Rebuilding New Orleans

Here is a little write up on my trip to New Orleans that I promised a few weeks back. I sent it to our Kansas Nebraska Southern Baptist Convention Baptist Digest, but it keeps getting bounced back. So, I guess I won't be published there. Anyway, here it is.

New Orleans is a mess. That is the simplest way of saying it. The volume and magnitude of destruction is mind boggling. Have you ever seen The Omega Man starring Charlton Heston? This 1971 movie shows a world where most of humanity is gone and the buildings are vacant. Driving around New Orleans, I felt like I was in The Omega Man. Only with traffic. Like there are only automobiles, and vacant buildings.

As we drove into town, the first things we noticed were blue roofs. Most roofs have a blue tarp on them. At first I thought, "Why haven't they fixed the roof yet? It's been six months." Eventually I realized that many of them may not have the money to fix it yet. Some insurance companies are slow to pay and are paying only part of the actual cost. Many buildings may have also flooded, and therefore, the owners are waiting to see what FEMA, or the insurance company, is going to do. Many owners may not be able to get people and/or materials together yet, as there is a waiting list for everything construction related. The scale of the problem is so large, that the wait for someone to do any kind of work to your property is months long.

When I first heard reporters claim "10 years to rebuild," I thought that was exaggeration. But now that I have seen the scale of destruction, I believe them. Imagine if Wichita, KS or Omaha, NE had three-quarters of the town made unlivable in one day. Not just homes, but businesses as well. How long would that take to rebuild? Where would the people go? How would they earn a living? Where would they get supplies? All those small owner-run shops that were just staying afloat, that were the sole income for many families, are now gone. What will they do?

Wherever one goes in New Orleans, there are piles of trash along the streets. Everything in a flooded house (meaning 3/4 of the city) is hauled out to the curb in a pile waiting for the city to pick it up. Looking at these piles you see every material possession that these families owned. Every single material possession. Except the literal clothes on their backs. Everything they have worked for, saved, collected, treasured, or inherited is gone. What an opportunity to see what is truly valuable.

I am proud to be a (very small) part of the rebuilding effort and proud to be working with the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief Team.


Tags: New Orleans Southern Baptists Hurricane Katrina

New Orleans is a Mess!

I was overwhelmed with the destruction of New Orleans. After a 17 hour drive down there with the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief crew from my home church, we spent a week working on houses and a ministry building that will help with housing more volunteers. There will be a need for volunteers for many years. I didn't really believe that when I first heard it, but now that I have seen the extent of the damage, I do believe it. Unless you've ever seen something like this you have no idea how devastated the city is. I will be writing on New Orleans and my time there in the coming weeks. I hope all of you stick with me and read these.

I'll Be Gone For a Week

I'm leaving Sat morning at 4:00 am to go to New Orleans and help with the rebuild. This is the 5th team my small church is sending (three chainsaw teams and two cooking teams). My first time to go. We were supposed to go to Japser, TX, but that got changed a couple of days ago. Pray for me and the others.

Unintelligent designs

Cal Thomas wrote a great piece on a topic that I intend to write on sometime. Read it here. He basically says that we shouldn't be trying to force ID into public schools.

Too many people have wasted too much time and money since the 1960s, when prayer and Bible reading were outlawed in public schools, trying to get these and a lot of other things restored... Religious parents should exercise the opportunity that has always been theirs. They should remove their children from state schools...

I often wonder if we spent as much time, effort and money on evangelism as we spend on politics, what would the country look like? And I'm not talking about door-to-door evangelism, but helping the needy, inviting co-workers over to see how your family operates, and loving the unlovely. Instead of giving to some PAC, give to something like The Lives Under Construction Boys Ranch. Changed lives will change culture.