Where everyone calls you baby

Today we begin with a disclaimer from the Pastor:  PJ would like it known that what she said may not be as bad as what you are thinking.  The word she yelled began with an S... and not any other letter. :)

6:30 - 6:45 Breakfast of cereal.  We ate our cereal in our hotel glasses with plastic forks because the store down the road didn't have any spoons.  At least the glasses made it easier to drink the remaining milk.

7:45 - Meet at the Superdome for a debriefing before leaving for our service project day - community cares.

We found our guide, Angela, holding up our bus number 30B and sat down for an hour long introduction complete with music, a few inspirational videos, and two emcees.  The room was buzzing and you could tell everyone was anxious and excited for what was to come.  We were told to sit in small groups and discuss what we were nervous about and what we were excited about.  Everyone was excited to work and help and no one was very nervous or worried about anything.  But I think that was about to change slightly.





We picked up our pre-packed lunches and boarded our bus with Angela and another church.  The bus took us to a place called Zion City tucked away into a corner of New Orleans that some of the locals near our hotel had never even heard of.  When PJ later explained where the city was, their response was "You went there?!"  The streets were run down, many houses were boarded up, trees and plants had taken over many sidewalks, there was garbage littering the area, and a rotten aroma floated around the neighborhood.



We were introduced to the work crew, handed gloves, video taped for the local news!, given tools (although all that was left by the time we got there was large branch clippers), and given an assigned area to work in.  Our church was assigned to the side of a road by a small little stream that flooded during Hurricane Katrina.  The area was overgrown and there were broken bottles and other garbage mingled in among the weeds.  The kids jumped right in and started working... until they saw the first bug.  Krista had a rude awakening when Scott tossed a live cockroach at her.  High pitched screams filled the air and everyone was a little more cautious about picking up the piles of leaves.  Kaitlin was the next to have a cockroach kicked in her direction.

We worked on the roadside for about 30 minutes with another church until the whole area was clean.  Then we moved to a nearby lot that was also overgrown and littered with bottles, concrete foundation chunks, bricks, shingles, bags, and other various debris.  The youth circled around Kelly for a quick break to cheer her on while she sawed her first log.  "Yea Kelly, almost there!  Come on, you can do it!" filled the air.  When she finally broke the log in half a loud cheer rang out.

 At the corner of the lot was a pick-up truck that was clearly broken down and possibly abandoned.  The truck was parked over the sidewalk making it impossible to walk by.  The kids decided we HAD to move this truck off the sidewalk.  24 youth and 3 adults (Stacey was video taping and Steph took pictures) circled around the truck and formed a plan for moving it.  The front had sunk deep into the mud.  On the count of 3 everyone lifted and pushed the truck as far as they could... 1 inch.  They worked and worked moving the truck a few more inches before no more progress was being made.  The front of the truck was too heavy.  Another group of youth was walking down the road looking curiously at us and they were recruited as reinforcements.  On the count of three, all the boys lifted and the girls pushed.  The truck was moved off the sidewalk!

The teens of Hope were also very interested in talking to some of the locals that had come out of the houses to watch them (and take pictures of them moving the truck).  Some of our youth approached the families and heard stories of the hurricane, the flooding, and the visuals of seeing their neighbors on their roofs, waiting for help to arrive.  Everyone was so grateful to see us and thanked us as they drove by or came out of their houses.

Talking to locals

We threw our bags in the dumpsters, helped a few other groups to move their bags and garbage to the dumpsters, and headed to our bus as we were instructed to do.  Almost all the other groups had already gotten on their buses and they were waiting for us to load up as well.  Just as we turned to walk to our bus, a man from the gathering staff grabbed our group and told us we weren't leaving until the rest of the bags were cleaned up.  Miscommunication at its finest.  While all the other groups sat on their buses waiting to leave, our group (without complaining, good job everyone!) helped to unload more bags into the dumpsters and tires filled with foul smelling water and cockroaches off the truck onto a pile.

Jon climbed up the side to give it a little extra push

Caleb, Andrew, and Alex helped out by climbing into the dumpsters to catch bags

Exhausted, sweaty, and really smelly we crawled back on to our bus to go back to the superdome.  We stopped for smoothies on the way back and took turns taking showers.  Andrew claims he did both at the same time... he took his smoothie into the shower with him.

We had an amazing dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe that was not only delicious, but had very fast and friendly service.  After a show stopping rendition of Don't Stop Believing performed by our whole group, we started our mile and a quarter long walk to the superdome for our last evening.  Since we've been in New Orleans, we've learned that the typical greeting when passing another group of youth is simply "AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!" 

Tonight's dome included a dance party, a youth participant chosen to speak at the gathering, Rev. Andrena Ingram, and a concert by Switchfoot!  On our way home, we split into 2 groups.  One group went in the van and one group volunteered to walk.  The walking group made it back just fine... the driving group ended up getting stuck behind a car who put their 4 ways on at the corner of Bourbon Street.  "We were only at the intersection, but we saw enough!" - Vicky.

The night ended with some of the youth going to the hotel life dance, the Final 15, and a quick dip in the pool before bed.

Highs:  Zion City, seeing people's faces, hearing stories of the hurricane, lifting the truck, eating pizza, the Switchfoot concert
Lows:  the bugs, no rain (I know, we were shocked with that one too), having a cockroach thrown at me, being attacked by ants in the dumpster

One last early morning tomorrow!