I had the opportunity to go to New Orleans last week as a part of a damage assessment team. My job was to lay the ground work for a team from our church that will be going in August to help with rebuilding.
I was amazed at how much devastation was still there. I was able to tour through some of the most devastated areas and was shocked at what I saw. There is no doubt in my mind that it will be years before the city is restored to a pre-Katrina state. Right now the city is still missing half of its population.
I encourage you to look at the photos below and find a way to get involved in the rebuilding of the city. Volunteer to go on a work trip or find a good reputable charity or ministry to make a donation to. After being there first hand I can honestly say that every little bit helps.
The bible speaks, in Ezekiel, of looking for someone to stand in the gap to rebuild the wall but no one was found. My fear is that many will have the attitude that New Orleans got what they deserved for building a coastal city under sea level. I pray that many will step up into the gap on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of people who are still displaced and have lost everything.
2 comments:
I don't get how people fault others for natural disasters, or those who say God did this out of anger.
It's great that you're helping out with the rebuilding. I have a question about the previous post. You mention having to get rid of the black mold. Won't those houses like the one in the photo just be demolished & rebuilt from the ground up?
Also, how does the group you're working with get funding?
Good question Jane!
The answer is that most of the homes were not covered by storm or hurrican insurance because they were destroyed by flood. I met on man who was only able to collect 20K in insurance money but had 90K of damage to his home.
The home owners have to rely on volunteer work groups to assist them unless they have lots of money. Construction cost are outrageous in New Orleans right now so the most economical thing to do is "gut" the house and and start from there.
Our group is funded by the North American Mission Board and ourselves. The NAB pays for the materials and the tools we use and we pay for our expenses.
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