2008 Katrina Relief Mission

 

Katrina Mission Trip Report

It was rewarding for Lynnewood to again return to Slidell, Louisiana to help with recovery from Hurricane Katrina.  We are pleased to report that progress continues and things are looking better.  While there is still years of work ahead in New Orleans proper, recovery in Slidell is nearly complete.

We worked on a variety of interesting assignments.  Some of us spent a couple of days with Beryl Parent, 82 years young, a bit hobbled, who was a persistent, but delightful lady.  We enjoyed working for her.  And there was Tommy, 75ish, who survived in his attic for 3 days during the flooding from the hurricane.  No car.  Gets around on a golf cart and a motorized handicapped vehicle.  Lives his life in a six-block radius of his home of 35 years.

Each day is tiring, sometimes frustrating…but, oh, so rewarding.  It seems we are truly doing the kind of outreach that really matters. Participating from Lynnewood on this mission:  Donna Kirch, Donna Hladun, Jim Allen, Cynthia DeLand, Steve Elliott, Wendy Kenley and Ron Rigge. What a wonderful team!  It was a pleasure to work together.

A Volunteer's Reflections

Two and a half years ago on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina roared through New Orleans and the surrounding area leaving behind an unimaginable path of destruction. The recovery process is a slow one and the need is still great today.

Our mission team of 19 (7 of us were from Lynnewood) worked in the Slidell area on the north side of Lake Pontchartrain across from New Orleans. Slidell lost 18,000 homes and 550 businesses plus the first 3 and half miles inland flooded. The magnitude of damage is much greater on the New Orleans (south) side of the lake and their recovery has not progressed as far over there and there is still a lot of work still to be done.

Today the Slidell area is 85% recovered due in large part to the thousands of people from all 50 states and 16 foreign countries who have logged over a million man hours rebuilding homes and making myriad different repairs. The number one resource in a recovery is people and on average 400 people a week still come. It was my privilege to be one of those volunteers. The funding comes from faith-based donations, individuals and other private grants. They do not take government money due to red tape and exclusion.

I had talked to those who had been there before to try to get an idea of what it is like but nothing can quite describe the experience. You have to go and experience it for yourself. You'll be glad you did. People have different reasons for going. Some go just because they like to help people, some work as an expression of their faith and others want to do something for their country. For me one of the motivations was to gain a feeling of accomplishment, to feel like I made a difference. I think we all achieved our goals. I know I did. You saw the face of God in the laughter, smiles and tears of the people you helped and in your fellow workers.

One of the people we helped was a 77-year-old lady named Louise who has a variety of medical problems. She lives in a somewhat run down home deep at the end of a winding road out in the country. Even though her home is a humble one, like hundreds of others it is all that she has left. She was not at home when Katrina blew through and her home was not flooded but it did receive damage from the trees that snapped off and wrecked her roof. The roof had been replaced, but the trim still needed painting and an attic vent and a roof ridge cap had to be installed outside. Inside, more painting needed to be done and 2 ceiling fans installed. I have to say I hate to paint. I try to get my kids to do it for me when it needs to be done at home. For 3 straight days I painted, cleaned and did what I could to help our team leader and other members of our team. At the end of the 3 days the 5 of us had done everything on our list. Louise was thrilled and her comment to us was that "now I have a new home." Her delight in our work was very humbling and gratifying. Louise is a woman of strong faith and has a close relationship with her God.

Some of the things I will remember are the laughter and camaraderie, the good food and the lumpy beds, making new friends and deepening old friendships, working together as a team, the people we met and the stories they told. It is an experience I will never forget.

I want to end with the quote from disaster recovery information sheet: "If you weren't here today, the work that you did this week would not have been done and the lives you touched this week would not have been touched."