Several members of our team brought cameras, and JJ and I picked some of our favorite photos and wrote captions … I welcome you to view them here: http://www.laheyfamily.us/neworleans/

The work we did, plus the 42 hours of driving round-trip (JJ and I drove 4 hours south to Perrysburg, and then our church group drove 17 hours in a rental van to New Orleans), added up to an exhausting, wonderful trip.

We couldn’t have asked for a better group from our church … we were a team of nine that had a blast working and laughing together. They didn’t mind me bringing an 11-year old along, and in fact they all clearly enjoyed him (and he fell in love with each one of them). And I was really proud that JJ worked like a grown-up all week!

The local church in New Orleans who coordinated our trip (as they have for nearly 80 other teams since Katrina hit) did a great job … we were so impressed with the role they play in the community. In addition to running two churches (one in a middle- to upper-class area, and one in a low-income area) and a year-long residential substance abuse program, they were one of the first local organizations to help people affected by Katrina … and one of the few remaining ones still at work in the areas that have a lot of rebuilding yet to do.

Our work involved gutting the house of a senior citizen. Joe had hurricane insurance that will provide money toward repairing his roof and siding, but no flood insurance. We emptied his house and tore everything out except the wall studs, ceiling, floor, and siding, and then we sprayed everything with mold-killer. Even though Joe recently had part of a foot amputated as the result of a diabetes-complication, we were excited that he came back from his temporary housing in Houston and worked alongside us. The house is now ready for him to hire a contractor to rebuild (my understanding is that some government funding is available, but only after he had the house gutted).

One of the great things about the week was the excitement that our work seemed to generate in Joe’s neighborhood. We got to know many neighbors who were grateful that people were taking the time to help rebuild their neighborhood. I think many of these neighbors saw this as a practical expression of God’s love to them.

I was amazed at how much it felt like a terrific vacation … except that we were so tired that we didn’t dread it ending. JJ and I both felt that our perspectives about life and people were positively influenced by this experience.