EBC’s Summer Service Team
Rebuilding Hope

hello blog readers. haha well today we finished up on our week long project with celebration church and crossroads. the edgewater team was split into two teams to work on different sites in or near new orleans. my group worked on a ladies house by the name of marie barzon. her home had to be gutted from the entire first floor of her house. the barzon family consists of marie, her husband charles, and her two sons charles jr and carlton whom attends  northwestern college and may possibly come to visit edgewater in the near future. they seem to be a middle class family that was hit pretty hard by katrina. one thing i began to learn while working in new orleans is that after the hurricane, there really isnt much of a social order anymore. everyone is pretty much in the same situation. the pastor of a church we visited down here put it best, “the difference between rich people and poor people after the storm was whose pile of ruined possesions was higher on their lawn.” my group had been working on Mrs. Barzon’s home for the past 4 days pulling some weeds and mostly painting. it was pretty tough painting her home because the bricks were wierd haha. and its been pretty hot and humid so being outside all day took its toll on us. Mrs. Barzon seems to be a believer and has been depending on Christ for strength and hope from what shes been telling us. her husband and her recently were involved in a really bad car accident that left Mr. Barzon paralyzed and almost dead. she was very grateful and happy to see her home and to greet the edgewater team. she went out to get us some juice, water, and muffins which was a really cool treat. she was one of the sweetest ladies i have ever met. seeing her reaction was so rewarding after the long hours put into painting and fixing her house times a million. and not only that, but to see that this is God’s work and that the lord is good and uses his people to do amazing things, everyone there couldnt help but just imagine the hurt and pain and suffering that the people of new orleans went through because to us, painting a house wasnt really a big deal and didnt think that it would seem like a big deal to the owner. we felt like maybe we could be doing something different,something more. but hearing her story, seeing her face and reaction, we had realized that every single act of help and encouragement can make a huge difference in the lives of people. theres a law here that states that if a houses lawn grows a certain length, the state fines the owner around 1000 dollars each day its above knee level. and once the fines add up to the price of the house, the state can seize the house and the owners are left with less than what they had to begin with after the storm. which means, people have to evacuate their houses after the storm, still have to pay mortgage on that house, have to pay to go and rent an apartment somewhere else, have to get money to rebuild their house which can get difficult because FEMA doesnt help and give out much, there are alot of crooked contractors and plumbers and stuff, and most people with flood insurance, thecompany doesnt cover them because apparently they dont cover natural disasters that are caused by God…which i think is completely stupid (im sorry for saying stupid). so fixing Mrs. Barzon’s home by taking care of her lawn and painting her house became clear to us, we were doing so much more than we thought we were doing. The Lord has a reason and purpose for everything that happens. “Lean not on your own understanding and trust in the Lord.” after seeing the lower and upper 9th ward and some other places that the hurricane hit hard, and after hearing peoples stories, i believe that i understand part of why God let this happen. we took a swamp tour yesterday (which was amazing btw!!) and our tour guide asked us what kind of church we are and religion and all that and when we told him we were baptist his answer was, “oh i love baptists! especially after katrina. when the hurricane hit, right away the baptists were the first in line to help.” and we have heard stories that the governor and mayor of new orleans and even the first lady herself said publicly that if it wasnt for the churches helping and doing what they were doing, new orleans wouldnt be where it is today and wouldnt be making as much progress and healing like it is right now. i believe one of the many reasons our lord chose for this to happen is to shine his light to the people of this very dark and notorious town. he is proving to them and showing them that he is mighty to save and that he loves them unconditionaly and alot of times showing them through the good works of his people. and we as a team are making sure that we’re doing as much possible evangelize and reach out to as many people and families as we can. and sometimes its  through  small simple things like just listening. these people have stories they wanna tell and just need to feel like they’re not forgotten because one thing alot of them keep saying is that the world forgot about them. there is still so much to be done in this city. from some stories, many many many people have been coming to Christ because of the storm. God is moving in this city and and bringing hope to everyone. the majority of the people hear were left with absolutely nothing and yet they still have hope. they had their worlds rocked and have a strength and a feeling of hope that i know only the Lord can give and i believe they are starting to realize that too. pray please obviously for new orleans and its problems. pray for the rebuilding not only of buildings and houses, but for the rebuilding of the peoples lives and their relationship and love for God. and also for the Barzon family…Soli Deo Gloria!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Waking up again early once again Tuesday morning was a drag for most of us. The previous night we had visited a nearby Sonic which I doubt we have in Chicago. Full of adrenaline and total excitement to actually visit a Sonic we were bummed out to have a square of melted cheese on our cheese fries which was totally gross! New Orleans cheese fries for you people…!

Back to today though. Everyone in our Edgewater group is split up into two groups. I (Aracely) am working for a couple who tragically suffered a bad car accident right after Katrina and is in critical condition at the moment. We began Monday with scraping away bits of chipped paint and starting to paint over a tacky green with a pale green. We had a little bit of breeze, praise the Lord, and were cooled off with tons of water. Today we had a little bit of humidity but we struggled to stay focused because of the heat. During the middle of our day we got distracted by small lizards that would pop out of the grass. We started picking them up and taking pictures with them. The funny thing is that these lizards were really quick so when we would put them down back on the ground they would stay still and actually let us take pictures of them and when we were all down they would run off. The day went very quick for me, talking with other team members about my God story. We put on our stereo in the van to blast the music which wasn’t very smart because it ended up dying on us…!

LATER IN THE EVENING…

Not at all homesick we head off the 9^th ward and St. Bernard which apparently was hit really hard with 20 feet of water!! We see demolished homes, schools, and even senior homes. On our way to a small neighborhood we meet an elderly African American man named David. At first we saw a really weird house with mannequins and weird looking objects that really caught our eye. He told us about how everything used to look with vivid description and excitement. Everyone then separated through the neighborhood and began taking pictures of the houses that “survived” the storm. Surprisingly we were able to see the remains of a certain house that actually still had a fridge with the magnets on it. It was probably one of the houses that showed how the people used to live, kind of like their backgrounds and life before Katrina.

We then headed to the French Quarter where we went to a café that only served desserts. Now this might be creepy but I feel you as the church should know. New Orleans is a city where witchcraft is kind of famous. There was this young girl covered with silver paint all over her body. I guess you can say a statue. Well me being silly I began to fool around with her from across the street and she obviously responded but in a totally different way. She would point at me and also to her eyes as if to say “I’m watching you”. I didn’t pay much mind to it till a lot later. We were enjoying our meals when all of a sudden she decides to cross the street and comes to my table. I looked at her and totally freaked out. I felt a sense of evilness in the air and I immediately began to panic. Tears began to stream down my face with the fear that I had but she didn’t budge or leave. She made me feel really uncomfortable. A few of the team members then surrounded me by praying to get these images out of my mind. Later, still freaked out, we walked into a small store which kind of calmed me down. To my surprise I wasn’t the only one who had gone through this. Another of our team members had experienced a similar thing in the past and was flooded by memories. I didn’t really know because I was “concentrating on myself”.  We all then prayed once again. Our ride back home was peaceful. We got to the parking lot where Andy decided to sing some songs to calm our nerves. We then began to tell each other a few of the things that we needed prayer with in our lives that we really struggled with. For example, relationships, school, or even more personal or deeper things. We prayed and that was the end of our day. This was definitely a day where I can honestly say that we got to know each other more personally. I honestly cherish, admire, respect, and love this whole group with such a passion.

I pray that the rest of the week may be a breathtaking/ learning process for us. Please continue praying for us as we appreciate it greatly!

Yesterday in the morning we got up at 6 in the morning to get ready for the day.  The previous night we were told that instead of building homes we were most likely going to go paint houses the following day. Sure enough that’s what we did. Our group split into 2. One group went to a Caucassian middle class neighborhood and painted the inside of a house and the other group (which I was in) went to an African American middle class neighborhood and painted the outside of a house. When we arrived to the neighborhood it was pretty empty. They said that this neighborhood was mostly abandoned. We were painting a house where a woman and her husband were in a bad car accident. The husband is in a current coma and the woman was severly injured.  She was placed in a wheel chair but is now able to walk. We have not yet met the woman.

As we were looking at the house, we were able to see the water marks of where the water had risen to - three years later, the mark is still there. The inside of the house was gutted. I was able to tell that it was a beautiful house before the flood. It was hard to imagine that this place was all flooded. I was able to walk around the neighborhood and we saw a school that was boarded up and had mildew stains. The water marks were clear. The sidewalk was broken and there were places where it was hard to know what it was. For example we were walking on grass and Kamblin looks over to me and asks me if where we were standing use to be a parking lot. I look over and see that it was.

During the time that we were painting we had little paint fights. Almost everyone had paint on their faces, legs, hair, and arms.  We were able to enjoy ourselves while working. We met a couple that were also helping us. They were kind people. We finished painting most of the house. At the end of the day we used 5 gallons of paint and are going to use 20 gallons to finish the whole house. We had an awesome first day!

Sara Hernandez =)

Good morning!  I received word from our team last evening that they had arrived safely in New Orleans after spending a restful night in Jackson, MS.  They were able to attend the worship service at Celebration Church in Metairie, LA–a suburb just outside of east New Orleans.  They spend the afternoon in orientation and exploring the French Quarter.

Today they began work in the 9th ward.  Our team of 19 will be split into 2 groups to work 1) on painting a house and 2) yard work.  The 9th ward was one of the most devasted areas in New Orleans–please pray for emotional toll on viewing such remaining devastation now 3 years after the hurricane.

Pray for OPPORTUNITIES to SPEAK the very words of God to those the team meets today (1 Peter 4:11).  Pray the team will have compassion beyond their experience and preparation beyond their maturity to process their surroundings.  Pray for PHYSICAL STRENGTH as the team will be working in 95+ degrees and 98% humidity.

Thank you for your support!

Do you know the saying, “Home is where the heart is”? It means that if you are with the person or at the place you love most, it becomes your true home. Where is your true home? Upon embarking on this 9-day journey to build homes, I can’t help but ponder where my true home is: what and who do I love most?

Today’s team prayer is for the building of both physical and spiritual homes in New Orleans (2 Corinthians 5:1,5). As we meet individuals and families who have lost their physical homes, please pray that they will find their true home in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, for our team, please pray that our hearts will grow in a deep love and loyalty to Jesus.

Details have been finalized and the Summer Service Team ‘08 heads out, Lordwilling, in about 36 hours!

We held our final meeting last night with most of the team members and many parents. Friday night we’ll pack the vans so we can leave bright and early Saturday morning at 4am. We’ll spend the night on Saturday in Jackson, MS, and then head south to worship with our Christian family members from Celebration Church in Metairie, LA, on Sunday morning.

Lots of love!

Sarah and the SST ’08 members

Greetings from Chi-town!

Our team is getting ready to head south! In the early morning hours of Saturday, August 2, 17 people from Edgewater Baptist Church will load up in our 2 12-passenger vans and head for New Orleans! Our purpose is “rebuilding hope”, and our mission for our 9-day trip is to build houses for people affected by Hurricane Katrina and who have never before had the opportunity to own their own homes. Our crew will spend 5 10-hour days on light construction projects such as cleaning, painting, etc. to help get these houses ready for their eager new home owners!

We will be meeting tonight to continue to prepare spiritually and mentally as a team, as well as continue to finalize details. We covet your prayers as we prepare! Please continue to pray for the Lord to unify our team, prepare hearts and minds to compassionately serve those who have been deeply affected by Katrina, and to go before us as He prepares each of us to represent Him in every aspect of our trip.

Thank you for your interest and support!

Check out the links to Celebration Church to find out more about the ministry we will be serving with!