L2 - Day 5

Louisiana II – Day Five

We didn’t get to see the sunrise today because of the overcast skies. Our commute continued the drear as it took us an hour and a half.

Team 2 headed back to Louisa Street where they met up with two folk from the First Presbyterian Church of Greensboro, NC. They were the two remaining member of a group of young adults (the others had left for home the day before). Dolly is an Associate Pastor at the church and – it’s a small world after all – a graduate of Austin Seminary and knew David Martinez. Unfortunately David was off at the other site.

Adding to the small world, later in the day a debris removal crew from a company that had been contracted by FEMA came to remove the pile outside the Louisa St. house. The crew chief was asking where we were from. “Connecticut.” “Oh, I used to live in NJ.” “Where in NJ?” chimed in David. “Toms River,” he replied. “You’ve got to be kidding. . .”

Team 1 began work at a new site today – a large two story on Dreux St. The furniture and belongings had been previously removed, but nothing else had yet been done. The walls were black with mold. The owner’s uncle met the group so that he could sign the liability release form which has to be “in hand” before any work can begin.

When a group arrives at a new work site there is a prescribed regimen. 1. The Team Leader enters the home alone to verify that the water, electricity and gas have been turned off. 2. The Team Leader opens all windows to ventilate the space. 3. The group begins to work at the entranceway and work into the house. 4. If there are appliances still in the house, they must NOT be opened. Instead they are duct taped secure and removed.

We broke from work at a pm today in order to go back to camp and get cleaned up for our trip down to the French Quarter. We had great fun and good food at the Gumbo Shop. There was much laughter!

Now it’s a cold, cold night heading into our final day of work, so, keep praying.