Day 3

 

Hello to you all from New Orleans,

Today has been an enormous experience.  It is hard to write about, because it is even hard to talk about. 

This morning and early afternoon we went to an independent food bank and “mobile kitchen” (meaning they are not affiliated with any denomination or agency even though they accept resources from anyone) and we helped distribute food.  The food bank, called “Just The Right Attitude,” is the project/creation/ministry/calling of one woman.  Debra Close drives 200 miles a day (one way) from where she and her family live now, to work providing food for people who are in desperate need.  Debra and her crew of dedicated volunteers are a colorful collection of people, and they receive a large amount of support from Northwest Medical Teams.  In our serving with them today we got a first hand view of the face of the victims of this disaster; they look just like us.  There were some poor, and some NOT poor, but everyone else was definitely in the middle; just like us.  They were all in need, they were all doing what they needed to get along, and they were all living with what Sherman called “a new normal”; just like us.  “A new normal” is a descriptive phrase for our experience today.

 

 

 

            After working at the food bank, Alex (our NWMT coordinator) took us on a tour of the city.  Bourbon Street and the French Quarter were not on this tour.  We viewed several of the places where levees failed during the disaster and have been repaired.  We drove through many parts of St. Bernard Parrish, the 9^th Ward and East New Orleans.  The reality for every part of this city, regardless of affluence, is “a new normal.”  A normal that includes less than a third of the population, limited if any electrical service, debris everywhere, very limited services of every kind, a system of government and leadership that is oppressively floundering, a suicide rate 3 times the rate of the national average, and suffering that you would expect in a third world country.  We can’t emphasize this enough.  We spent 4 hours in our van, covered a large amount of the countryside, and the realities out our windows didn’t change.  And even for us, only being here for a short time, we have experienced “a new normal.” 

We look forward to sharing our experiences with you all in person.  We miss you, love you, and will see you soon.

 

Vi & Ed, Karen & Steve, Gail & Marvin, Sherman, Marge & Pastor Jeff.