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