Day 6

  The major even of Day 6 was a major league porch beam.

Instructions.

The lift.  (DVD did not take this photo.)

The hand off.

Up.

It's set on this end.

Not quite.

A bit of finesse.

A bit more finesse.

How to remove a bow in the beam.  Another form of finesse.

And then it was time for lunch and it was Po' Boy day.

Catfish.

Roast Beef.

Duck.

Refreshed and full it was time for the final push.

Jay and his son David worked with us today.

A woman and her sledge.

What a fine looking beam.

Roy, one of the neighborhood boys came around hoping to work, but he was only fourteen and you need to be sixteen to work with Habitat.

POWER TOOLS!!!!!!!

And then it was time to stop hammering and sawing.  Time to clean up, pack up and head back to the hotel.  The end of the work week.

It's been said that a picture is worth a thousand words.  Well, our week went from this. . . .

to this. . .

and this, 

and this,

and this.

And by December, it will look like this.

And then Joynell and her daughter Jayla 

will have a house built with love.  

Our prayer is that through God's grace that house will become a home.

After a delicious and fun dinner with Kate and Mike, some final reflections from the team.

What I learned this week:

I need to continue to pray for both patience and tolerance,

My fellow congregants are delightful, endearing people.  It was my pleasure to get to know them better and to share ourselves wholly with one another.

Oh, and we laughed.  A lot.

Lisa Naumann

Working with Mike and Kate and the rest of the crew at the Green St site this week has been a wonderfully rewarding experience. Each day was a reminder of a different muscle group that I have not used in ages. I especially enjoyed the evenings  in the common area of the Brand House discussing our favorite rodent/food source, the Nutria after a strenuous day in the hot New Orleans sun.

John Bittner

New Orleans this time was an even more incredible experience than my previous trips, due to the people and the tangible evidence of our 5 days of very hard work.  I will never look the same at a hammer or hear the sounds of nails pounding without thinking of this week.  5 days of primarily hammering and discussing the pros and cons of Nutria as a protein made the time pass quickly.  We were blessed by being given this experience and I hope I will be able to continue to grow in faith and contributions to others because of it.

Janna Bellwin

We don't really miss things until they are gone.  Keys, wallet, sleep.  But five days into NOLA 9 and it’s Saturday and I miss being at home with my family.  Even though weekends are usually chaotic with dance lessons and shopping, it is our routine and I miss that today. 

But for Katrina survivors, loss of an entire home an all the possessions inside was not unusual.  How can we attempt to comprehend such a cataclysmic event?  A small effort by our team helps one family make a home and build a future.  I'm not trying to fix all the problems of New Orleans.  I just want to help another family be able to wake up on a Saturday morning and have a routine.

Mike Parry

Hearing the homeowner of the house we were working on speak, I realized that this trip was more than just volunteering to work with Habitat4Humanity.  It was shaping timber into a loving home, learning & improving each day, being welcomed into a community of strangers, and enjoying the company of folks from both the local city here and from home as well.  In the end it was people coming together for a common cause, inspirational and positive in it's direction and seeing inspiration produce wonderful results. 

            Cameron MacLean

I learned many things this week.  The two most significant for me are:

1) God is everywhere, especially in the wonderful people there are in this world.  They surrounded us in New Orleans.  The other members of NOLA 9, the members of St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church, Kate, Mike, the other volunteers who worked at the site, Joynell, Jarvis, the people in the Green St. neighborhood, the saints of FPC who made it possible for us to come.

2) When I “give”, I get so much more.  “Giving” is very selfish.  It enriches my soul.

Janess Coffina

Day 5

Since tonight is our night to venture down to the French Quarter, I'm going to post the pictures and hope that the words follow.

Outside the hotel - ready for a new day.

Randall checking the nutria futures.

The first - of many - sheets of sheathing.

No fear of heights for Janess.

Adding the top plates.

The still flexible Kate.

Determination. 

Do we have to?

The official NOLA 9 team photo.

Adding Kate, Mike and Joynell - the homeowner who we were fortunate to work with today.

Day 4

Today's bloggers are Randall Hornick and Cameron MacLean

Today’s theme was walls – lots of walls!

We finished yesterday at noon and left for a city tour with all walls assembled and leaning against the structure.  Confidence was high that many of these would be up when we started today – Lisa firmly believed that at least 4 walls would be standing and bet a return trip for each wall that she was wrong by.  We arrived to no walls up and Lisa was ecstatic to commit to 4 more Rhino years!

The project when we arrived this morning.

Our weapons awaited us.

First - instruction.

Then - implementation.

By lunch, all exterior walls (except one for access) were up.  

By close of the day, all assembled internal walls were up and all external walls were racked. 

In the words of Mike our construction manager, “it was a good day!”

Though not without challenges.

Another first today after yesterday’s front wall raising ceremony was being joined by Patricia, a new participant in the Habitat program, with today her first 8 hours of her 350 hour commitment.  She rounded up our number to an even and productive team of ten.   A working mother with two boys, she  seemed to appreciate the journey ahead of her squeezing 350 hours into non work days but was an inspiration for the team seeing active and enthusiastic participation from Habitat homeowners to be.

Today’s lunch was another meal compliments of Jim Hobdon - this time delicious po’ boy  sandwiches were served, which were a welcome break to the hottest  morning we’ve had since we arrived. 

Discussions of the infamous Nutria permeated the work today following lengthy discourse last night in the “lounge”.  The Nutria is a native creature to Louisiana and the gulf coast – an adorable animal known for its high-protein meat. 

The team’s favorite recipe after perusing Wikipedia last night is below.

Heart Healthy 'Crock-Pot' Nutria

2 hind saddle portions of nutria meat 1 small onion, sliced thin 1 tomato, cut into big wedges 2 potatoes, sliced thin 2 carrots, sliced thin 8 Brussels sprouts 1/2 cup white wine 1 cup water 2 teaspoons chopped garlic Salt and pepper to taste 1 cup demi-glace (optional) Layer onion, tomato, potatoes, carrots and Brussels sprouts in crockpot. Season nutria with salt, pepper and garlic, and place nutria over vegetables. Add wine and water, set crockpot on low and let cook until meat is tender (approximately 1-1/2 hours). Garnish with vegetables and demi-glace. Makes four servings.

We also heard a theory from our construction manager that the women volunteers were perceived to be more effective than the male volunteers.  This matter was hotly debated during the day and at dinner.  The debate continues!

A large Nutria was rumored and confirmed to be on site and today’s photos show the lovable beast showing its razor teeth which the beast is known to flash when cornered.

David learned from googling that there is bounty on the Nutria of $5.00 per tail.  He is already talking about combining the next RHINO trip with a fund-raising excursion into the marshes.  With a quota of 100 tails per person, the trip could be very profitable.

Lisa became the most serious injury (and hopefully final) when she nailed her finger instead of a nail (it happens after about 9,000 nails) and produced a painful blood blister.  Not-withstanding this and her additional 4 year commitment, she was like the rest of the team - in great spirit after 3 days of tremendous progress!

The BIG hammer.

The porch post from hell!

It can be a messy job being a Habitat Site Manager.

Making sure the lumber will be there tomorrow.

Our hydration totem pole.

For dinner we were hosted by a family of the St Charles Avenue congregation - Tony and Mary Price Dunbar, their son Sam and their dog Jackson, who showed us great hospitality inviting us into their home for the evening.  We enjoyed fine wines, a potato shrimp & vegetable dish, cheese grits and a salad while hearing about their individual story of the Katrina disaster and their response.  Tony is a lawyer and an acclaimed writer and our team enjoyed giving prolific advice on how to write to cater to today’s young adult reader.  Mary Price grew up in New Orleans, was the owner of a bookstore before selling her shop and presented a delicious and filling meal, topped off with an excellent pecan pie.