Volunteers in Mission

I am behind in my blogging, but I wanted to post a few pictures from our amazing trip to New Iberia, Louisiana Ocotober 6-13th. It was such a great trip because of the wonderful people from Woodside who went, and because of the inspiring people we worked with down there. It's true what people say, especially in the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans--there's still so much work to be done. But it's amazing to see the people returning to their homes and neighborhoods, rebuilding their lives, and also to know how many people have been part of the rebuilding effort. I am proud to say that the United Methodist Church has been one of the biggest contributors to the rebuilding efforts of the Gulf Coast communities that were struck by hurricanes Katrina and Rita two years ago!

I saw two of the women who went on the trip today, and asked them how their re-adjustment was going. One said it took her until mid-week to adjust to sitting behind a desk/computer at work all day. The other said that she keeps forgetting that people don't wave at each other when their driving here (but wouldn't it be a nicer place if they did?!) Reverse culture-shock!

Enjoy the photos.

We were greeted at the Louis Armstrong airport in New Orleans by a jazz band.

An abandoned house in the lower Ninth Ward--many people have not come back to this neighborhood, making it feel like a ghost town. But in another neighborhood, Gentilly, which was also devastated when the levees broke, there's a new playground!

Two of our team members, Delores Pinkney (L) and Elizabeth Moore (R), work with Gwen Dairy, a resident of Jeanerette, LA, and homeowner of one of the four homes our team worked on during the week.

Our team enjoyed lots of good food! Here we are having dinner out at Charlie's in New Iberia, LA--a great place for cajun food.