I have been here a month now and have moved to St. Mark’s Community Center in the French Quarter. I am living in one of the dorm rooms, sleeping on a bunk bed, and surrounded by construction work. I am praying daily for hot water in the showers, (my number one priority), and that my four legged friends will leave the building. The cockroaches I can handle, but the mice are not fun. It is great being in the French Quarter as everything is easy to get to, and I now have a bike too. I can walk to church without even leaving the building, and there is a grocery store four blocks away.
Last weekend I helped to lead a retreat for the workers at the storm centers. We drove to a place just south of Alexandria, and had 24 hours together. There were 45 people there, including a psychologist from Redwood City, CA. The highlight for many of us were the small groups we went in to. I was one of the facilitators, and was concerned going into the group that we would not have long enough. I had a list of nine questions to ask, and we were soon deep into conversation and sharing. Once again, people were eager to share their stories, tears and laughter. We had discussed two questions when our time was up, and although the length was short, the sharing was deep and healing.
On Monday this week Marva, whose story I told in my last letter, was rushed into the emergency room with heart palpitations. Like many, she has come out of semi or full retirement to take work at one of the storm centers. She is working on restoring her own house in addition to the stress she has at work. Her neighbor is also working on his house, and, since the storm, has been very angry. He has had many words with Marva, and on Monday morning he picked up a toilet that was waiting to be installed, and threw it at the side of her house. Marva was working on getting an injunction against him when she began to feel unwell. Thankfully she did not have a heart attack, but this is one more example of how the storm is continuing to have an effect on people’s lives.
Living at St. Mark’s is allowing me to spend more time with the Awesome Girls Mentoring Program. This week I did a painting exercise with them based on their feelings, which produced some interesting and insightful results.
Many of the girls are living with relatives or in FEMA trailers. One just returned from Houston 3 weeks ago, and is grateful to be back with the Awesome Girls. The girls said she used to be really loud and lively, but this week she has been watching the others closely and not participating very much. Her eyes are big and full of worry, and she is taking everything in. She says that her family has just moved into a trailer, but it is not safe to go outside. There are gangs of girls who hang around bad mouthing everyone and getting into fights. She feels like a prisoner when she is at home, but that it is still better than being in Houston where she was ridiculed and attacked just because of where she came from. She said, “I like being back at St Mark’s because I don’t have to look out for myself here. I can relax and still be a kid.” In fact, as the week went on and she began to open up a little, she was joining in the age old pastime of ‘double dutch’ jump roping which the girls were playing with a telephone extension cord! Many of these girls have had such a lot to deal with in their short lives, yet this program gives them hope and teaches them that they DO have choices. They can choose to rise above their situation and experiences. They can choose to risk ridicule by doing well at school. They can choose to say no to boys, alcohol and drugs. And while the program does not change their physical surroundings, it does change the girls on the inside, teaching them skills, helping them find themselves and rise to the best they can be. I am grateful to be a small part of the program, and am loving getting to know these wonderful young ladies….and am learning to speak their language!
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