Of Course it Quacks: NOLA 2 Day 2 and 3

First, notice that I have invited an empowered Ali S., Jake S., and Erin C., to post on this blog. I think Jake already put some pics up. This is a good thing. - although from looking at his pics, you will think all we do is eat. Come to think of it, that's all we do on the traveling days. Kind of.

We arrived without a hitch in Memphis. Howard was able to swing over to Kirkwood, (MO) and pick up his brother, Bob at the rendezvous point. Bob was waiting when Howard got there, so they didn't get very far behind. (In fact, Howard beat the other two vehicles to Memphis.) Covenant United Methodist Church in Cordova is an amazing church with amazing people. They welcomed us warmly. We ran out and got the obligatory ribs in Memphis, did devotions, logistics, and went to sleep. There was no wifi there that we could log into, so I had to wait until today to get pics and responses, etc.

We left Memphis this morning around 8:00am and arrived in Slidell, LA around 4:00pm. Roma and Jill had arrived in the morning via airplane and rented car. It is nice to have someone here from my hometown of Hale, Michigan! I am somewhat humbled that of all the trips they could have done, they chose to come with us.

After we arrived, we split up and went to visit some of the homeowners we have worked for previously. Ali, Pastor Carolyn, Lewis, Jake, Mari, Matt and I went to see Deryl and Betty B. It was such a joy to sit in their living room with them and catch up and listen to them interact. We got to know Betty more and I can tell you she keeps Deryl on his toes! Deryl reiterated to us the continuing need for help here. This is one of the things I worry about. People think it's done and everything is back to normal. That just isn't true. After almost 4 years, there are still many people not back into their homes.

Howard and Darold went out to find the house they were helping at. (Howard still had the address saved in his GPS unit....) They said the homeowner was nowhere to be found, but the house is standing and looks almost ready to live in.

Ginger, Barbara, Kathy and Erin went out to find Carol. She was delighted to see them again and was doing well.

I just talked to Erin, who is sitting at a table next to the one I am at, and she is summing things up also. We are going to race to see who posts first. I am more concerned about repeating things.

After everyone got back from visiting, etc., we had pizza and devotions and then bed time. The people we are sharing this facility with are from Indiana, mostly, and seem to be pretty flexible and easy going. -

It is good to be back. It feels like the right thing to be doing.

If anyone knows about formatting things in Blogger, maybe give me a shout. Feedback on layout and format would be appreciated. ALSO- anyone trying to call me- My phone is on the fritz and only seems to work sporadically.