Hey all you Washingtonians. I'm sure you know already that we are in New Orleans. And you're probably thinking that we are suffering down here from all the heat. Well, I have to say it is pretty hot down here but we all seem to be handling it. The worst part about being down here has to be the cockroaches. They are huge. And the guys seem to think its pretty funny to catch them and scare all of the girls. There are two currently in cups and they are being fed. But that's not all that's happening down here in New Orleans. We have seen a lot of damaged areas. We have also seen the hieroglyphics on the front of the houses. The hieroglyphics stand for 4 things. The date, what was found in the house (dead or injured animals or people), the unit that searched the house, and the number of dangers in the house. When we found out what these hieroglyphics meant the impact of New Orleans hit us harder. I think most of the people here have really gotten a sense of what the people have gone through, and the trip has only begun. So far, we have worked with kids at Camp Ubuntu. This is a free camp where kids can go and do arts and crafts, indoor and outdoor games, and play computer games all day. Today we are going to take the kids to the park to play soccer and other games. We plan to do a lot more work within the week and we are sure that this experience will effect us in more ways than one. We will keep you posted on what is happening here in New Orleans and we will keep you all in our prayers as we hope you do with us.
Bye Y'all and God Bless!
Saint Margaret's Youth Group
-- written by Jennifer Maes
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Monday, July 9, 2007
Bubba Gump and more
Day's 2 and 3 have definitely been smoother than day one! Yesterday we worshipped at St. Paul's, and had a chance to meet Will Hood, their rector, who visited Seattle for our previous Annual Convention. Then we visited the French Quarter, where we saw St. Louis Cathedral and the Mississippi river, as well as the excitement and seediness of Bourbon St. We had dinner at Bubba Gump's, a seafood and steak kind of restaurant. We were in bed by midnight so we'd be ready for today, our first real work day! (Things start a bit later here--we don't have to be anywhere this week earlier than 9 o'clock, much to the relief of the youth group!)
Today, we had our first real work day. The youth group was assigned to help at Camp Ubuntu, which serves children in a community which was heavily affected by Katrina--most houses were flooded to 7-9 feet, and most families couldn't afford to evacuate. It was extremely relaxed (the heat tends to have that affect on everyone), the kids were a lot of fun, and it was really our first chance to begin to hear some Personal stories about the storm. Tonight after dinner we head off to the local cathedral for orientation for the week. The adult group also began their work today, but they were assigned to construction work. We expect to see them again tonight, so we can provide you an update on their experience sometime soon!
This is really a beautiful city, with a constantly noticable contrast between joy and despair. I've heard that New Orleans has always been kind of like that, but Post-Katrina you can see it in most people's faces.
Tomorrow we'll be off to Camp Ubuntu again, so stay posted for more stories from the road!
Tim and the rest of us.
Today, we had our first real work day. The youth group was assigned to help at Camp Ubuntu, which serves children in a community which was heavily affected by Katrina--most houses were flooded to 7-9 feet, and most families couldn't afford to evacuate. It was extremely relaxed (the heat tends to have that affect on everyone), the kids were a lot of fun, and it was really our first chance to begin to hear some Personal stories about the storm. Tonight after dinner we head off to the local cathedral for orientation for the week. The adult group also began their work today, but they were assigned to construction work. We expect to see them again tonight, so we can provide you an update on their experience sometime soon!
This is really a beautiful city, with a constantly noticable contrast between joy and despair. I've heard that New Orleans has always been kind of like that, but Post-Katrina you can see it in most people's faces.
Tomorrow we'll be off to Camp Ubuntu again, so stay posted for more stories from the road!
Tim and the rest of us.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
We're here!
Nick Rothermel and the rest of the group says Hi to the folks back home! We're officially here and settled in, and things have gone, well, passably so far. The food has been fantastic (French fast food at Le Madeline's turned out to be declicious!), the city is beautiful, and the heat hasn't been too bad. The accomodation is nice too, and the boys group had a great introduction to New Orleans' semi-tropical climate last night when they spotted several genuinely huge cockroaches--one of which was on Derrick Kuleta's pillow!
We had a bit of a long day yesterday--we made it through the airport adventure, but had an hour hold up with our rental cars. We made it through that, and then there was a mixup with our accomodation--basically, the youth group hadn't been booked in to the place that they told us we were, or well, booked in for accomodation at all! Several frantic phonecalls and another hour later, we were sorted out though. Luckily St. George's--our assigned housing spot--was indeed available and very helpful in getting us in! Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers!
Today's going to be pretty relaxed: we're headed to St. Paul's, Lakeview for worship, and then to a tour of the French Quarter. After that a few of us may head to a traditional Jazz concert at Preservation Hall, and then tomorrow it's on to our various work sites!
We had a bit of a long day yesterday--we made it through the airport adventure, but had an hour hold up with our rental cars. We made it through that, and then there was a mixup with our accomodation--basically, the youth group hadn't been booked in to the place that they told us we were, or well, booked in for accomodation at all! Several frantic phonecalls and another hour later, we were sorted out though. Luckily St. George's--our assigned housing spot--was indeed available and very helpful in getting us in! Thank goodness for the kindness of strangers!
Today's going to be pretty relaxed: we're headed to St. Paul's, Lakeview for worship, and then to a tour of the French Quarter. After that a few of us may head to a traditional Jazz concert at Preservation Hall, and then tomorrow it's on to our various work sites!
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
New Orleans here we come!
Hi guys,
This is the official blog of Fuzion Youth/St. Margaret's Episcopal Church's trip to New Orleans, July 7-14 2007. Check it out daily for updates on our experience!
Tim
This is the official blog of Fuzion Youth/St. Margaret's Episcopal Church's trip to New Orleans, July 7-14 2007. Check it out daily for updates on our experience!
Tim
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