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OPC Mission Trip to New Orleans
November 11 - 18, 2006

Out of chaos...hope. That's the slogan for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, and it was apt for this week. We worked hard and all our work was a small drop in a large ocean of woe, but we knew from the people we met that we had brought hope. Homeowners, neighbors, people who were driving by, ...just about everyone we saw...they said thank you for coming, for remembering us.

The trip down and first day of work
Tuesday we worked on two houses
Wednesday we started the big house
Thursday we emptied the house, mostly
Friday worked more and left the house for next weeks crew

Tuesday was a frustrating day in some respects. Traffic is terrible and it took us nearly an hour to reach our work site. We finally got there & began cleaning out. The main beam creaked and bent--we evacuated and decided the job was unsafe to continue.


Anne cleaning out buckets & buckets of old paint.


Cindy inside what's left of a kitchen.


Beauty amidst ugliness & destruction.
Appliances & debris outside our 1st site today. The rule is never to open a refrigerator. Just duct tape it & haul it to the curb.

The couple just down the street from us who made the difficult decision to demolish their home.
Interior of our 2nd job site before we took down the ceilings.


This is what the main support beam looked like...you can see the 2x4 we propped up there to help support the main beam. This is all termite damage.

Lunch break. From the left: Reed, Fish Camp Manager, Charles McDonald, Anne, Dianne, Cindy.

She survived the Superdome and has spent months and months in a cramped FEMA trailer. What we found in her house was not good news. Once walls and ceilings came down, it was easy to see the extensive termite damage. In the end, it may not be possible to give Ms. Williams back her home. 		 

Thursday we emptied the house, mostly

Friday worked more and left the house for next weeks crew