We never quite end the story of our Mission to St Gabriel while there are those who share their story with us. Here's another reflection from one of our participants...
For the week that I was in New Orleans, I saw abandoned home after abandoned home, spray-painted signs that cried “No Road Home,” miles and miles of devastation. Here and there, scattered throughout the city, I saw signs of hope—homeowners determined to bring their city back in the face of harrowing financial and emotional costs. But it didn’t get to me. I stayed focused. I cut and grouted floor tile, I listened to terrible stories and was glad I could help. I caught Mardi Gras beads, I was inspired by Fr. Doug and Sr. Kathleen, I made good friends with my St. Michael and St. Columban co-volunteers. I was frustrated by the mess of challenges that the city faces in rebuilding. But I was not overwhelmed. I took it in stride.
But then Sunday morning came. It was my first day back in cincinnati and I was on my way to church. Driving down North Bend Road, something funny started happening to my eyes. In my imagination, every house that I looked at was damaged by Hurrican Katrina. One after another, I saw gutten houses. Nothing left but the frames and the roofs. Windows were broken. On each house was that dreadful spray-painted X that announced where people had died and the date that help had arrived...much too late. The Taco Bell was abandoned. The sign at Thorton's gas station had fallen over and shattered. A few FEMA trailers were parked in front yards. I started to tear up, but I blinked it away.

Then I got to church and it started ahppening again. I saw the pews at St. Vivian warped and covered with mud. The altar pieces were ruined. The organ was swollen and collapsed in a far corner of the church. The brass stations of the cross each had a dark line marking the height of the water, and I knew that line could never be washed away. I started to see phases of rebuilding. Again, in my mind, the carpet was ripped up exposing a dirty concrete floor. The pews were bulldozed. In their place were rows of folding chairs. The altar itself was replaced by a card table. Now, I started to cry. What loss. What devastation.

I'm trying to think of what wisdom I can take from this vision. All I can say is that we are all one body in Christ. Katrina didn’t just happen to New Orleans; it happened to all of us. And I’ve received a great gift in helping to carry this cross. Jeanne S.

MAY WE NEVER GET SO HARDENED THAT WE DON'T FEEL THE PAIN JEANNE FELT ON HER FIRST DAY BACK.
Peace and blessings, Anna

THIS IS THE 'END OF THE STORY' - Mission trip to St. Gabriel - February 2007

Sorry that we didn't get to complete our blog while we were at St. Gabriel's - it seems that we had some sympathy with those who were without electricity here in Cincinnati as our electricity went out as well on Thursday evening and then on Friday morning. We tried to get back on line on Friday but it just wasn't going to cooperate. So for those who wish to know the end of the story of our mission trip - here it is.

Thursday: This is our last day - it's been a busy week@ I'm so proud of our work crews. One of the things we were asked to do at our orientation on Sunday after Mass by our project manager Matt Russo was that the people of New Orleans have been ripped off by so called contractors, work that been done had been done poorly and that the homeowners were weary of anyone coming in. Therefore we were asked to give them the best work possible. Some crews reported that when they first arrived at the homeowners site, they were greeted with some reserve, but by the time they completed the first days work, there were lots of smiles and thanks. It only took a few hours before the homeowners realized that they had a crew that not only knew what they were doing but they had people that cared about the quality of their work and about them! In the end, our crew has completed the the projects given in record time - Sr. Kathleen kept saying "you work too hard" and too fast (but good). We had time left so a crew of men were able to finish 'mudding' the church bathroom so it can be painted, and put up insulation and drywall in the various new spaces behind the altar including the sacristy, 2 bathrooms, closet and storage space, etc. Tony, St. Gabriel's Maintenance supervisor, was leery about volunteers working on the church (he's very particular!) but after his first inspection he was thrilled with the quality of work and left them with a list of things to do. Another group started cleaning the parish hall (aka our shower room) and the lower floors of the parish offices (below our dorms). We were able to do all this because we completed our work list at the parishioners homes.

Several of our groups ended up with nick names - ask Barb Kroell - she's the leader of the painted ladies, Mike Gable and Ed Jansing & Kathy Szczur were know as the "popcorn" men and woman - they had to learn how to use the popcorn machine to texture the ceilings!

We also need to acknowledge Jack Hall who took over as project manager as Matt Russo had to go out of the country for a close friends funeral. Thank you Jack for doing such a superb job. And thanks to the group leaders for listening!

Although there are still so many empty homes in the area, there are a lot more who have started the rebuilding process to the point where they need more skilled laborers. We were so blessed to have a crew who knew how to tile, carpentry skills, skills to complete the drywall process and painting. The ladies who painted one house had to paint 18-20 ceilings. Kudos's to them - especially since they had to put on three coats in some rooms (they wanted it to be perfect). St. Michael can be proud of our 43 participants. They went above and beyond what they were asked to do. We actually had a dozen or so very restless people on Thursday because they had to wait for a job.

FRIDAY
All in all its been a tremendous week - even with the tornado (Lori Anne will be happy to know that her pop-up (or fold/down) can survive tornado winds!), high winds, power outages, and cold weather for New Orleans - most evenings we had temps in the 30's. On Thursday evening we got to 'break bread' together with a candlelight dinner since we had no power - fortunately dinner had finished cooking by then! Fortunately most had had their breakfast and coffee before the power went out again on Friday morning.

Since this will be the last entry in the blog, you'll have to ask the participants about their experiences when you see them. We'll post pictures as soon as possible in the gathering space. In the meantime - here are a few more entries from participants to share with you...

"Our Valentine's Day was made special by our wonder kitchen crew who composed a dinner of roast port, roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans! Carol Walker made beautiful heart shaped and hand-decorated cookies and her mother donated Esther Prices chocolates. We had personalized Valentines that our 18 year old, Michelle & Kelsey, made which were really cute. With background music, candles and red tablecloths, what else did we need? Thanks to everyone who made it so special! Sally H.

"We have finished our painting at Miss Mary's house and was also able to clean up her back yard. She was so grateful and just a wonderful lady to help. She is 80 years old (looks fifty!) has taught school for 43 years and is also a seamstress. My crew (the painted ladies & Phil) have been a blessing to work with - Sally, Carolyn, Susan, Julia, Rhonda and myself - Phil & Barb Schmidt are also part of our team. I can't believe its almost time to go home.
After the tornado we all prayed for the people and also for Fr. Doug and Sr. Kathleen. Father seemed to be depressed an my heart went out to him. He was so concerned for his people and all the people of this area. Fr. and Sr. are truly disciples of Christ and I only hope I can learn from them.
Our kitchen crew has been fabulous. They made Valentines Day so special. I could go on and on about all of these people that are here to help and those we are helping. We are truly with God's special people. Peace to all back home, Barb K.

ADDED NOTE ABOUT THE TORNADO THAT HIT WHILE WE WERE THERE:
From Sr. Kathleen: "We were all stunned and saddened by the devastation caused by the tornado that hit Ponchartrain Park. How unbelievable it all was and is! (tornado's are very unusual for New Orleans) It is an amazing blessing that more people were not killed or badly wounded. The one elderly woman who was killed was a resident of Ponchartrain Park, Stella Chambers, was living in Her FEMA trailer in front of her house (these trailers were not made to withstand any kind of major storms). As of this writing we know of only 2 parishioners who suffered damage from the tornado. One was 83 years old Mrs. Eutiquia "Rosie" Pollard who was living on Ondin Street in her FEMA trailer along side of her house. The house was blown to smithereens but the trailer remained standing! A piece of siding from the house blew through the side wall in the trailer where Mrs. Pollard was sleeping. She was not injured! Mrs. Pollard and her children are giving thanks to God and the Blessed Mother for protecting her. The statue of Mary was standing serene in front of the trailer@ She already has a new trailer. Another parishioner who suffered damages to her trailer was Mrs. Gwen Armstrong, she also lived on Odin Street. She and family members who were with her were not injured. That God that most of the homes that were devastated were not as yet occupied even though it was evident that some of them were in process of being restored. Some homes of parishioners that were already being lived in missed being hit by a few feet! Another miracle! "

Catholic Charities set up a satellite site on St. Gabriel grounds. All week we witnessed a procession of people from the area going to get help including food. All food not used by our St. Michael mission group was taken up to them to help in some little way. Nothing was wasted!

That pretty much takes care of our mission trip. I can't say enough about the wonderful people who worked so hard to try to make life a little easier for St. Gabriel parishioners. They are the hero's who help make this world a little better for others. I know that God has special blessings in store for them.

Peace to all, Anna

Happy Valentine's Day to our family and friends! It is Wednesday night and we've completed another great workday. As a matter of fact, our crews have done such a great job, that they've almost put themselves 'out of business'. Let me explain. We were given a list of 7 families with various amounts of work that needed to be done. One of the crews, Barb and her painted ladies, painted a whole house (including a room with 17 foot ceilings) - at least 2 coats! Another crew had a long sheet of jobs that needed to be done and when they started in the kitchen they found a lot of termite damage that meant that they had to rebuild the wall. They found the same problem in the bathroom! And this was after she had spent thousands of dollars on 'professional' help. When this crew was given the list, it was not expected that they would get it completed this week. Well, not only have they almost completed it, but they've done a lot extra! As a matter of fact, most of the homes will be completed by tomorrow. One crew started work on the church bathroom - taping and mudding while several others started with insulation and drywall in the area behind the altar. Not only have our crews worked and completed these houses - THEY HAVE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB THAT WON'T NEED TO BE REDONE! I'm so proud of all of our people. Tomorrow Fr. Doug and Sr. Kathleen will find work for the other on the parish site, probably in the 'shower room' which was once their parish hall, and in the former parish offices and classrooms (first floor -below the 'dorms').

We ended our workday with a special Valentine's Day dinner of roast beef, pork, (lots of gravy), mashed potatoes, green beans, salad and homemade heart cookies baked by Carol Walker. By the way, THANK YOU to all those who contributed homemade cookies of all kinds - we have enjoyed them tremendously. It's been a great way to end our evenings.

Tomorrow we expect to have our interviews with the New Orleans Catholic paper as well. We'll have lunch at noon followed by Fr. Doug's and Sr. Kathleen's follow-up talk and thank you's. They usually do this on the last day, but Fr. Doug is throwing us a Mardi Gras party at his temporary home and he needs the time to get ready!

As I've done the past few days, here are some comments from our participants:

We have been working on a house near ready to move into. There was considerable expense in new plumbing - but it was truly ready now...NO - the homeowner paid an excessive price for what was done. We spent our time fixing problems and getting rooms ready to paint. All that is needed now is water hook-up, electrical hook-up, finishing the floors and furniture. The joy expressed in her eyes with the little things we did make this time, expense, visit all worthwhile. She takes pride in her home and we take pride in our work to make it her home! Jim H

continued reflection from Tuesday...
"we awoke today to learn tornadoes ripped through New Orleans overnight Monday. News came fast that 3 persons were killed! one of them from Ponchatrain Park - part of the area where we are and have worked. Nobody from St. Gabriel Parish was among those dead. But, there were parishioners who suffered property loss...again! All of us were hit - emotionally,we could feel the sense of loss and so much more. In the midst of that despair, the spirit still shines through! We worked hard and experienced the happiness and joy that still comes from those families whose homes we are helping, lives, we are helping to rebuild. At the end of the day some of us went to the French Quarter. What a difference - it's like they don't even know. We are fed! Let us be thankful. Through his grace we are touched and untouched too!

As I sit here to write about my thoughts thus far, I hear my fellow travelers from Cincinnati sharing a meal and stories of our day. What a wonderful group of people to be with - diverse talents, ambitions, and background but all here for a common goal.
Yesterday, Sr. Kathleen talked with a few of us about living the Gospel. I truly believe as members from our community of St. Michael see and work each day with each other and are with members from St. Gabriel's community, they are living and experiencing the Gospel message that Christ calls us to recognize the dignity of each human. Yet this week leaves me with many questions about where the local, state, and national governments have been. It seems as if the majority of our country has forgotten about our wonderful brothers and sisters in New Orleans and the surrounding area. Maybe yesterday's tornado will help to draw attention back to this region. Peace, Alice M.

"Two nights ago a tornado hit about a mile from our sleeping quarters. One person died and 15 were injured. I slept through the whole thing. This disaster is so hard on those who already had hurricane damage...I can't imagine what is going on in their heads. On a brighter note, we painted the inside of an entire house and had a blast doing it. We also gutted a house today. It feels so good to help these people out even if it is just simple things like painting. Michelle

"Tourist - stay away" is the first thing I noticed that was written on the side of a house in big black letters...I feel grateful that I am able to take a trip down here and contribute to the hurricane relief even if the most I do is wipe away paint I accidentally spilt. I just have this feeling that this parish is going to continue to bring people in to help those in desperate need of food, shelter, clothing and building/painting. Thank you for letting us stay here and making us feel at home, Kelsey

That's about it for tonight. In just two days we return to the land of snow and ice. We are thinking of you, please stay safe and we would be OK if you didn't have any more snow before we return! After the tornado we had a 70 degree day, then it dropped into the 40's (I know you feel sorry for us) with high winds and it just got into the 50's during the day. It's supposed to get into the 30's tonight! At least it hasn't been raining. Take care, blessings Anna

Hello friends and family:
We had another good and productive day - after we got over the fact that we had experienced a tornado just a few blocks away. After the relief of knowing that we were all OK came the realization that 3 people had died, one just a few blocks away. The wind picked up her FEMA trailer. Remember all of the pictures after hurricane Katrina and the markings on the homes indicating that they had been inspected, etc.? Well, they are now going around putting up new markings on homes hit by the tornado. Fr. Doug and Sr. Kathleen spent the day going from street to street checking up on neighbors - whether they are parishioners or not. They were both overcome with emotion of the destruction and the hurt being experienced by all. They questioned as to how much more "their people" could take. Tonight's evening prayer included prayers of petitions for their continued strength.

Catholic Telegraph in New Orleans is sending out someone to talk with us and go with some of our crews to the work sites. At the same time we hear that crews from the Louisiana electric company are being sent to the greater Cincinnati area to help US with the power lines that are down because of the ice storms you are experiencing. We are also keeping all of you in our prayers. I won't tell you that we have had relatively warm weather, although windy.

Here are some comments from participants of Project Hope to share with you tonight:

"It's a wonderful feeling to work with a team to complete the painting of several rooms of a house. The individuals challenge each other to paint excellently. We completed a house for a gem of a lady who was scammed $143,000. It was a privilege. She said the "water" was devastating, but the rip-off was even worse. It's hard work but so gratifying! Sally H

"Our team has spent the past 2 days laying ceramic tile at Leon & Vivien Gautier's house. They are a lovely couple who have lived in their house for 57 years. It's so wonderful to see this couple excited to move back into their home despite everything that has happened. We are truly blessed to be doing this work!

On another note, today was a strange day. We were awakened at 2:30 a.m. by a very strong storm. For me, the sounds were eerily similar to the tornado that went over our house in 1998. Sure enough, it turned out that a tornado touched down just a few blocks away. The devastation was horrible. To see this damage on top of the hurricane damage was truly unbelievable. Our hearts go out to these people in Ponchartrain Park. They are such strong people and we will keep them in our prayers. We know that they will overcome this, too.
Jeanne B"

"My week here is about 1/3 over. It has been good so far. Sunday, I had the opportunity to see downtown New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras and while it was fun, it was deceiving because I think that is how most people might think New Orleans is, but it is not. The homeowner of my work project drove me through the lower 9th ward today on the way to Home Depot and it is still so devastated! Even Wal-Mart hasn't reopened yet! Every day on our way to our work site, we pass by a neighborhood of section 8 housing that was almost finished being built before it was damaged by the hurricane. It was to be a model for subsidized housing. What a loss! It was going to be a community of all ages - now what?
Our work has been good. Slow, but methodical. I am confident we will leave her in better shape, closer to moving in with hour 12 year old daughter. I asked her how her daughter was doing and she said "good". She turns 13 in April and was talking to her mom about her 13th birthday party - yes- life does go on!
Even though we are working through one tragedy, the tornado overnight presented difficulties again for these weary people. Can they be compared to the Israelites wandering the desert for 40 years? Who knows? I am very glad I came down and will be a different person when I return. Kathy S.

"I am overwhelmed! I have responded to emergencies all of my adult life but I cannot comprehend the scale of this tragedy. Our work site is about 10 minutes away by car. In those ten minutes I witness destruction to homes, apartments, and businesses. It is overwhelming - so much loss. As we drive into the neighborhood, I see first hand the Urban Search and Rescue marking on each of the searched homes. Many are still vacant but many have FEMA trailers and are in various stages of repair. Our work site is Lorraine's house. We walked in on Monday with a page long list but as a team we are accomplishing many of the repairs. What wonderful people have come from St. Michael's to help. This morning, in the early AM I awoke to a tremendous rain storm, saw the flashes of lightening and heard the sirens of the storm response - I never worried or said a payer for others. This morning, I awoke to find out that a woman died in a tornado that touched down a short distance from where we were staying. I cannot say how blessed I feel to have been spared however this community was not spared again. This has been a week of conflicting emotions - happy that we are making a difference on a small scale but depressing in all that still needs to be done. Why has our country forgotten this area? Ed J.

It's Tuesday morning and we had quite a night. I'm not sure that it's been confirmed yet, but reports are that there were some tornado touchdowns throughout the New Orleans area. All those in the dorm rooms and RV's had a relatively safe night - it was more the sound of the weather and the noise of the sirens that kept some awake. Of course, there were quite a few who slept through it all! Sr. Kathleen mentioned to me yesterday that she would prefer tornado's over ice and snow - I'll get to tell her today that for our group we would have been stuck with one or the other since we understand that you got ice and sleet last night. After experiencing the effects of a tornado in a pop-up (or fold down!), I've decided that I'll take snow, ice and sleet any day.

But we are all well - the work crews have left for their homes and we are looking forward to a good day. Blessings to all, Anna

Hello all:
It's Monday night and we've put in a full day. All of our work teams have met with their home owners and begun the work needed in their homes. The majority of the 43 adults arrived either on Saturday evening or during the day on Sunday. Thirty three were present for Sunday Mass at 10:30 (which by the way lasted 1 1/2 hours - although it certainly didn't seem that long). Fr. Doug and Sr. Kathleen send their best wishes to all of you. As before, our group was introduced and welcomed at Mass where we joined more than 200 of their parishioners to celebrate the Liturgy together. We had a great time reconnecting with some of the parishioners we had met on our previous trips. We then met with the project manager to go over the list of homes we were going to be working on and get an idea of what the work teams were going to be doing - a lot of painting, laying tile, finishing up carpentry work and patching up drywall and walls. On Sunday evening the majority of our group spent their free day exploring New Orleans - they even managed to watch one of the parades. The rest of the evening was spent coming together as a group.

For those who are making their first trip, it has been quite an experience. They are really amazed at the amount of destruction after all of this time. Those who were here this summer were pleased with the amount of work that's been done since then. Each street now has at least 3 or 4 neighbors back - living in their homes. But...there are still 4 or 5 others around them that haven't been touched. While much has been done, there is still so much left to do. We're talking years of work.

I've asked the participants to share some of their thoughts as we go through the week, so I will be posting some of these for you...

"after returning to St. Gabraiels the neighborhoods we were working in had a lot of improvements done on them. It is apparent that people are returning to the area." Bob K.

"The strength and fellowship here at St. Gabriels is so strong you can feel it in the air. It starts with Father Doug and expands through everyone. They all want so bad to "come Home". Tony W.

"Here we are back again with all the wonderful people of St. Gabriels. Our Liturgy today was an inspiration. This was a great way to start our weed. The rest of the day we spent in New Orleans watching all the people and have a grend time. Today (Monday) we staart our jobs. This will be a great experience as it was last time." BK

"As we entered New Orleans, the massiveness of the destruction of their storm struck me - miles of damaged and destroyed buildings - it was hard to fathom - I have seen destroyed buildings before but never on this scale. Then we met this warm and loving commnity at St. Gabriel's. There was such an air of appreciated for us coming here and then the determination that this parish and its community is going to succeed." Ed J.

"I have such a grateful heart that we have arrived in New Orleans safely and that we all seem to be energized and eager to get started. We were warmly received by the St. Gabriel community and Mass yesterday morning. I always smile when I think of the two arch angels working together through our two parishes. The weather is lovely...sunny and mild, and I find that that always helps my spirit. I am reminding myself to keep an open mind and heart to this experience.
We found ourselves in the French Quarter yesterday. Mardi Gras starts a week early here. There was a Dog Parade which was a lot of fun to watch. Ed's favorite was the Boxer dressed in boxing shorts with red boxing gloves hanging over his head. Mine was the bride, a white feather boa woven in with her leash. All of it reminded us of our Laura who is a true dog lover.
Bourban Street and a seafood dinner ended our French Quarter experience. Good sharing and fellowship awaited us back at church. Well, the groups are getting ready for our morning meeting and send off, better get over there...thanks to all of you for lifting us up in prayer." SJ

"One thing I'd like to share: for those who were here in June, it's nice to see the progress, homes completed, people living in them, yards trimmed and yet so many still untouched with so much left to do!"

"CRUCIFICATION & RESURRECTION"
* My first impressions: It looks like the crucifixtion and Resurrection marched together here. There are many abandoned homes that scream disrepair, hurt, pain and thousands (if not millions) of broken dreams. On the other hand, there were some signs of new life and hope...local residents grinding out another day to make a comeback.
* Traveling around to about 10 parishes in New Orleans today it was overwhelming to see at least half of them closed, probably forever, with no life in any direction. Sr. Judy Gomila, Mission Office, education director, took me around to see her home neighborhood about 10 minutes from St. Gabriel. We could not find her home she grew up in and we realized it was probably torn down. She believes a combination of incompetence, corruption and racism brought aboaut this distruction and these same factors may cause New Orleans never to fully recover.

When she droped me off today, she started to cry saying, 'thanks so much to y'all for coming down from Cincinnati to be in solidarity with us...we really need it.' She hugged me and left, with both of us feeling crucifixtion and resurrection." Mike Gable, Mission Office, Archdiocese

"First workday - sunshine blue sky and warm temps and into the homes we went! Teams organized, Fr. Doug and Sr. Kathleen shared their story. We had great breakfast and some joined in morning prayer with Anna leading the way. We sang "Let there b Peace on Earth". The two teams I worked with wen into the homes of Lorrain Joseph - multiple tasks in many rooms. Everybody worked hard and worked well together. Much was accomplished with much left to do. Lorraine was in and out and lifted our spirits with gracious thanks and hardy smiles. We'll be there again in the morning! Smiles and warm hearts were filled by the Holy Spirit! All Good!" Chuck G.

Never have I seen a greater group of people moved the the need to serve and the ability to share their talents. The goodness and greatness of God was evident in everything that was done. " Tony W.

"Today working in our home was very overshelming. Our homeowner is going to be 0 in May. She is a very strong lady who would just like 5 good years in her home. We painted and had great fellowship with each other, learning to know everyone. I came here as a friend of a friend. And it has been such a wonderful esperience. This group of people is fantastic. Julia C.

That's all I'm going to share for one evening. Tomorrow will once again bring us hard work but lots of joy. Pray for us - there's so much we hope to accomplish and such a short week to do it in.

Good night, Anna

It's Friday, February 9 and most of us are ready to go! Most of the food items, some ladders and folding chairs, tools and supplies are waiting for the cargo van to arrive this afternoon - all things to be packed and taken down to St. Gabriel's. The majority of our group is planning to arrive at St. Gabriel Saturday evening. We are looking forward to celebrating Mass with Fr. Doug and the 250 parishioners who manage to get to their 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass. My main concern now is for the safety of mission team as they travel the 800+ miles. Our next post will be directly from St. Gabriels!
Anna

FEBRUARY 2, 2007 - We had a great planning meeting on 1/30/07 - and added a few more people to the roster -Scott Kuwatch, Tom Petts, and Kelsey Robb. After talking with Sr. Kathleen (St. Gabriel Church), it looks like our main jobs this time will include painting, installing drywall & insulation and laying tile. We may have one home that still needs to be gutted and cleaned out but basically we won't know for sure what our jobs will be until we get there on the weekend. We are all looking forward to celebrating Mass with the parishioners of St. Gabriel on Sunday, 2/11. For all of the new people this will certainly be a great experience. Given the tone of the meeting this past week, I look for this to be a fun as well as hard working group!
Anna Geoppinger, coordinator