New Orleans

Our son-in-law, Joel, went to New Orleans for a week to work on rebuilding (he’s a carpenter by trade). He recently wrote this in an e-mail to us with some pictures:

...there are continually people going down to serve that city from all over the country. We found that largely this is because the hurricane two years ago only highlighted the bigger problems of poverty and moral devastation that plague parts of New Orleans. You will see some hurricane and flood damage in the pictures. But much of the disrepair is indicative of the hopelessness of the poorest people in that area. These long-term problems as well as rebuilding after Katrina, are being addressed by the churches...We saw how important it was to have believers living amongst the people they are trying to reach. We put the roof on an addition to that house. We also worked on a warehouse to be used for storage; pulling down a rotten ceiling, securing the rest of it and building walls to contain tools and a staging area for work crews. We dealt with frustration over the lack of organization and materials, high security measures, the apathy of those in the neighborhood we were there to help, a crumbling city infrastructure. But at the same time we saw God shining through in His love for people, in His miraculous provision for the people doing His work, in the passion and dedication of the staff for "Loving God with all they got and people ‘til they drop". And we saw Him at work in our own lives as well.