On Monday afternoon, the students went to the local Lowe's store to give out care packages to the homeless men who congregate there. They are lined up hoping for a job opportunity. Many of the men have alcohol issues and/or mental illness issues. This was a real stretch for our small town, Arkansas students and leaders. Once they began handing out the packages, they got a little braver and began making light conversation with the men. Some of them just grabbed the packages and tore into them, eating what was in them and not responding verbally at all. Some of them wanted to engage in "crazy" talk - non sensible conversation with no point, and others said they could pray for them. Our students had never encountered people who were in this position in life, and I think it was a growing experience for most of them. I'm not sure of the real value of this type of ministry as far as bringing them to Christ, but it is a step and it is an opportunity to "do unto others".
Just a side note...while the students went to Lowes, Mickey and I went to Target. It was necessary trip - for some "necessities"! Mickey forgot unmentionables and I forgot PJ's! Some other folks forgot other things such as shampoo and body wash. We also realized that water was not provided by MLab and that it was most definitely a necessity. It was a two story Target, a new experience for these old small town people. First we discovered the elevator that was designed to carry not only us, but our cart also. We quickly discovered the escalator, which had a nifty cart carrier attached to it, as well. It was so much fun that although we didn't intentionally have to make two more trips upstairs, we were a little giddy with the option.
Tuesday afternoon was very interesting. The Worship Project was taken to a Juvenile Detention Center which housed young men in the age range of many of our students. Some of the wards of the center were there for a short stay and others were there for the duration of their teenage years. We pulled up at the front of the building and sat in our vans waiting to enter the locked down facility to begin setting up in their gym. The students had to surrender their personal ID's and leave everything electronic, as well as bags in the vans. Finally, the guard came to the walk in gate and we filed in single file to the location where we would begin making ready for delivery of the Worship Project. Mickey and Greg had to be led to a back gate where the van and trailer and Yukon were ushered inside. They were asked at one point to move the vehicles further away from the razor wire fence as a security precaution. The guards were concerned that an inmate might try to escape via the top of the van and over the fence. The atmosphere in the building was less than exciting and the captive audience not so much engaged, however, the message of the Worship Project is simple and clear and just to be in the room, I am sure that someone caught the idea and a seed was planted. The students did an excellent job in a difficult situation. They were all very glad to be able to leave and to know that freedom for them was just a key turn away. Our vehicles which were inside the securely locked gates waited as a guard attempted to unlock and free us without success. Mickey, who was walking, was asked to help turn the key - a humorous moment and picture opportunity - however, another guard had to be called and finally we were free to go. We were late for supper but made it just before the closing of the cafeteria. We just had time to clean up and make it for worship.
Wednesday, the Excite BYBC was not meeting and we needed to find another project to do. With the help of the MLab site coordinator, we received another assignment. We were asked to help clean up a yard in the lower 9th Ward, the area of the city where the flooding from Katrina had been most devastating. It is 4 years since Katrina invaded New Orleans and the levies broke and the lasting effect is still overwhelming. As we traveled to the 9th ward, we saw the results first hand. On many of the still standing yet totaled homes were big X's. Some of them had numbers on them, some had words written indicating a pet was found inside, some were marked with TFW (toxic flood waters or totalled by flood waters), and yet others were big red X's indicating that a body had been found in the house. There were a few rebuilt and remodeled homes sprinkled in among the devastated neighborhood, but still so many that had been completely ruined by the hurricane and flood that followed yet standing. The yards of many of those unoccupied homes were just as they had been left the day of the flood. The grass and weeds were as tall as the house and they are a breeding ground for insects, mice, rats and vagrants. The yard that we were asked to tackle was not unlike that which I have described. An elderly lady lived next door and had no means by which to clean up the yard. We were issued rakes and gloves by MLab and then given hack saws and sling blades by the home owners association of the lower 9th Ward. The pastor and his wife who are overseers were very grateful and as helpful as possible. The group began working on the yard, hacking and slinging and pulling and picking up trash. Everything had to be put in the street for pick up because the city will not go on to private property. Many of the homes were abandoned and no one will ever return to clean them up or claim them. Those without flood insurance lost everything and there is no incentive to return, however, it is still private property and so the city can do nothing with those houses. Those who did have insurance had to build back on the original foundation and now are just waiting in their new homes for the next flood right next to a totaled, devastated property. It is very sad. The students and Greg worked very hard to make the property look good and in the end discovered a house behind the weeds and grass. While we were at it, we began cleaning up the front yards of two of the houses across the street. One of them was a big two story house with the front door missing. The barred storm door which was missing the glass had been chained to a whole in the door frame to prevent entry. There was a rusted little "Welcome" sign still hanging on the door. As we peered through the bars we could see the gutted out down stairs and the rotting parkay flooring which was once the entryway into some family's home. The stairway was opened up by the missing sheet rock and we could see to the second floor. It almost looked as though you could have gone up stairs and lived still - the white walls and ceiling fan. The boys, and a couple of girls, and Greg returned on Thursday afternoon to finish well. Our job was done and at least we had cleared some of the rubble left from the devastation of 4 years prior. It was a very small effort toward a massive undertaking of which New Orleans is in a desperate need. As we entered the ward we saw the new "Brad Pitt" homes which have been built with solar panels and on stilts. Although they are an oddity for this crumbling neighborhood, they are also a sign of hope. I suppose that a newly cleared lot is also a small sign of hope for those living around it.
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