Today we did hurricane clean-up work in the midst of rain from a tropical storm in the Gulf. It was WET - all day. During one particular downpour, we asked the youth to gather under the shelter. After a total of three and a half minutes they began asking why they couldn't work in the rain. Realizing there were no doors for us to lock, they just ran back into the rain and continued working to clear the lots. One youth boldly proclaimed, "This is nothing compared to Katrina! Of course we can handle this."
Reginald is a resident in the lower 9th ward. This morning he shared with me his story of the storm. After the levees had broken, he took a boat that he found stuck in a tree and went from house to house rescuing his elderly neighbors.
James is the caretaker at Annunciation, where we are staying. He gathered seven of his friends the day after the storm to rescue residents in his neighborhood. By the end of the day, only two of his friends were still alive. Tonight during compline, he took time to share his story with us. Let me just preface his story by sharing that James is no wilting flower - think Michael Duncan as John Coffey in The Green Mile. The man oozes wisdom. I've never met a grown adult who openly shares emotions when they are particularly tough. James began by telling us that after the storm, he cried himself to sleep 365 days a year for 3 straight years. Did you know that a Pampers diaper will allow a baby to float for up to an hour and a half? James found that out on August 30, 2005 as he was swimming the streets in the Broadmoor district trying to revive baby after baby that was floating on the surface of the water that flooded the neighborhood - not from a broken levee, but from a flooded sewage system. James spent the next few weeks in the New Orleans convention center. He described vivid scenes and shared images that I'll never be able to get out of my head. But most startling was his proclamation that, "Racism and classism will exist until the end of time. There ain't nothing you can do about that. But for those few days, God leveled the playing field. It didn't matter what you had, because you didn't have it anymore. We was all one." Each night from approximately 6PM until 1AM, a large group of residents in the Convention Center gathered for Bible Study. James also commented on the diversity of denominations and backgrounds of the participants. Once again, it didn't matter where people had come from, they were all praying to the same God. One of the most startling moments for the youth came when James reminded them what happened to peers their age. In the wake of the storm, many schools were shut down and children and families were shipped to various states. All students had to take entry exams. Those who were previously in 11th grade, may have been pushed back to 9th grade if they didn't perform well enough on tests. There was no advocating to be done. That was their new life.
Jean makes breakfast for us every morning. In the aftermath of the storm, she rescued 17 people from her neighborhood in the lower 9th ward and piled them into her four door sedan and drove them to Baton Rouge. One of the gentlemen was mentally handicapped. Upon arriving in Baton Rouge, he complained to the authorities that he had been kidnapped. Jean and her husband were punished and not allowed to sleep in the shelter that they had shuttled everyone to.
James, Reginald, and Jean have first hand experience in the business of saving people. Yet, in the telling of their stories, in the coming alive of the truths they have lived, they told about how they had been saved by Hurricane Katrina. Without exception, they had positive things to say - lessons learned from the storm, bridges built, and the power of an incarnational God.
Christianity is an incarnational religion. Jesus Christ came to be incarnate among the people. We are called to spread the Good News of God's love through relationships. It doesn't matter the depth of your knowledge of Christian scripture or theology if it remains in a vacuum. It is when the power of Christian love becomes incarnate through relationships that we are changed.
Despite obvious frustration and anger towards the city and the government, James preached (although I'm not sure that's what he would call it,) a message of reconciliation tonight. He ended with this proclamation, "It is because of you - volunteers - that our city is back. You all are the president. You all are the governors. You all are our government." The city is being transformed by the people who show up, who are present, and who spread the love of God.
Today one of the adults caught three of our youth gathered in an area with heavy brush holding hands and praying. Yeah, that really happened. The power of God in these people and this place is undeniable. And we are being changed because of it.
Good night, New Orleans!
No comments:
Post a Comment