Lower 9th Ward

I have to start tonight's blog by sharing with you a quote from last night's baseball game that I forgot to include in yesterday's post. So when I told you there were varying degrees of interest in the actual game, the most apparent indicator of that was one of our youth asking, "How many teams are playing?" at the beginning of the game.

Not once - during total indifference to a baseball game, working in 90 degree heat with 100% humidity, or while waiting in line for showers with 40 of their closest friends have the youth complained. Most (if not all) of the time, we haven't fully known what we were getting ourselves into. But the attitudes with which the youth have approached every task has been nothing short of Holy.

Today was our first day of work. Some of us went to a summer camp that is being run by Christ Church Cathedral. The youth who went to that site spent time working and playing with younger kids, which they loved. One of the challenging aspects of the camp for our group to confront was the lack of structure and resources that were being poured into the kids. It did NOT look anything like Vacation Bible School at St. David's. As one of our adult volunteers pointed out, "I'm certain that the people running this thing have not been 'Safeguarded'." Over and over again, we are confronting our own expectations and how that informs our ideas of "success." This is such important work.

The other members of our group headed to the Lower 9th Ward for a full day of work. We have made a new best friend, Ms. Jackson. (And yes, we have also found our theme song for the trip!) We have been paired with the Homeowners Association of the Lower 9th Ward, of which Ms. Jackson is the president. She introduced us to her neighbors and showed us around the neighborhood. Ms. Jackson lives three blocks from one of the levees that broke and flooded this area of town. Driving around was absolutely surreal. A neighborhood that used to be bustling and dynamic is still actively struggling to recover. There was a sign on the main road that proudly proclaimed, "Rebuilding our neighborhood," with the signatures of major city officials. Just below the main message was a graffiti response that read, "Five years too late!" In more concrete terms - there used to be 18,000 residents in the lower 9th ward. There are currently 2,000 residents. We were also able to drive around the streets on which Brad Pitt has been the catalyst for building environmentally sustainable, affordable homes for working class families. The dignity and beauty that has been brought to the community by this project is breathtaking! They have only just begun.

Our task for the day was to help clear overgrown lots where homes used to be. Families who used to live in the neighborhood and still own property, many of whom have not yet moved back to the city, are being fined $100 a day by the city for not maintaining their property. I don't spend $100 a day on anything. I can't imagine losing $100 a day on something that I am not physically present to control. Many of the residents are elderly and are not physically capable of maintaining their property. Others are simply not back yet - for a whole host of reasons. Our youth dove head first into the deep end. We were given weed wackers that didn't work, scythes that wouldn't stay attached to the handles, and saws that were rusted through. Not once did they complain. As we parked the vans and climbed out, there was nothing but overgrown brush, weeds, and a "massive sea of green." Block by block - they wacked, cut, snipped, raked, and hand-cleared everything in sight. By mid-afternoon we could see sidewalk, porches, and shrubbery that wasn't there a few hours earlier. As unglamorous as the job was, it was gratifying to be able to point and see how much progress we were making. The power of working with a group was also magnified as the old adage, "conquer and divide," came through in a big way.

This evening we had a presentation from Pete Nunnally, the director of Episcopal Community Services of Louisiana. He gave us an eye-opening volunteer orientation. Pete began by getting the youth to share their various assumptions and biases that had been picked up along the way about the city, Hurricane Katrina, and volunteer work in general. With maps of waterways, diagrams of the socioeconomic make-up of the city, and strategic points of city-rebuild programs, we systematically had our assumptions debunked. Pete held their attention for an hour and a half. And then they TALKED about it afterwords!!! Good things are happening here.

Our group looks forward to Compline at the end of the day and the time when everyone receives letters from their prayer partners. Please know that as the youth are serving others, learning about themselves, and glorifying God, St. David's is with us on every step of the journey. The youth are asking questions and getting to know each of our prayer partners through letters and stories from the adults hundreds of miles away. The youth are more engrained in their home parish and the world than when we left three days ago.

Two of the youth hijacked the computer momentarily and had this to offer about their Mondays. Emily Hodge said, "I am learning a great deal about community, peace, and loving your neighbor. I have met some great people from all over America, and I love them already. Bryant Bowyer added this, "I have learned about the unfortunate cards that truly amazing people have been dealt, and I am learning everyday that although the circumstances may look extremely grim, there is alway a way that I can help."

Thanks be to God! Good night New Orleans.