A Week in the Life of Crisis Response

My responsibilities have expanded to overseeing the construction equipment and supplies for the ministry, as well leading teams of volunteers at jobsites. Emily has recently taken on the role of debriefing teams at the end of the week, interviewing them about their experience here. The kids are getting less and less enthusiastic about hanging out with dad at the construction sites and would rather go with mommy to the library or the neighborhood pool.

Teams typically all here and accounted for on Sunday afternoons, having flown or drove in from all over the country. The groups are fed and then given an orientation on what the area was like before and just after Hurricane Katrina, with emphasis given on the scale of the devastation and the continuing need for volunteers to participate in the long term rebuilding efforts.

Monday mornings are a flurry, as volunteers are briefed on their specific job assignments and tools and supplies are checked out to teams by yours truly. Teams roll up to the job site around 10am a bit frustrated that they are “late” and had spend a good chunk of the morning in safety meetings and getting tools, and want to hit the ground running having spent months planning the trip and having traveled from far away. The team then meets the homeowner and we take the time to pray together as a group and connect relationally. Soon after is the time we staffers/jobsite supervisors show the teams the ropes (or are being shown depending on relative skill level) for the task at hand. By the time lunch rolls around the team is just getting their feet at the jobsite and feel a bit overwhelmed that they haven’t got a lot done. We give them some reassurance and show them the work other teams may have done at that home and try to encourage them that they will get an earlier start the rest of the week and that it isn’t all about the work but more importantly connecting with the homeowner. In the evening there is a presentation by the Urban Impact Ministries Pastor, John Gerhardt, about his church’s vision for the rebuilding and long term ministry to the inner city of New Orleans.

Tuesdays teams get an earlier start (leaving between 7:30 and 8am) and are just beginning to get in the groove of a typical workday by that afternoon. We long term volunteers venture back to the church for our weekly staff meeting, which involves sharing our lives together through praise and prayer time as well as looking ahead to the needs of the coming week and beyond. In the evening, Pastor Michael Sprague gives a presentation on how God had shepherded the congregation of Trinity Church through the trauma of Katrina and His incredible provision of dedicated volunteers over the nearly three years now after the storm.

By Wednesday teams are beginning to see the fruit of their labor not only with the home rebuilding but hopefully in connecting more with homeowner. Volunteers are not only learning new skills, they are encouraged to go outside of their comfort zone and talk with the folks in the community, mostly listening but also sharing the good news of Jesus when the opportunity arises.

I have personally noticed more recently that folks are becoming less inclined to reflect on what happened during the storm, wanting more and more to put that experience behind them. Residents would rather talk about the future and would like to see their New Orleans progressing ahead, despite the recent cost of living increases making staying in the city a challenge.

Thursday, teams are going full steam trying to finish up their work assignments. The construction supervisors, about 6 to 8 of us, meet in the morning for our construction look ahead for next week. Later in the day, my family and I commandeer a truck and haul the ministry’s trash trailer on a tour around the city, stopping at nearly each jobsite so the teams can unload their construction debris.

In the evening we have a “Thursday Night Block Party” at one or more of the jobsites with volunteers cooking up hotdogs on the front porch to hand out to passers by and folks in the neighborhood with a cold drink and chips, for the chance to talk with them about how they’re doing and connect. The summer brings a lot of youth groups to volunteer, and often a bustling football or Frisbee game usually ensues in the middle of the street during the block party.

Friday, teams are putting the finishing touches on their projects, cleaning up the jobsite, and returning tools checked out to the church. In the afternoon, teams are free to explore, have dinner on their own, or pack for the journey back home. On Saturday, teams are leaving (we just got to know them) and next week’s teams are arriving for a new adventure / spirit-lead time.

We (the Sherwood family) are getting a bit homesick and are looking forward to making our own journey back home, with the plan of leaving Louisiana for California on Monday, August 23rd, and taking our time stopping again at my dad’s in Texas and one of my best buddy Jason’s in Arizona before crossing back into California. Again, keep us in your prayers for continued safety and provision and know that we feel truly blessed to be here and are really enjoying this time as a family growing in Christ.