Whatever Strikes Me

My apologies to those who are still following the story of Julie. I received this update on Sept. 9 and forgot to post it. We’ve learned that within the past week or so the FEMA Castle was supposed to have been removed from Julie’s front yard. She said she would send a photo of her house without the trailer lawn ornament.

Here’s Julie’s report from Sept. 9:
“I am sorry it has taken me this long to give you an update. I moved the last box out of the FEMA Castle on August 25. Then on the  August 30 I had to put everything I could in the attic and on top of the kitchen cabinets because of Hurricane Gustav. Because of the job I have at present, I was required to stay at work from the 31 until the Sept 8. The house is fine and do not sustain any damages. I was afraid for a minute because the Gentilly side of the bank of the Industrial Canal was over topping. That is the body of water under the bridge that you crossed each day to get to camp. Anyway I had a few small branches and lots of leaves to get up. I am still very tired from work but all else is well.” 

Just received an e-mail today from Linda Burmeister, passing on photos and a report from Julie. As they had planned, John and Cathy did some heavy sweating in New Orleans last week and, as a result, Julie now has floors. Here’s what Julie had to say, followed by some photos of John and Cathy in action.
Gary

From Julie:
I do not know if you saw Cathy and John today, but here are some pictures from last week. The floors look great, but I feel so bad that I had to work all week and this one is not going to be any better. We have a survey by the Respiratory branch of JCAHO, who is now using the tracer methodology to do the survey. The air went out last week but my brother says it can be on again before the weekend. Next Saturday is my birthday and the best present is being made possible by you. I will be moving the majority of my stuff out of the trailer into the house.
Love You, Many Blessings, and that is for Dennis also!

Here’s what Julie had to report about her status as of July 8:

Just a line to say hello. My weekly progress is that I am still awaiting the Energy company to give me electrical power to the house. Cathy tell John I tried to copy his work in trimming out the doors. I put the flooring into the closet, but it will be almost as costly to put through out the house, so I am going to be learning how to do ceramic tiles in a couple of pay days. I have not taken anymore pictures mainly because I had put up plastic around the walls waiting for the ceilings to be completed with the popcorn. Christy the flowers are doing well!

Many Blessings!
Julie

Julie is getting closer to having that trailer removed from her front lawn. Here is an update from Julie:
“Just a quick update. I went back to work on Monday (12 to 14 hours/day) and have only been able to do about a half hour to 45 minutes before the dark has come. I really do not like to be in there alone when it is dark. The gas meter came yesterday and I was able to light the hot water heater late this afternoon. Guest what I will be doing when I get off tomorrow evening before it gets dark? You are so right! A long hot soak in the tub.
All of the electrical work has been completed. The electrician came by yesterday and gave the all-clear to contact the power company, which I did yesterday and today, but they are saying they have not received the permit from the electrician. I am going to call them again tomorrow and everyday until they tell me they have it.
I did finish the paint touch ups over the weekend and Darryl came by today and blew the 2 bedroom ceilings. They look awesome. He says he is coming back next week to do the other rooms where the popcorn was removed. He also said to say Hi, So Hi from Darryl.
I know we only had a week together, but the sound of that ice cream man would really be nice. By the sound I would know that you all were still here.

Many Blessings and much Love!”

If you have comments or questions about the Julie’s Hope mission trip, feel free to ask. If there are no comments to a post, click on the No Comments link at the end of a post. The first time you post, you have to register and your first post has to be approved. That’s to keep spam out of the blog. Once approved, future posts will appear immediately. If there are already comments in a post, just click on the Comments link to get the comment entry form.

If you’re wondering about our week’s work in New Orleans, let us know and we’ll fill you in.
Gary

I found this animation that shows how the flooding progressed during the hurricane. Julie lives in the Gentilly area. If you go to the animation and find the word Gentilly, Julie’s house is just above and to the right of the Y in the Gentilly label. Watch the animation to see how Julie’s home came to be under water.
Gary

New Orleans Katrina Flood Animation

For more about the Julie’s Hope mission trip, go to the blog created by team member Ed Burns:

http://www.julieshope.blogspot.com/

The camp was our home away from home for the week. It appears that it is a converted school field house. The building is divided into a kitchen, dining area, living area with couches and entertainment devices, men’s and women’s bunk areas, and six-unit shower/sink areas, each for men and women. Showers are small units that have just enough room in which you can turn around. There also are men’s and women’s restrooms that are part of the original structure. They each contain a shower, in addition to toilet facilities. There are also a couple of storage rooms.

The bunk areas consist of a bunch of bunk beds constructed of bare-wood 2×4s. Mattresses are standard college-dorm twin-sized units with plastic covers over them. While we were there, there was also a group from Florida, made up partially of children who were basically too young for this kind of mission work. No matter how many times they were asked to pick up their stuff, it didn’t happen and much of the men’s dorm was a mess throughout the week. If there was a negative aspect of the the trip, the children (boys) and their messes were it and that was easily tolerated.

The living areas are kept very clean, with each group taking turns throughout the week to perform cleaning duties. Work shoes are placed on racks at the entrance to keep dirt to a minimum. Though it wasn’t home, I never felt like I was living in dirt. However, with the number of kids in the place, the main restroom, the only toilets in the building, got kind of messy, so I found myself using the facilities in the trailer next door as it was cleaner and more private.

The rest of the camp area consists of trailers of various kinds, a gazebo, and a pond. The compound is surrounded by a high chain-link fence, topped with razor wire. The gates were only open during the daytime. Otherwise, they are chained and locked. As you enter the compound, there is a rather large lot that has camping trailers (reason for the trailers not known), and some storage trailers. Straight ahead from the entrance is the pond and large gazebo. You wrap around the main building and see a lawn area on the left, with the main building on your right.

Ahead, at the opposite end of the grounds is more parking for vans, trailers, etc., and a bunch of semi-tractor-trailer-sized trailers. Those trailers contain living supplies for the workers, building supplies, and a vast array of tools, donated by tool manufacturers. At the end of the main building, opposite the entrance, is a laundry building and the external trailer that houses more toilets and sinks.

The camp manager’s name is Katie. She migrated from Wisconsin to do this work through the Lutheran Relief program. She lives in a trailer on the grounds with her two dogs, a great dane named Bailey, and a young puppy, whose name I can’t remember. Katie runs a tight ship and is a self-admitted control freak, but she has the best intentions in mind for all and wants the facilities to be a good place to stay after a hot, dirty day working on homes. Though she ruffled a feather or two at times, she has a tough job to do and the only way to keep any kind of order is by following a set of rules and procedures. The week we were there she was dealing with the added hassle of young kids, many poorly supervised, so I’m sure she was on edge.

Katie has been on duty for most of the three years since the Katrina storm and brought tears to my eyes several times with the stories she tells about the New Orleans people and what they have been through. It’s clear that we cannot ever comprehend what has transpired as a result of the storm and floods.

Katie held a devotion during breakfast and dinner. Breakfast was at 7:00 and consisted of cold cereal, fruit, muffins, toast, and the usual breakfast beverages. It was during breakfast that we also made our lunches for the day. Devotion was at 7:15 and by the time Katie was done with devotions, most were done with breakfast and off to load up vehicles for the day’s work.

Loading vehicles consisted of people, gear, lunches, and the all-important coolers full of ice and bottled water. All groups were usually gone before 8:00 a.m.

Dinner was at 6:00 sharp and we were expected to be there on time. The food was superb, nothing like the school cafeteria slop you would expect. Basically we ate like kings. The lady who prepared each dinner was an accomplished chef and dinner was a highlight of the day.

It wasn’t long after dinner before most people started heading to bed. The main lights in the building went off at 8:00 and the lights in the living area at 9:00. I’m one who goes to bed late and was always the last to bed. By 10:30, I was almost always alone. The heat and hard work wore people out. It wore me out, too, but I simply can’t go to sleep that early in the evening.

To do this kind of mission work, I don’t think you could have better facilities in which to live. The camp was well run, safe, and comfortable. If you want to support the work in New Orleans, I’m sure contributions would be more than welcome. In formation for contributions can be found at this address: http://www.lsss.org/helping/huricanerelief05.htm

Here are some photos of the compound.

Gary

This is the main building, looking back toward the gazebo and entrance. The small building in the foreground is the laundry facility.

This is the external restroom/sink trailer for both men and women.

One of our vans/trailers. Toilet trailer on the other side of the van, with the main building in the background.

A view of the surrounding neighborhood through the fence that surrounds the camp.

These are the trailers in the back of the grounds in which supplies and tools are stored. Foreground is the lawn area for play, picnics, etc.

The camp pond has a walkway around it and is populated with geese, ducks, turtles, and other aquatic life. Old bread is always available to feed the animals.

The gazebo is a place for eating and relaxing if you enjoy hot, humid air. The Florida people, who were frequently too cold in the main building, often had their evening meeting in the gazebo. Us cold-blooded Illinois people chose the air conditioning.

The men’s bunk room in one of its neater moments. I assume that the women’s room was similar, but cleaner.

This is the living/dining area. You can see the kitchen in the background.

Some wall art left by a previous group. The walls in the hallways surrounding the bunk rooms are covered with these displays.

Some wall art left by a previous group. The walls in the hallways surrounding the bunk rooms are covered with these displays.

This wall art was left by our own Linda Burmeister and her family/team when they visited in 2007.

It’s our last day in New Orleans and somebody turned up the humidity over night. We were in full sweat by the time we had the trailers unloaded. The women stayed back at the camp to fulfill our group’s cleaning duties. Each group takes a turn throughout the week. It’s only an hour of time. I commented to one of the women that it was a little sexist to just have the women do the cleaning and she said, “we’re realistic. The projects that the men are working on (kitchen, bathrooms) require the most time.” But we messed up and took the wrong trailer. The trailer we had was full of donated furniture for Julie. The trailer the women had contained the tools. Hey, we’re tired!

With Mark’s “help,” Art dug into the kitchen. The kitchen floor has very nice ceramic tile that survived the flood and Julie wanted to keep it. It’s in beautiful shape, but there is no tile where cabinets once were and the new cabinets do not fit into the same “slots.” So Art has had to modify many of the floor pieces to get the tops all level for the counters. The new cabinets we purchased the other day, surprisingly, were taller than the standard counter height, so Art had to cut each one down. All of this has delayed the project, but Art’s amazing skills are winning the day. By late afternoon, the counter tops were installed and the sink was being put into place. I left late afternoon to fly home, but am confident the kitchen was finished shortly after my departure.

By mid afternoon, toilets were seated and the plumbing was getting hooked up. Doug, who has been handling the bathroom fixture installations had the tub surrounds in and was caulking the edges. Julie’s “FEMA castle” has a shower that is just big enough to turn around in. She mentioned the other day that she looks forward to being able to take a bath in the bathtub and just relax. I’m confident that will happen this weekend. It’s the little things that make a huge difference.

Don spent a better part of the day installing hardware on the interior doors. John did the woodwork in the archway and was going to try to get folding doors hung. We also bought flooring for the master bedroom and hoped to get that installed.

Julie, Cathy, Christi, Sue, Elizabeth, and others tackled the yard again, giving it a thorough raking, removing vines and branches from the back fence, and making it look more like a yard than a post-flood mess. It’s interesting that, three years later, very little is growing in the back yard. Virtually all of the plant life is essentially dead. It’ll be interesting to see if the air that gets to the soil after the raking starts to generate new life.

Flowers also got planted in the front of the house and a couple of planters hung. As Christi said, “the outside just needs a little color.” The green and the flower color make a difference.

Christi had been planning some window treatments for the past couple of days and Elizabeth and I were enlisted to hang rods. Julie has some beautiful drapes that she’s been waiting to use and they look nice hung on the windows. Elizabeth, who is getting married soon, now is an experienced curtain rod hanger, so there’s no reason her new home in California won’t be adorned with fine window treatments. Using the screwdriver to hang rods, Elizabeth developed a crippling blister about 1/8 in. in diameter on her right hand. Consideration was given to taking her to the emergency room, but it was decided she would be OK if she didn’t use the hand for about a month.

We had our last carport lunch this afternoon and Elizabeth led us in a very nice house blessing ceremony in the den. Linda presented Julie with a prayer shawl, we prayed for her and she for us, and tears were shed.

We then went back outside for a group photo and got it in just ahead of a storm. When the rain finally cut loose, we got an old-fashioned southern thunderstorm with a lengthy deluge of rain. All of the cleaned windows are now not so clean.

The Ice Cream Man situation reached comic levels today. A renegade mercenary showed up this morning, no doubt looking to move in on Ice Cream Man’s territory. Elizabeth, in a Christian way, told him to get lost. Then Ice Cream Man showed up just before lunch. He was “done with his route early.” Elizabeth, our self-appointed Ice Cream Man liaison (she speaks the language), indicated that he was too early and might return around 2:00. He returned at the appointed hour, in the middle of the rainstorm. Most braved the storm to make their purchases. I’m going to miss those afternoon ice cream sandwiches.

At 4:30, I regretfully left for the airport. I felt bad leaving everyone to finish up and wish I had decided to stay around and finish with the group. I feel like I abandoned them, but have to admit that my own bed will feel good tonight. The group is planning a 4:00 a.m. departure for Illinois Saturday. It’ll be a long drive to get them home Saturday evening.

For my part, it was a distinct privilege to be able to spend the week in New Orleans helping put Julie in a position to move back into her home after three years in that trailer. Yes, Julie reaped the material benefit of our efforts, but we were the real winners in this mission because we got to do what the Bible teaches us and make a difference for someone in need without any expectation or desire for return. We got to be God’s hands and take care of one of his children. There is no better feeling than that.

Here are photos from the day’s activities. Some extra ones from the last day. Christi said she would take photos after everything is cleaned up so check back in a few days to see those.

Gary

View of the back of the house. The extension on the right is the family room/den. The sheet metal box on the back of the wall is the water heater housing. The open door on the left is the entry to the master bedroom. It’s worth noting that the air conditioner survived the flood and does work. Julie says, “I don’t know how long it will work, but it works now.” There is no doubt it will have to be replaced.

View of the front, south end. Can’t get a shot of the entire front because the FEMA Castle is in the way.

Arch before John started working on it. The arch connects the dining/living room with the family room/den. View is into the den.

Cathy sands the finished arch.

Debbie cleans the outside of the bay windows. A couple of hours later the thunderstorm would take care of that glistening glass. John’s saw station is in the background.

Cathy strikes a pose while raking the backyard. Note how dead all of the vegetation looks.

Elizabeth bustin’ sod so flowers can be planted in front of the house.

Sue and Elizabeth planting the flowers and discussing weddings. Though I didn’t catch all of the conversation, Sue got rather animated at one point and I heard “Bill,” “his friends,” and something about behavior at the reception, though I didn’t catch enough detail to put the story together.

Doug hookin’ up the crapper.

Don installed hardware on all of the interior doors and adjusted them so they’d close properly.

Linda cleaning the same window she cleaned yesterday. Seemed to be a strange fascination with that one window. At least she’s not walking around with that mask on the side of her face. I was starting to get embarrassed for her.

Mark “helps” Art in the kitchen. Art told me later that he got more done in the 15 min. Mark was asleep than he had in the previous day and a half of Mark actually involving himself in the project. But don’t tell Mark. He thinks he actually made a difference in the kitchen and we don’t want to burst his little bubble. He’s very sensitive.

The first countertop.

Countertops installed, Art drops in the kitchen sink. Shhhh, Mark’s still sleeping.

Window treatment in the master bedroom.

Our last carport lunch. That is one hot and tired group of people filled with the joy of “doing unto others.”

Elizabeth leads us in the house blessing ceremony in the den.

Linda presents Julie with a prayer shawl representing “all of the prayers that have gone into making this possible.”

The group that converted Julie’s house from studwork to a home in five days (l-r back row): Mary Long, Don Long, Ed Burns, Doug Naatz, Mark Petersdorff, Julie Newman, Cliff Beck, Linda Burmeister, Art Osburn, Dennis Burmeister, John May, Gary Parr. Front row, l-r: Debbie Beck, Sue Stroup, Cathy Johnson, Elizabeth Hones, Christi Osburn. Not shown: Anna Martell, who flew home Thursday, and the hundreds, and maybe thousands, who prayed for us and for Julie and donated money, supplies, and furniture. If you look closely you’ll see the Lord’s presence in all of this.

We not only moved a mountain today, we shoved it down the road. I’m writing this at 11:00 p.m. because we didn’t get back from our evening session at Julie’s until 10:00 and I smelled so bad that even the camp pet dogs went running in the opposite direction, tails tucked firmly between their legs.

The determination that drove all of us today was incredible, as were the results. The last pieces of rock were hung and the scraps hauled back to camp for disposal. No more screw guns, T-squares, box cutters, measuring for receptacles, drywall mud, sanding, priming . . .

The remaining kitchen cabinet pieces were located at Lowe’s and, by the time we left tonight, there were only two or three pieces remaining to be installed. They go in in the morning and it’ll be off to Home Depot for countertops.

Today’s other accomplishments:

• The interior of the entire house is now painted.
• Wood framing has been installed around all windows
• Vanities and tub surrounds are installed in the bathrooms
• Faucet and shower fixtures were installed and water runs again for the first time in three years in the tubs and will run again in the sinks tomorrow.
• Half of the interior doors have been installed.
• The window frames and glass were cleaned for the first time in three years and the light beamed through them.
• The yard has been raked and all debris left from the flood picked up and put on the curb for pickup.
• There is shelving in the master bedroom closet.
• We started installing electrical receptacles and switches.

We’ll have another busy day tomorrow, our last day in New Orleans, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and we’re traveling at high speed to get there.

Yes, the Ice Cream Man cometh again today, but this time he got his greed under control and only showed up once. He had no trouble making multiple sales. He’s been a friendly bright spot each day and that ice cream is sooo good and sooo much better in the New Orleans heat.

We did break today to return to camp for a special dinner of blackened catfish covered in shrimp creole, red potatoes, vegetables, and pecan pie. I don’t like catfish, but ate it tonight and it was excellent. I don’t like pecan pie, but ate it tonight and did not leave one crumb. It was superb.

Sleep will come rapidly tonight and we’ll keep shoving that mountain tomorrow. That FEMA trailer’s days are numbered.

Here are some photos from the day. Oops, fell asleep at the computer last night and had to go to bed. Photos coming up this morning.

Gary

The framed bay window will give a nice view to the back yard.

The cabinetry is starting to take shape.

The windows are all framed. Julie is going to clear coat them.

Roll that primer, Christi! The clock is ticking.

Bathroom vanity #1 installed.

The ever-gleeful Elizabeth painting the kitchen.

Linda slaps those windows into shape.

Cathy and Dennis looking over the plans for the archway.