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It was a most amazing Spring Break. 10,000 Students from all over the country descended upon New Orleans to help rebuild the shattered city. For me it was a trip that I knew was going to be hard: We were staying in a gutted warehouse and sleeping on cots. For our toilets we had porta potties. For our sinks we had porta sinks. For our showers we had porta showers with cold water. Our food was provided by a soup kitchen which was alright but I am used to Amys cooking which is delicious, so I am spoiled. The work we had to do was to meet the tangible needs of the families who feel victim to the floods of New Orleans. We were to gut houses removing all the debris and sheet rock. It was hard work.
One of my most meaningful experiences was talking to a man who had been there through the worst of the flooding. He said that the flood waters came so fast that he barely had time to get himself out of his window and onto the roof before his house was submerged. He was taken to the Superdome where he said he had the worst week of his life. It was extremely dangerous in the Superdome. He said he couldnt sleep the whole week because if he did, all his belongings, including his shoes, would be stolen before he woke up. People were starving and a mob mentality set in. When the government went to drop off food, things unraveled quickly with some people getting the lions share of the food and others none. Meeting him gave me human face to the victims of this tragedy, it happened to real people. I now have much greater compassion for these people.
The first day I got to work on a house, I felt quickly overwhelmed. The house was filled waist high in debris. The owners furniture was thrown about and covered in mud and black mold. The smell was awful. As we moved things from the house, we had to wear protective gear to protect us from the black mold.
As we were cleaning, two guys came up to us. They were very large and ruff looking. One of them asked if we had gone up into the attic. They then proceeded up a ladder into the attic. When they came down, one man was holding a pump action shotgun in one hand, and an AK-47 assault rifle in the other. It turns out, he wasnt the owner of the house but rather a tenant. (The owner of the house actually turned out to be a nice lady.) In any case, I wasnt going to stand in the way of any very large men with guns. We reported the guns as soon as we got back to home base. It was a very surreal experience.
I was beginning to wonder if we were doing a good thing rebuilding a house where guns are stored. But then, God reminded me that just as He has patience with me in all my sinfulness, I need to have patience and mercy for the lost even when they are up to no good.
In the end very little of the house was salvageable, the flood waters were complete in their damage. But as our team finished cleaning up and gutting this house, we felt like we had accomplished something. The nice lady who had owned the house, could by no means afford to hire professionals to clean up her house. At the very least, we were making it possible for her to rebuild.
In the midst of this act of service, God was truly at work. One of the female students on the Davis team, Katie, had a supernatural encounter. Her work team consisted of several nonchristian frat boys who just wanted to party. While she was helping to gut a house, one of the frat guys sat next to her and asked her what it means to be a Christian. She was a little surprised to say the least, these situations are usually only part of role playing when practicing to sharing your faith. As she was talking to him, another of the frat guys joined the conversation and asked her what it was like being a Christian. Katie, was able to share with them how someone receives Christ and becomes a believer. In the midst of the worst of disasters, God moves, and He is still clearly moving here.
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