FBC Missions

As I sit in my comfortable bed, in a warm house without the lingering smell of mold, I am amazed at all the Lord has blessed me with. Its Christmas time, and I spent one week of my break serving others who have nothing, but I am able to come home and continue living the comfortable life that I originally left behind.

The Lord blesses each of us with different circumstances for a reason, but what we have is not ours; it belongs to the Lord. He enables us to live in a warm house vs. a fema trailer this Christmas break. I don’t know why Katrina hit New Orleans, but I do know that through this tragic experience many people have been able to see God’s love and provision. I am thankful that I was able to experience a part of what the people of St. Bernard Parish live daily.

…an entire family squished in a trailer located on the yard of their water-damaged and moldy home.

….an eight-year-old girl who will remember Christmas time as a child in a trailer with all her previous possessions destroyed.

….the taste of canned FEMA drinking water that the volunteers who gut homes “enjoy” regularly (mmmm….aluminum after taste)!

…..the joyful faces of home owners upon seeing photos they thought had been damaged forever.

….the thankfulness of residents toward our team and others like it who come to volunteer.

The biggest lesson I learned was that because Christ left his wonderful home in Heaven and came into the darkness of earth to save us, we should imitate him in any and every situation we are given…whether that means leaving beautiful Oregon to gut houses covered with toxic mold, or simply looking someone in the eye when you listen to them. The smallest gift of love can change someone’s life. Our daily efforts should be to live like this…in the foot steps of Christ.

“To this you have been called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” 1 Peter 2:21

Genna

Coming into this mission, we didn’t know what to expect. Sure we knew that it was going to be a lot of hard, physical labor; but what we didn’t anticipate was how emotionally stretching it was going to be. Both of us did both construction and gutting houses, while we both learned a lot (installing insulation, putting trim around windows, ect.) it was not as emotionally draining as gutting someone’s house.

There were times when we would just have to walk outside because we couldn’t handle seeing the destruction (or the smell!) On one particular gutting expedition, we came across a lady named Dottie. Dottie lived in a mobile home for thirty years of her life, and Katrina wiped out almost all of her belongings. So whatever she thought she could salvage (including the mobile home itself) she would have us place in a different pile. At first, it was such a mess that we didn’t necessiarily want to sort through all of her things (it smelled really foul!) But when I (stacey) saw the look on her face after I had found her wedding band from her late husband; that look just pulled on our hearts.

From then on, it began to make sense as to why she wanted to keep all of this stuff. It was all she had left. Eveything that she wanted to keep had some sort of significance. Even the mobile home was precious to her. She had built that we her father and it was his home too, as well as hers. We sometimes forget that even though we are there on a “mission” part of the mission is interacting with the people and the culture.

-Lizzy Stewart & Stacey Chase

While working in New Orleans I can’t help but become distracted by what time will keep in my mind. I know as the weeks and months go by names, faces, and events will become blurred and harder to recollect…. I wonder what memories will New Orleans leave in me?

I know the memories I would like to keep…The grateful thanks of homeowners who we were able to touch through work and prayer, the haunting desolation of rows of houses… houses that were once homes, the feeling in my stomach as I threw away pictures where the faces of a homeowner’s loved ones could no longer be recognized, Dottie’s voice as she dug through a suitcase full of the rotted remnants of items so precious in their memories that no amount of mold or water damage made them easier to throw away.

There is so much I want to keep with me. I hope I will remember the sound of the first New Orleans jazz I heard under the dim lights of the Spotted Cat. I hope I will remember the way I was moved by gospel music. I hope I will remember the people. I hope I will remember the names…but most of all I hope that I will remember the change that God has put in my heart during this week.

So much has been taken away from the people that live here, but I have never seen such displays of hard work and love.

I have been distracted wondering how I will remember all I have learned in this short time; but I only need to remember one thing…God provides when we are in need and I have seen that in New Orleans.

by Alice Leach

Coming to New Orleans we knew we would be serving people and fixing houses, but we weren’t sure we would be able to have the opportunity to meet those people. To our pleasant surprise, we have had the opportunity to meet most of the people we have been serving. The other day we took apart a trailer that belonged to a middle-aged woman with a few children. Yesterday, we took apart another trailer and while talking to the owner of the residence we discovered the trailer we took apart before was the daughter of that woman and she had twenty two grand children. This is just one connection among a couple that has shown a truly personal connection to the people we are serving.

Another woman we served was an older widow who seemed to have done everything. As we were going through the rubble and pulling things out of the trash that we thought she had wanted (pictures, dishes, jewelery, artwork,etc.) and everything seemed to have a story behind it. She had a picture of Elvis and shared a story about how she knew him before he was famous. After going through all of Dottie’s belongings we feel like we know a lot about her life and how she lived. It’s been a very special experience to learn about the families we have served. We feel as if we know them on a personal level opposed to a project based relationship.

You would think that most people would worry about losing all of their most expensive materials such as their televisions and dvd players, but their most concerned with their small things that have reminded them of their lives before. A lot of the people we have served have lost their wedding rings, pictures of grand children, wedding presents, family photo albums, and many other sentimental possessions.

The most beneficial experience from this southern adventure has been hands down, the grateful reaction from the owners of the homes. The people we serve are very gracious, loving, and thankful for our service. The compassion they show has not only made our work rewarding, but has also open doors for ministry.

Until next time,

Tony Williams and Andrew Robb

Here are some pictures from the trip. Sorry we didn’t get them up sooner!!