke 6:31" scrolled on them - "Do unto others, as you would have them do to unto you." He gave each of us two of them - one to wear, and one to share. By the end of the week, our home-owners all had them, as well as the pastor of the church where we stayed, our hosts at the center, the woman cleaning bathrooms at the airport and our flight attendant!

We packed up back at our home base, we received our load of Mardi Gras beads from our center hosts and headed out in a nasty rain storm. We got to the airport (those of us flying) and saw our flight was delayed... but by the time we boarded, they had made up time, and we were only a few minutes late. As we landed in Columbus, the flight attendant announced that there were 15 members of St. Paul Lutheran Church on board coming back from working with those who continue to need assistance after Katrina - it was so nice of her to share that with everyone on the plane.

We arrived home safely, but keep our driving crew in our prayers, as they are still on the road this Saturday morning.

All in all, a great trip. As one of our members said, "I don't think the word 'fun' describes it." No - the reality of the storm and its aftermath continues to define the area and the people. Yet, there is hope. And there is reward for the efforts put forth. Another member told me it was the most rewarding week of his life.

We will do this again!

A member of our group took this picture - drywall dust and mud! He said he liked this picture, because it shows that we not only left our footprints, but we left a little bit more. God bless those who came and worked, and may God continue to bless those whose houses we worked on this week.


Peace
Pastor Charlie Woodward