Muckin' & Guttin'

Well, here is the long awaited post about our trip to New Orleans with the Faulkner men's soccer team. It was an awesome time, and so hot that I was having Choluteca flashbacks. Brett let Anna and I tag along too. It is amazing how much has been rebuilt and how much looks as if Katrina had just hit days before. I recommend going down and helping out if you haven't already.
We worked with an organization called Hilltop Relief & Rescue, who also just happens to be a ministry our good friend Tim Hines is also a part of. We stayed in a "fixed up" elementary school where "beds" were set up on the second floor in the old classrooms which seemed to have escaped any obvious damage from the storm. The lower level has been gutted down to the metal studs, and was the storage area for your clean clothes, a place to hang your wet shower towel, the shower areas were set up there, as well as the kitchen area where you packed your sandwich, snacks and drinks for the day. The cafeteria, which coincidentally also happens to be the only building with air conditioning, was a separate building altogether. And our favourite I might add for obvious reasons.
Our first house had two stories. The owner was living in a trailer in her backyard, as were several other families. She was not home while we were there, and I can't say that I blame her. One of the rooms had the ceiling caving in, so we weren't supposed to go in, but other than that everything had to come out. Upstairs and down. When we were done basically all that was left was the studs, doorframes, toilets, and cement floor. We had to shovel out the mud, remove all the appliances, cabinets, flooring, etc. The dry wall was removed along with the insulation. And when I say "we" I mean the boys because Anna and I got beat down by the mud on the floor of the downstairs bathroom. She was shoveling it into the hallway, I was pushing it out into the front room to be put in a wheelbarrow and taken outside to the "pile". Thankfully the fumes from the full washing machine being taken out and leaking over anything and everything in its path had faded for the most part. However there were still lingering smells from the "fridge juice"... Needless to say I handed out Advil to everyone afterwards at dinner like it was candy. (Don't worry Dr. Johnston, we also drank plenty of water!)
We worked with our owner on the second house we mucked out. He had already moved his family to Florida, but had flown in just to help clean out his house. Words can not describe the smell of the carpet and the mold on the walls of this house. I think I sweat the equivalent of what a third grader weighs! But we all kept our masks on (ahem!) and no one ended up getting the funky upper respiratory cough that have seemed to plaque countless others who were not so disciplined!! (But we still love you Terry...)
So please continue to pray for those rebuilding and restarting their lives in the wake of hurricane Katrina. You can also check out Hilltop Rescue & Relief at http://hilltoprescue.org/ If my link works it should take you right there. They are also mentioned in this month's Christian Chronicle (shout out to Janet Hines, whoo whoo!).