Center Baptist Church Christ is the center of all we do. Col 1:18

Day Six

Hello Everybody!! This is my last update for the week. It’s been so awesome to be down here and see what God is doing in the lives of the people we are ministering to and the people in our group.

Today was a day to finish up everything. We touched up paint where it was needed, cleaned up some of the lumber and scaffolding, and cleaned up in the house. Also, some of the ladies went to Lowe’s and got flowers, porch furniture, and numbers so we could put the address on the front of the house. When we were finished, it looked so much more like a home!! Seeing Karen’s face when she saw the front of the house made my day!!

For lunch today, we had a traditional Low Country Boil and fish fry. Robin and Karen were once again generous enough to provide us with an AMAZING seafood buffet. We had boiled shrimp, crab, sausage, potatoes, and corn. And this year, Robin and Karen fried up some catfish for us, too. And for the people who didn’t like seafood, there was some fried chicken, and things like that. Also, we had our regular afternoon snack of Sno-balls. I’m so thankful for Robin and Karen’s generosity, and for the love that they’ve shown our group both years that we’ve been working on their home.

After we got done at the house, we took a tour of the storm damage. We saw some of the same areas we went to last year, as well as some different ones. In the Lower 9th Ward, where last year there were houses thrown around everywhere, there are now just foundations and some porch steps. We saw a few houses here and there and a few trailers, but for the most part, that area is abandoned. We also saw some areas that didn’t get hit as hard as the lower 9th. The houses were still standing, for the most part, but most of them were abandoned, or people were still working on them. Then, we went to the area around the lake, where last year boats were thrown everywhere. This year, the boats are gone. They took them to the same place that they took the flooded cars and smashed them. A side note, the cars that were under almost every overpass last year are completely gone. Some of the docks and houses on the lake don’t look any different, but some have been rebuilt. Overall, there is some improvment, but the damage is still there. There is still so much work to be done.

For all concerned parties: everyone is safe and healthy. Also, my dad has made it through the trip with no cellulitus!!!!!! Let’s hear a big AMEN!!!!

Well, I’ve been rather wordy tonight (surprise, surprise) so I probably better get off. We will be leaving the hotel at 6:00 tomorrow morning and coming home!!! Thanks again for all your support and prayers for our group while we’ve been here. All of our team has worked hard everyday, even though we were all tired and hot, and I know that without your prayers we wouldn’t have had the strength to keep going!!

Autumn and the New Orleans Mission Team