What Great Times We've Had in the Big Easy

(NOTE: I wrote this post on my BlackBerry (no spell check). Spelling and grammar most probably won't be up to par.)

Before I talk about yesterday’s hectic events, I'd like to back up in time and quickly summarize the last few days.

Sunday, February 11

Sunday was a day to recharge. In the morning, many went to a gospel church while others like myself went exploring.

My exploratory trip was nice however, the stories I heard from the locals were quite sad. Just about everyone I talked to shared the same horrible story. They almost all had no insurance on their destroyed homes, consequently those people now live in a FEMA trailer on the lot that once brought them so much joy. Brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

The group took a nice tour of New Orleans later in the day. The scenery is incredible to say the least. I was amazed to see so many abandoned homes. For the most part I felt like we were visiting a ghost town. This city is in much worse shape than I initially thought. So much destruction!

Sunday was almost done however, the night wouldn't be complete without visiting the local bar. Seeing as the curfew here at camp is 11pm, we finished the night early (4am).

Monday, February 12

This was our first day on the construction site. The progress Habitat for Humanity NOLA has made is phenomenal. They have built near 50 houses as of yet.

We spent the entire day working on 4 homes. The group worked really well together. We did all sorts of tasks such as roofing, siding, and framing.

After our hard day at work (or everyone else working hard), we headed back to camp to freshen up.

Our group is quite young, consequently I had to try really hard to sell the idea of visiting the famous Bourbon St., lol. What an amazing city. The french quarter of New Orleans is so lively and colorful. The great music and entertainment is probably more important now than ever. People need a chance to get out and forget their troubles.

Downtown was great, had many first experiences there. I played craps for the first time, rode a mechanical bull for the first time, and my favorite, I heard so much great live jazz music for the first time.

The night in the french quarter was nothing less than amazing. As of yet, the trip has been unforgettable

Until the next post,

Best, Jesse