Alison Writes from New Orleans

Thoughts from NOLA

I have been here 10 days or so now, and am beginning to feel settled. I have spent much of the last week in meetings and trying to discern needs that I can fill. The needs are so great that it is hard to know where to start. I have been splitting my time between the Uptown Storm Center, where the volunteers are sent out from and clients come to request information; and St. Mark’s, where a team is staying and working. I have begun to work with the Awesome Girl’s program at St. Mark’s too, which serves at risk teenagers, focusing on drug and pregnancy prevention through building the girl’s self esteem and helping them see the choices they have. It is a powerful program, and very successful. The girls are learning to express themselves and their needs and desires, and plan for their futures rather than just letting them happen.

One of my main tasks in New Orleans is to listen to people. I have heard many amazing stories of survival and resilience, both connected to Katrina and from life in general. Some stories are those of success and others grieving losses and change. Many of the people working for the storm centers have lost their own homes and all their belongings. They have first hand experience of the problems and heartache their clients face, and can weep alongside them. Yet the faith I have seen is a strong testimony to God’s healing power. One displaced pastor, named Marva, told her story. She lost her church and her home to the storm, as well as all her possessions. She had purchased a double shotgun house and was renovating it with the thought that she would live in one side and rent the other out. She was due to retire at the end of 2006, and had one room left to renovate when August 29^th 2005 came. She came home to the total devastation, the effects of having 7 feet of sewage and water sitting in her house for two weeks. Everything was ruined. She was sitting out on her porch ready to give up. She could not sense God, was angry at God, and wanted to turn her back on all she had taught and preached for the last 30 years. She was alone in the world with no comfort and nothing to live for. As she was sitting there a stream of white cars drove down the street and pulled up outside her house. A young man got out. “Ma’am,” he said. “Can you help us? We have driven down here from Nashville and are looking for people to help. Do you know anyone that needs help?” A church group from Nashville had driven down, by coincidence all in white cars (which Marva refers to now as her fleet of angels), and were seeking to help people begin to rebuild their lives. Marva’s faith was restored. The team of people cleared out her house and began the gutting process. This led Marva to begin to volunteer herself at the storm center, were she is now the paid director. The volunteers daily bring relief and help to the people of NOLA, and are often the only source of hope. They remind the locals that the world has not forgotten them, as they bring teams down to lend a hand and to be the face of Christ amidst so much pain.

Each story I hear humbles me and gives me cause to praise God. While I have had many frustrations, delays, and days of sitting around without achieving much physical work, I am constantly learning and being reminded of God’s presence through the stories that people are eager to share. A large part of my ministry will be to listen to these stories, and remember that the retelling of them is a step towards healing for these people who, on the whole, are still in survival mode. I am blessed to be surrounded by such storytellers!