This is Andrea and Tim! Today was 'Inspirational' and 'Life-Changing' despite the damper of the weather. Today was pretty chilly and rained all day. However, the clouds couldn't stop the shine of the day. (Cheesy) We woke up around 8 after a rough night of sleep for all and headed to a nice little cafe named Fleur de Lis for breakfast. After, we headed to the Center for Jesus Our Lord for mass. It was much different than mass in Wisconsin as the music was extremely upbeat! The people of the congregation were very welcoming, they not only welcomed us but also added us into their petitions. After mass we headed to their social were we ate a traditional dessert called king cake. The story of the cake goes back to Mardi Gras, each color represents something special of the culture and whoever finds the baby in the cake has to have the next king cake party. After the social and getting to know some of the congregation we helped take down their Christmas decorations. We had a lot of hands and it was finished in no time. Tim even had time to dance on the ladder scaring us all to death that he was going to fall off. After, we headed to the flea market, did some bargaining, and got ourselves some souvenirs. After lunch, we went back to the the church to help with 'feed the homeless'. This is a project the church completes every Sunday. They cook a hot meal and serve it to the homeless and those in the men's shelter. We helped prepare and pack the food and then headed to the shelter to help serve. This was an amazing experience for us all. We got the opportunity to help serve these grateful men and woman. Engaging in conversation with them was the highlight of our night. Jose was one of our favorites who was the jokester of the group. We broke many stereotypes tonight. These men and women lost their homes for reasons out of their control and are trying to get back on their feet for the most part. These men and women are not lazy, do not spend all their money on drugs and alcohol, and are truly wonderful people who are caught in the cycle of poverty. Afterwards, we headed back to the church for dinner. We were able to here the stories of some strong survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Many of them had lost everything and are only just starting to see rebirth in the city and around and in their homes. They said the city is only 60% rebuilt after almost 6 years and will take 5-7 more years to be at 85% or above. Never the less they were able to find the silver lining and share all the great things they now have because of this tradgey. We found that the media skewed so much of the information and sugar coated the things they did tell us, and today we heard the uncut, unscripted version of those whose lives are forever changed from the hurricane. This was so moving to each and everyone of us.
On a lighter note, Homework time and a great group reflection up a head for the night. Plus the girls switched beds and we are no longer under the blaring bright fluorescent light! :D YAY However Tim may have to deal with shutting off alarms of his roommates that do not wake up to their alarm ringing at 3:30 am!! NO
Peace and Love!
NOLA TRIP!!
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