It has been HOT here, up on the roofs and in the unairconditioned home where we painted. God did send some beautiful breezes when we thought we might not endure it any longer. The cans of water donated for Relief workers by Anheiser-Busch have been limitless and unbelievably appreciated. You know how they say to drink 8 glasses of water a day and no one can do it? HA! I think we must drink a 12 pack each every day! (and we hardly ever need to pee!)
Even though we are mostly greenhorns with the roofing, Tom knew what to do and everyone quickly found a specialty. We were able to replace 2 roofs while we were there but there are still 300 people on just this church's waiting list alone! It seems overwhelming all that still needs to be done but they tell us to look at it as just helping one family at a time.
We have worked on 4 homes and were able to meet the
homeowners of each and hear their stories. It is heart-breaking and uplifting as well. Can't tell you how many times tears have come to my eyes over the past week and also how many hugs and "thank you"s we have received. As Andy put it when we were reviewing Ander's response as we exited the bus to paint the interior of his home: "I gave him my hand and he just drew me in". A handshake was not good enough for him, it was great big bear hugs for each and every one of us.Ander (real name was Andrew but he said his mama called him Ander and we should, too.) was a real chatty bear of a man. He had a deep accent that we had some trouble understanding but he was patient about it and repeated at will. He and his family had been at home when the hurricane hit. They had ridden out hurricanes before but Katrina's number popped higher as it hit the shores and it hit harder than predicted. His home flooded instantly with the wall of water. The local lagoon also flooded with it so that was in the
water, too. He said he was not afraid for himself but for his wife and his grandson. The water came up to Ander's neck and he had to hold his Grandson above his head. They could not escape their house until the waters receded. They survived... but their house was in shambles.The house was unairconditioned and so hot and stuffy! We were all soaked with sweat. Ander never lifted a hand to help but kept us entertained the whole while. His wife wanted us to paint her laundry room and her garage but we moved on to those in more need at that point. Ander climbed onto the bus to thank us one more time and made John write down each of our names so he could "put it in the newspaper".
When people see our bus they know why we are here. There are many churches and organizations down here sending out volunteers and yet the need is still massive nine months after Katrina. In many areas as we drive by you see brand new roofs next to blue-tarped roofs. The blue tarps are
sprinkled everywhere we went....and the FEMA trailers in people's front yards.There is so much to do and we worked 'til we were cranky and tired but there is still so much. The people here are so grateful. Many have denied by Insurers who claim that a hurricane is wind damage and not a flood ( or viceversa) and refuse to pay. Others have been ripped off by unscrupulous contractors who take advantage of the people willing to pay up front out of desperation to get higher on the waiting list. There are landlords that pretend to be homeowners in need and we ran into that too - twice! Anyway... sorry this has been so random but there has been so little down time and we are weary and full of all that we have experienced. Lots of good stories coming your way. It feels good being a tool of God! We got more than we gave. It will be good to be home though. Thanks for your prayers.
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