Slidell, LA
February 25, 2007
After a long day of driving, we were certainly glad to hear that our church services did not begin until 11 a.m. At Our Lady of Lourdes, some of the students were able to witness the presentation some people who are going to be baptized into the church next week. The rest of us attended Journey Fellowship Church, where we were able to worship with a very large, very awesome band. Both of the churches have amazing stories of faith and perseverance, because they suffered major losses from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but have found a way to continue their services as best as they can. After a brunch of pancakes and sausage and an afternoon playing in the sunshine, we jumped back on the bus and headed down to New Orleans, which is about 30 minutes away. We drove past the 17th avenue levee that broke during the storm, and saw some of the areas of the city that experienced the most destruction. Then we headed toward the Garden District where we took a walking tour of the beautiful homes and gardens, courtesy of the AAA guidebook. This was the best smelling neighborhood I have ever been in! After driving through the French Quarter and seeing the sights such as Bourbon Street (post Mardi Gras), we finished our day with some fine dining. The group split up between a neighboring Applebees, Texas Roadhouse, and Outback Steakhouse. We ended the night by hanging out in the Mahanaim center where we are staying. There is a group of men from Wisconsin who are staying in the center with us and are also volunteering for Habitat this week. They are very friendly and willing to put up with 31 college students and one biology professor. Mandy Carlson led a short devotion from John 15, reminding us to keep an attitude of love throughout our work week. We are so excited to work outside in the sunshine!
February 26, 2007
At the bright sunny hour of 7:30 all 34 of us piled onto the bus/van and headed down to meet with a group of about 120 habitat-ers including a large group from Canada. We learned that Slidell area Habitat used to average 2 homes per year but are attempting to build 100 homes this year. We also enjoyed a very thorough safety demonstration- (bodily mutilation demonstrations are apparently the most effective aid in remembering). Soon well maybe not that soon, we headed out to our worksite- a street containing 10 future Habitat houses in various states of building. Along with 35 students from Ontario Canada, we divided up among the houses with jobs varying from roofing, to laying floors, building porches, and wiring outlets. We enjoyed a lunch of red beans and rice and applesauce lounging in the 75-80 degree sunshine. We wrapped up the afternoon of work around 4 and headed to a nearby park. Here we had a great time playing ultimate Frisbee and running around on the playground with 5 and 6 year olds. I think we had the most fun though their parents might debate that. We tore ourselves away from the fun and cleaned up a bit only to enjoy a scrumptious meal of spaghetti and garlic bread. Evan Sterling gave the devotion talking about trying to see people as Christ would see them and put ourselves in their shoes. He quoted John 13:33-35 highlighting that “they will know we are Christians by our love”. We finally finished off the day hanging out and getting to know each other or crashing early after another great day.
February 27, 2007
Sunny skies woke us all up again as we cheerfully loaded the bus at 7:30 to head to morning circle. This morning was a little more sober as we found out that the husband of the Executive Director of the local chapter of Habitat lost his battle with cancer overnight. After a moment of prayer and reflection and yet another safety talk we all loaded the buses again to head out to the worksites. Everything seemed to flow a lot more smoothly today as everyone was finding their way in their respective jobs. Floors were completed, doors were hung, shingles were laid, siding was attached and so much more as the day flew quickly by. We enjoyed a delicious lunch of taco salad and pudding cups while listening to some fantastic 80s music on the radio. At 3:30pm we headed back to our “home” to get ready for a fun night out at the mall. Upon arriving the group spread out in search of new and different items for purchase. Some bought books, others bought toys, while still others purchased shoes…which probably shouldn’t be worn around the work site. We dined at “Chick-fil-A” courtesy of some coupons and our fabulous leaders. Afterwards everyone flocked to the ice cream before boarding the bus for “home.” We enjoyed an evening of laughter as we played charades, which was highlighted by an ostrich impression by someone who will remain nameless at this time, for the sake of embarrassment. Our sharing of roses and thorns was even more special tonight as several of our roommates from Wisconsin joined in and shared stories from the day. Andrew Taylor led us in our devotion this evening in which we had an open discussion about loving our neighbors and how we can learn to be more patient and encouraging. Our evening once again ended with a time of fellowship where we continue to grow closer in our friendships with each other.
February 28, 2007
Again, as the quickly-becoming-not-so-glorious hour of 7:30 arrived, we all piled into the ONU bus/van and made our way to the morning circle. This morning we were all given t-shirts to remember our week here. The morning devotion emphasized the importance of every small thing that we do encourages others with the Slidell chapters motto of “Lifting Hearts… Choosing What Matters”. Sometimes we have to go against the grain and paint our house “pepto bismal” pink. (Don’t worry! Khaki Shack is sided in HabiTan!!) At the worksite everyone broke up into their respective work crews and began the day of work. One group, named the “Scaffold Monkeys and Zoo Keepers” worked very productively today finishing up siding two sides of their current house. While this group was being very successful in their work, many other groups were realizing that their current houses were cursed from the beginning stages of construction. Nothing seemed to be going right with them. For instance, a porch roof and a house roof weren’t completely lining up; but that’s not a big deal, right? Today, our “best buddy” Pete, the electrician, revealed that he had a mullet, and a very long one at that. After a long and slightly gloomy work day, the group filed back on the buses and headed back to their “home” in Slidell to prepare for a cookout with the Wisconsin roommates. Several habitaters ventured out, despite the threat of rain, in search of a mailbox in Slidell. While oot and aboot (a tribute to our Canadian friends) we met a Habitat home owner who is currently working at a local pharmacy. She was very excited to see us in town and learn about our experiences in the area. On the way back to our “home” these same brave habitaters were not so lucky to escape the warm southern rain and became a little wet on the journey back. No worries, the warm southern rain is definitely more comforting than the freezing drizzle we are confronted with in Ada. The rain didn’t last long, however, and the cookout went on without a hitch. To start out the meal, we had wonderful appetizers of crawfish and shrimp. While these “creatures” were a little intimidating to eat at first, the Wisconsin-ers were very helpful in teaching us how to tackle our fears of eating these. They turned out to be very tasty! (Ask Nick how the crawfish brains taste…) To start off our group devotion time, we played a game kind of like telephone only the form of communication is one person drawing on the others back and seeing what the final drawing is compared to the original. Somehow a house might have turned into an… anchor? Something like that… The rest of the night was spent just hanging out, playing cards, and singing. Stay tuned for scenes from the next Habitat work day in Slidell, LA (*pictures gang sign*)
March 1, 2007
Another day in Slidell LA!! The top ten roses (blessings) from Day 4 on the work site:
10. Minor showers while at the work site while other areas around the country experienced some fierce storms including tornados (pray for the families of the 17 individuals that passed away in an Alabama high school).
9. Taco bar prepared by one amazing group of chefs!
8. Canadian vs. American shingle nailing races on the roof of the A-teams house!!
7. Finding out Canadians may have an obsession with chewing gum and most don’t enjoy music of the country-western style. Thankfully we were able to bond with the lone Canadian that enjoys all the best country stars (like Rascal Flatts, Tim Mcgraw, Kenny Chesney, and Keith Urban); we are still working on getting each of them to smile, eh? ?
6. Snail cake!! Unfortunately it did not lead to a proposal. The only other snail cake presented to Dr. Keas was the moment his true love was revealed. Now he is happily married to the woman who melted his heart by preparing a snail cake for his enjoyment. How romantic!
5. Dancing break on the porch of Khaki Shack to the song “I Will Survive”, somehow the smallest porch on the 14 lots located on Beech St seemed to attract the most people. Some came bearing gifts of cabinets, some enjoyed siding and messing with J-channel, others came in groups of 3-5 to cut one piece of ply wood for their projects, while others just came to enjoy the mad chaos.
4. Meeting a few of the home owners offered a better perspective of the reason we are down here this week, each has a story of their own and it was FUN to work side by side next to these individuals as they expressed their appreciation for our efforts.
3. Blessed by the Wisconsin men that have joined us in our group time each night this week~ during group time we share a rose and a thorn (a blessing and a struggle for the day), group devotion, and praise and worship. These times each night have offered an opportunity to show our appreciation for their efforts in leading at the construction site, and it has been a blessing to see how much we’ve impacted them and been an example by living our lives and loving one another! God truly is at work in each one of our lives and has brought each person down here for a reason!
2. Rearranging the living room into a Cajun dance studio to Cajun line dancing with some local dance instructors; whoever thought this was a type of dance and not just a type of food.
1. Spending yet another day with the most amazing habitaters and one outstanding snail loving professor from Ohio Northern University along with the most amazing men from the state of Wisconsin, along with Dorothy and Vic who have been such an added bonus! ?