Day 4 - Thursday

Today was a very full day, as you will hear from today's bloggers Hannah Dougherty and Kelsey Parry.

Hannah:

So you know those days where every last moment is perfect? That was today. Even the imperfect moments were lovely. We started the day on the worksite. Morgan and I were hit by a burst of energy -- we just HAD to make a good chunk of progress on the hardwood floors. We were blazing, I tell you. We laid down row after row of wooden boards, getting stuck to the tools with the terribly sticky glue along the way. At the end of this trip, I will probably be made up of 50% glue. As long as our hardwood dance-floor is ready for groovin', the glue won't bother me a lick. We were just getting into the groove (pun intended) when it was time to leave. Who knew working on a construction site could be so addicting?
























Anyway, then we all took a trip over to St. Charles Presbyterian for lunch. (And for all you cookie lovers: creamy peanut butter on oreos is the bomb). After a deeeeeelicious lunch, we sat through an interesting presentation about Hurricane Katrina. I never realized the extent of the flooding, it was really very surprising. Then we all hopped into the batmobiles (our nickname for the rental vans) and took off on a tour of New Orleans.

We trekked through the 9th Ward, the area most severely hit by Katrina. One thing I've noticed during my time here, and it's truly shocked me, is the amount of abandoned and boarded up homes that are still here. As we drove, I couldn't help but think about the lives left behind, the feeling of "home" that was cruelly decimated. I had the strangest compulsion to explore these ghost houses -- they have always interested me. After a bumpy tour (literally bumpy-- those roads were incredibly rough), we went back to the hotel, showered, and set off for dinner.

We were hosted in a GORGEOUS southern home. Is it possible to fall in love with architecture? I think so. We sipped chilled lemon water and nibbled on appitezers -- I felt like a true southern belle. We were then treated to crawfish etouffe, rice, and salad. After a delicious dinner...there was more! Strawberries and ice-cream. Wowza, I could get used to the South. We then spent some time on the porch, the warm Louisiana breeze whistling, and the evening sky soaked in rich hues. For me, it was just one of "those moments." One of those moments where I realize just how much I love life, and the friends I have, and the beautiful weather, and the people I'm helping, and the reason I'm alive. I am so glad to be here. This trip had filled me with an indescribable warmth, and I will never forget this perfect day -- a conglomeration of imperfect moments.






















Kelsey:

Hello everyone! This has been my very first venture to the great city of New Orleans, and I must say, it is fantastic! Let me begin to tell you about my adventures so far…

Every morning we begin our days with a terribly obnoxious wakeup call at a horrifically early 5:30 AM. Hannah, Hailey, Morgan, Cailin, and I frantically get ourselves prepared for the long day ahead of ourselves. We head down to the lobby where Geralyn greets us with our daily, “Morning Watch”. The youth among us read through the short stories as David, Geralyn, and my dad (Mike Parry) patiently wait for us to reflect upon the deeper meaning within them. Once we’ve finished our “Morning Watch” we stumble, half asleep, to our breakfast and stuff our faces with eggs and cereal and head to the work site.

I have been working on different sites and jobs through the week. On Tuesday I worked tirelessly on sheathing the back roof. When the foreman, Joe, demonstrated for us what we were to do, he climbed stealthily on the ladder and put up the first piece of sheathing within ten minutes. When Joe left Time and I on our own, we clumsily climbed on 24 foot ladders and hammered nails for hours upon hours. I must tell you, Tim and I dropped so many nails that the work site looks more like a deadly bed of nails at this point. When the sheathing was done, I moved to siding with Matt and my dad. It was a desperate attempt to get the lines of the sheathing even and straight. The foreman on site must have been completely irritated with our continuous questions in an effort to make it completely perfect. It didn’t work.

Today, however, was a bit different. We worked on a different site for only half a day. Matt, Tim, Cailin, and my dad worked on laying concrete. There are two things I can tell you that I learned from laying concrete; I do not recommend it to anyone (and I mean ANYONE) with any kind of back problems, and the second is, it is very dirty.






























I crouched all day on my knees on getting the sidewalk completely flat (you might say I am a perfectionist) and my brand new boots are now completely covered in concrete.




I suppose I should stop rambling on and on about my day as there is a nice warm hot tub waiting for me downstairs. Thanks so much for keeping your prayers with us as we continue on with this journey!