1/2 Way

So we're 1/2 way through the trip--i.e. we've worked two days and have two more days of work to do (hence the title of this post).

I feel like I've been learning a lot more about what happened down here two years ago when Katrina hit. I really wish I could know more! I can actually remember when I heard about the hurricane... It was the first semester of my freshman year at Bluffton. I had no idea what was going on because I never saw news--I was totally in the "Bluffton bubble." I just remember passing by the bigscreen in Bob's one morning as I was getting breakfast and seeing CNN reports on the hurricane. I never realized what a huge deal this was. This was not just a hurricane, but one of the worst disasters ever experienced by this nation.

Today we were working out "in the field" for the first time. After we had finished our projects for the day (siding, insulation, + roofing),we drove around just a little bit in the area. Seeing all of the dilapidated houses, still abandoned, was...surreal. It was odd to be in this place, feeling almost like a tourist, looking around at the misery experienced by people with whom two years earlier I had no connection whatsoever. For not having any "connection," I was surprised at how moved I felt looking around at the houses (and empty lots where houses once stood--especially while going through the lower 9th ward). It is hard to imagine what this city once was, and hard to imagine what will become of these places. I find hope in the bright and fresh homes that we were working on today in the Habitat community. I pray it is bringing hope back to these people whose lives have been so dramatically impacted.

Well, we are all tired and should be resting for work tomorrow, so "wiederschreiben."

JM