Slide shows by Lara and Woody

(Slide shows have been disabled)

Photos from New Orleans Trip

Lara ready to smite a cabinet with a sledge hammer.


Marty & Helen (Sr).


Tearing down the ceiling


Meg, Lara, Megan, Jenell and Anne removing plaster and lathe.


Woody


Dave "Demo Dawg" attacks the shower stall.


The Group poses with "Sink Trophy"
Victoria, Anne, Woody,Dave, Marti, Vicki, Helen Sr.,Megan (behind), Meg & unidentified.


The trash pile at curbside grows and grows.



Dinner: Helen Sr., Lara, Megan, Anne, a cook, Victoria, Vicki, Marti, & Arlean Fermanis, St. Matthew's host & rep.


Rev. Fred Meade, Helen Green, Mr. Fermanis, Jenell, Meg, Dave


The two Helens and two Mahoneys





Scenes of flooding devastation, Ninth Ward.


Storm Troopers suited up to wash church studs with mixture of bleach and detergent.


Scrubbing the studs.

We wrote favorite Bible verses on the studs.

The crew: (Back) Woody Allen, Jim Ditsler, Victoria Freiheit, Alan Coe, Dave Campbell,
(seated) Lara Norman-Kehe, Meg Clay, Marti Steinman, Vicki Philips, Megan Mahoney, Jenell Mahoney.

Blog: We're off!

Up at the crack of dawn and getting on our way. We'll be home around dinnertime.....and we'll see you at church in the morning!

Lara Norman-Kehe

Owner/Teacher, Early Learning Center Preschool, http://homepage.scholastic.com/CHBuilderWeb/LoginAction.action

Director of Children's Ministries, First Congregational Church, http://1stcong.weblogger.com/

Independent Pampered Chef Consultant, www.pamperedchef.biz/normankehe

Blog entry

June 16, 2006 – 4:30 PM

 

We have finished!  We worked for two days at Beecher Memorial UCC Church in the 7^th Ward, sanitizing the studs throughout the church up to the 8 feet level.  We took all the insulation out and removed paneling nails up to about 20 feet.  You should have seen me on the extension ladder!  Wow!  That was high!  Moving the ladder was another story. 

 

The gear for those doing the sanitizing looked like those from outer space.  They had super protective masks for those with the spray, Woody and Megan.  Then the “brushers” had the suits and goggles on to protect themselves from the bleach solution.  After the stuff dries for a week or two, the whole process will be repeated by another group that will come to New Orleans to volunteer their efforts. 

 

This has been such a wonderful experience for us.  The UCC Disaster Relief folks have had things well organized for us.  We have not wasted a minute.  We have worked hard, learned a lot, and helped in the process of rebuilding New Orleans.  The sign posted on the Church’s Sign out front says, “We are Coming BACK!”  We sure contributed to the truth of that statement!

 

We are grateful to y’all for your prayers and financial support.  Those who still want to contribute should make checks to FCC with the words “Hope Shall Bloom”  on the memo line.  There is still so much work to be done.  The pastor here says maybe in 25 years things will be complete! 

 

See you on Sunday…

 

Marty

Blog: Vacation Bible School Mission Project

One of my "assignments" while I am here is to find a mission project for our VBS project. I asked Helen "Jr." to think of a way that our kids could help here in New Orleans, and she has requested that we provide books to the preschool program which was run out of the Central UCC. Helen "Sr." was the director of this preschool for 47 years, and Helen "Jr." is working on grants to get it up and running again.

Both Helens have been members of Central UCC for years. That church, and it's preschool, received a lot of damage in the hurricane and levee break (so they are currently having their worship service here at St. Matthews).

So start stocking up on children's books now (for 18 months - 5 year olds), we'll be collecting them during the VBS program the last week of June. Thank You!!

Oh and PS and hint, hint.....we are THRILLED that so many people have been reading the blog (we have a counter and can see how many people have been logging on), but we'd also LOVE to hear more feedback and comments if anyone feels the desire to "dialogue" with us too.

Lara

Lara Norman-Kehe

Owner/Teacher, Early Learning Center Preschool, http://homepage.scholastic.com/CHBuilderWeb/LoginAction.action

Director of Children's Ministries, First Congregational Church, http://1stcong.weblogger.com/

Independent Pampered Chef Consultant, www.pamperedchef.biz/normankehe

Wednesday evening

Today was truly incredible. As Lara told you, we finished the house around 12:30 p.m. We had been thrilled late in the morning to have a city crew arrive to pick up all of our trash pile! Helen had been told it might betwo to three weeks - and here they picked it up almost before we were done piling it up! The timing couldn't have been better, with our final large loads going on the pile before the crew arrived. What remained was small indeed -- but did include a sink, so we took an "everything including the kitchen sink" picture (though it was actually a bathroom sink -- we weren't picky!). After a quick lunch and showers, Rev. Fred Meade took us all on a tour of New Orleans' devastated areas -- it was sobering, and so vast as to be beyond comprehension. The lower Ninth Ward is a wasteland -- houses shoved off their foundations, crumbled into heaps, cars thrust into living rooms, cars UNDER houses. There are small signs of recovery, but very few work sites there. It was somewhat different in East New Orleans, which is a middle-class and upper middle-class neighborhood -- there is still tremendous damage, but more FEMA trailers and signs of hope.

We're having wonderful devotions and reflections about our experience.
We'll tell you all about them on Sunday! See you in church.

- Jenell

blog

Here it is Wednesday mid-day, and we have finished with Helen's house. I'll let others give the details, but I must say that I am just bursting with pride in our group. This day ranks right up there with my wedding, the birth of my children, and graduating from college in terms of the pride that I feel. It was an amazing experience, which nearly brought me to tears.

- Lara

Fwd: Blog material

June 12, 2006

Vicki and I are sitting here, after being showered and refreshed from the heat of the day. The house we were working at today had been flooded about four feet up the wall outside. As David mentioned, it looks like the bathtub ring. The mold in the kitchen and elsewhere was incredible. We all had on our masks, and were glad for them. We didn't wear the white suits. It was hot enough without them. The pile of trash that we built out front of the house was getting pretty high. We have pictures, but unfortunately, this computer doesn't have a USB port to download anything. Please check back next week after we return home. We have lots of shots of our work. Helen, the home owner, is a delightful lady. She is a former elementary school principal who has just retired on June 1st. In her retirment, she hopes to set up a day care.

I'll let Vicki add a few words...
- Marty

We have a great crew of really hard workers. Half of us completely removed the panaling (two layers) in a lower level family room, and laundry room, which had been under 4 feet of water. Also removed the the ceiling tiles and wallboard . The kitchen crew removed the cupboards and appliances. Lara was so impressive with the crow bar in the kitchen! She's one sturdy demolition expert. It was quite a feat for David and Woody to get the stove out, but they persevered and succeeded. After that, the flooring (three layers) was stripped down to the bare wood. We are hoping that Helen gets to keep this, and we don't have to go to the joists. The kitchen and living/dining room were under about 1 1/2 feet of water. Tomorrow we'll be working on the lower level bathroom, removing the kitchen walls, baseboards and at least 2-3 feet of plaster in the living room.

As we worked we would cheer each other on as big pieces of panaling came down and the deconstruction continued, and then I would be sobered by thinking, "This is her home. I'm tearing apart this woman's home." I can't help but wonder how she is dealing with the emotional trama of watching this happen. According to Helen Sr. (Helen's very perky 81 year old mother who spent the day with us also.) it's been hard, but the support they have received from the many people like our team has made it possible for them to continue to be resilient. Remember you all are a part of this too, because your support and prayers as our family and friends have made it possible for us be here.

- Vicki

Our Accomplishments to Date

Yesterday, at the home of Helen Green, we: removed all paneling and sub-paneling from a “basement” at the back of the house, removed chairs, a sofa, an air conditioner, most of the kitchen floor and most of the cabinets, kitchen sink, combination range and microwave, much mold-blackened insulation.

Today we removed: a second air conditioner, a toilet, a sink, and shower stall, the rest of the kitchen cabinets, a second sofa, the kitchen walls which were composed of dry wall over 4 layers of linoleum over more dry wall if I understand it right, a large part of he living room walls including plaster and lath up to 4 feet off the floor, baseboards the rest of the ceiling material in the basement, more mold. Also discovered: one tiny mouse and one tiny gecko.

While we were on the job today, a small crew from the EPA came and picked up cleaners and other toxic items we’d left at the curb. Our own detritus composes a pile about 15 feet long and 5 ½ to 6’ high, left curbside, where Helen has been informed it will all be picked up in 2-3 weeks. Such is the pace.

Tomorrow we: remove the rest of the plaster and lath in affected rooms, drain and remove the water heater (the soaking ruins the insulation which is sealed in and can’t dry), a set of stairs leading from the main floor to the basement, carpeting on the stairs leading from the main floor to the second floor, remove all protruding nails from walls and ceiling, sweep up and take out all trash. There is a possibility we will be done with this house by noon..

Her basement was entirely flooded, while the main floor had water about 2 feet deep. She had done a lot of work prior to our coming, moving as much salvageable material as possible to the second floor. The refrigerator was already gone and the house had been aired out. The previous team made the mistake in a moment of carelessness of opening a refrigerator, forgetting that all the food in it had been brewing in the vilest manner for 10 months. It seems to be a good way to create nausea.

Our host is the kindest person. She spends every day on the site with us. She has asthma and some heart problems so she hasn’t done any physical labor. But it has made the whole experience to have her there in person. Her 83-old mother has spent most of the time with us as well. The mother ran a preschool for 44 years, and daughter a retired teacher and principal, is working on grants to restart the program under her own leadership.

Everybody has pitched in wholeheartedly. There’s been absolutely no complaining about heat or any working conditions, which of course are hot, dusty, and sometimes worse.

Dave

First Impressions

Well, I'm here!

The group from Massachusetts made me at home. I enjoyed a pancake breakfast with them this morning after a very short night (delayed plane flight, a van that wouldn't start) .

Later on in the morning, we drove out to a nature preserve in the general area where pirate Jean LaFitte used to [literally] hide out in the early 1800s. It which was very well laid out for visits. We walked a couple of miles, partly on a raised boardwalk-style arrangement and partly on a paved trail.

Alligators - of special interest to visitors - were in evidence in many places, from the trails they leave on frequently patrolled hunting paths, to their icy little eyes poking above the surface growth in the water. One was about 5 feet long, most were much smaller. Cicadas were numerous, noisy, and well-hidden. You hear this wave of sound which starts in one tree and then another bunch take up the yelling while the first one stops. You never see them - except for the one dead cicada providing a tasty meal for some ants. We also spotted several black-crowned night herons and a great blue and a gecko or two.

A variety of large and colorful butterflies flapped by from time to time as did an equal variety of dragonflies on search and destroy flights in glowing red, yellow, blue, and green MUCH better than anything from crayola. Did I mention?

Hot.
Humid.
Hot

Bakersfield people will be ready for this. Right? Although we do have this disarming way of saying, "It isn't the heat. it's the humidity that gets ya." Well, hooray! On the Gulf Coast WE HAVE IT ALL! YAAAAY!

What was last week's group doing?? Just as we thought: gutting out houses in their protective gear. The pattern seems to be full days of work on M and T, a partial day on W with a program of their providing and a nice big dinner provided by a local church member, two more days of demolition, then whatever time your flight plans allow on Saturday which in our case, I now realize, is none at all.

In this particular area, flooding is still visible in some places about two feet above ground level, looking like a giant bathtub ring stretching down the block. I also notice that in the neighborhood of this church, many (not all) houses were built about three feet off ground level which for many of them was enough to keep the water out of the house itself.

That's it for now.

Dave

Team Members

As the hurricanes battered the Gulf Coast, many people in our congregation (First Congregational Church in Bakersfield, CA) were strongly moved by the desperate plight of people in Mississippi and Louisiana. They wanted to be a part of recovery and reconstruction. Somehow. But how? In a state like ours that regularly deals with fires and floods and must always be prepared for a “shaker,” we know how unpredictable, how massive, and how cruel nature’s powers can be. Most of all, however, there was a feeling that where there is suffering, we should be.

By late winter, several people realized that they all were thinking versions of the same thing: We could borrow a concept often used by our church’s youth and take a work trip to the Gulf Coast.

Other alternatives were explored, but we realized quickly that the United Church of Christ had the mechanisms in place to allow us to make such a trip. It could put us where we could be of value, and it was prepared to lend logistical and moral support. The UCC Office of Volunteers was ready with a list of places and times where we could be of service. We just had to pick our date.

Thus it is that 9 people from First Congregational Church and 1 from San Diego have consulted and planned and on June 11, will arrive in New Orleans to begin a week of clean-up. Along the way, we will listen to people who are there for the long haul, and whose lives have been disrupted, often in the deepest of ways. We hope, while gutting houses, to minister in Jesus’ name and spirit. We are grateful for the support that you have given through your encouragement, your prayers, and through directed gifts and our church’s Mission Budget.

Photos (with protective gear): David Campbell, Meg Clay, Jenell Mahoney, Megan Mahoney, Lara Norman-Kehe. Marti Steinman, Ann Hutton, Woody Allen. Missing from photos: Vicki Philips, Victoria Freiheit.