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 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
posted by Lori Anne at 10:49 PM
1 Comments:
It's hard to hear about how much you are doing, and not being able to help. The teens and I have been praying for you and hope you get much accomplished. We love you and miss all of you. Thanks for being St. Michael angels. . .
Lori Anne
Post a Comment
<< Home