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Snuggly Goes to New Orleans
Day 1:
Snuggly flew out of Manchester, NH to arrive in New Orleans at noon. First he unpacked and got settled at the Redeemer House where he was staying for the week. Then with his 19 other team members, Snuggly piled into the van to drive around and see the affects of Katrina and the levee's breaking that is still visible after 2 years since the hurricane hit. Snuggly saw concrete slabs with houses missing, flood damaged homes, FEMA trailers, schools closed, businesses gone, debris everywhere, and churches empty. It was amazing to consider that families are not back in their homes after over 2 years!
Day 2:
Snuggly worshipped at Christ the Redeemer, New Orleans. The congregation was having a huge lunch for all the teachers who have come to help restore the education system in New Orleans. In the afternoon, Snuggly went to the French Quarter. This is the tourist part of New Orleans with cafes, shops, etc. Snuggly ate a beignet, YUM!
Day 3:
Snuggly got to work on our first house. The homeowner, Pam stopped by and brought fried chicken. After working all day gutting Pam's home and clearing her backyard, Snuggly went to visit Erika and Lester. Erika and Lester had just moved into their newly rebuilt home. They have only been living in it for a week. The first grade class sent Snuggly with a special housewarming gift. The gift came from donations from school families. They were very thankful! Erika shared that 3 mission teams from Maine have been a part of rebuilding her home. Snuggly thought it was neat to be a part of the beginning of rebuilding and then to be at a home that was complete.
Day 4:
The first dumpster arrived at Pam's home. Snuggly and the team filled it full! Then we went to a second home, Sherri's house. From Sherri's house, the levy can be seen. She needed the second floor gutted. Second floors of homes were not immune from the flood. She shared her story. Sherri and her family evacuated for the storm. On their way back, they stop to eat. While eating, she saw her house on TV and the news about the levees breaking. She was not able to go home for 8 weeks. When Sherri first saw her home, it was filled with mud. It took 4 weeks to shovel all the mud (and fish) out of the house. Sherri and her family decided to rebuild their parents home so that everybody had a place to live. Then they would work on the other homes. Sherri has gutted the whole first floor of her home.
Day 5:
Snuggly and team filled another dumpster from Pam's house. When we were finished, Pam's house was cleaned of all debris! We also went back to Sherri's house to power wash and do landscape work. Sherri's family brought us water, snacks and a delicious cake! That night, the church hosted a potluck for us. Snuggly tried the gumbo. It was good! Christ the Redeemer has hosted over 200 mission teams since Katrina!
Day 6:
Today we went to a 3 rd house to work. Snuggly met Vennita and her mom, Chris. She had a tree fall on her backyard storage building. The tree was over a hundred years old! Vennita and her mom worked with us!
Day 7:
A dumpster arrived at Vennita's house. Snuggly and the team quickly filled it with tree parts and the crushed storage building. This was our last day. Snuggly and the team always prayed with the three families whom we helped. We prayed that the Lord would continue to help these families rebuild, not only their homes but also their lives, their relationships, and their faith.
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