Introduction to John Linder

Hi all!

I wanted to introduce all of you to someone who will be live blogging during his participation in the February KatrinaGrace Team Trip to Louisiana. His name is John Lindner and he's Bonnie's husband who's on staff. John has attended Grace for about seven years. John also intends to produce Katrina podcasts for the Baltimore Sun and Grace. Ironically, the first time John visited New Orleans he also stayed for a week and slept in a sleeping bag!

He's already begun live blogging this team's pre-trip activities! More to come.

Stephen Shields

Katrina volunteers

U.S.News.com has a story on Katrina volunteers.
The article features Habitat volunteers. One woman, an Americorps volunteer, was sent to N.O. for a month and decided to stay for a year:

Maybe the realization came when she was rebuilding houses with Habitat for Humanity and a group of musician homeowners pulled out their instruments and began to play. "I started bawling," Steinman says. "I was just overwhelmed."

Thanks to Bryan McAnally of Spare Change for the tip on this story.

Team XI

Hey, turns out the names enumerated in the previous post have a number: XI
I'm assuming that's a number, Roman numeral, as in Super Bowl XLI.
XI. Hmmmm. Do we like that number? Do we have a choice?
We're going to be sleeping on the floor here. I think we should at least like our number.
Maybe it will grow on us.
Actually, if you pronounce it Team Ecks One that sounds pretty good. Pretty can-do. X-One.
Guys, our team sounds like a rocket.
Kewl.

Note to Katrina Grace Team X-One members: If you want to contribute to this blog before, during, and/or after our trip, email your submission to my gmail account and I'll cut out the whiney bits and post it forthwith. If you want me to cease posting ... tough.

Feb Katrina Grace team

Here are the names of the team members headed to Louisiana feb. 4:

Stephanie Schleicher (team leader) (RN)
Rick Schleicher
Bonnie Lindner
John Lindner
Marv Garlick
Dolores Garlick
Doug Flather
Cynthia Garber
David Wilson
Meg Dawes
Dan Dawes
Laura Mooty
Paul Mooty

KatrinaGrace Team X (aka Habitat II)

KatrinaGrace Team X (aka Habitat II) left for New Orleans on Sunday 3 December 2006 and returned to us on Saturday 9 December. Blair and Ann Nordvedt write:

"Here are a few pictures of our trip to Louisiana. We had a truly great week. It was unusually cold for Louisiana, in the 30's at night and some days only in the 50's top. We did not take enough warm clothing for the mornings. We stayed in Covington, LA at Trinity Church, sleeping on the floor and they fed us. We drove about 30 minutes to Slidell and worked with Habitat each day. The stores and roads and infrastructure are basically fine after one year from Katrina but there are thousands and thousands of homes that are untouched. FEMA trailers are everywhere in front yards until the homes can be rebuilt. We learned much about the storm and what God is doing. Clearly the storm and faith based relief has had a great impact on many many hearts. We mostly worked on a house for a lady named Ruby and her family. We hope her home will be ready for her by Christmas. Two of the other homes that Ann helped finish will be dedicated and turned over to the homeowners next week. Habitat has a commitment to build 100 homes in Slidell in one year starting last July. Slidell took the eye of the storm and was mostly under water afterwards" (links added)

KatrinaGraceTeam X was

• Bill Morgan
• Yvonne Smart
• Brad Wine
  
• David Mazzuca
  
• Blair Nordvedt
• Ann Nordvedt
• Glenn Cook (Team Leader)
  

• A few pictures from their trip
  

Final Report from KatrinaGrace Team VIII

from Liz Beachum:

Wow! What an amazing week we've had! I can't believe we are home again! It has been a great experience working with the local Habitat for Humanity in East St Tammany Parish and also with Trinity Church in Covington who gave us a home away from home. Everyone was friendly and hospitable, and we've met some new friends.

We spent our last 2 work days installing laminate flooring at the house in Lacombe. They told us ahead of time that if we did not know a skill when we arrived, we would definitely go home having learned a new skill. Many of us learned to install laminate flooring for the first time. A few of the men went to another site in Lacombe to do some foundation work and also in Pearl River to hang insulation.

Someone asked me who qualifies for a Habititat home. Basically, they complete an application and attend an orientation meeting that is held twice a year. They must have a steady income. Since Habitat does "not give a hand out but a hand up", the prospective homeowner is required to complete 200 hours of "sweat equity". Sweat equity can be earned by working on a job site and/or working in a Habitat kitchen to provide meals for the volunteers. After they complete the first 50 hours, the process for building a house begins. Then after they've completed 100-150 hours, they can move in when the house is completed. They are also given a 20-year interest free loan.

Early Thursday evening we drove down to the Lower 9th Ward to see some of the devastation from Katrina. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. What once used to be vibrant neighborhoods, with kids playing outside and riding bikes up and down the streets, have been abandoned to a great extent (understatement).

We saw many houses and businesses that were uninhabitable. Some houses had been swept off their foundations and were no where in sight. Some of the empty parking lots have been converted into FEMA trailer parks. We met a man named Keith who was living in a FEMA trailer parked next to his house. He was so happy to see us and he gladly shared his story with us. Most of his neighbors live elsewhere, and sadly some have drowned. He said the flood waters rose
2-stories high. He lived in a 1-story house. Thankfully, he was able to stay with his brother down the street who lived in a 3-story house. At the end of our visit with him, we joined hands in a circle and prayed with him. He prayed too and, wow, can he pray! As we listened to his story, we were hoping to be an encouragement to him. Ironically, he was an inspiration and an encouragement to us. ln spite of his great loss, he had great faith, a positive attitude and a hopeful outlook on the future. As we drove out of the city to go back "home", the van was very quiet. No one was talking. Everyone was reflecting on what they had seen and heard. The need is truly great here.

We had a great team of 14 volunteers that came with us. Most attend Grace Community Church but we were delighted that some folks from 3 other churches came with us, including members from Calvary Community, Living Hope Presbyterian, and Cedar Ridge Community Church. Everyone came ready to work, willing to be flexible, and eager to make a difference. We are the 8th team from Grace that went down to the Gulf Coast region to help with the Katrina recovery. More teams are preparing to go down in the months to come. The KatrinaGrace web site is an excellent resource for all the great work that is being done by Grace Community.

Thank you all for your prayers this week. Everyone stayed healthy and safe this week. Please continue to pray for us as we return to our own reality.

Liz

PS

I will be uploading more pics in the days and weeks to come here.

Team VIII: Report from Day 2

Team VIII gets the Award for Best Communication with the Mothership!

This from Liz Beachum after Day 2 working with Habitat for Humanity in Louisiana:

Hi, everyone!

We had another great day in N.O. on Tuesday. We went back to the house in Lacombe to do some more inside painting. We should finish the painting tomorrow and still have time to hang the inside doors and trim before we finish for the day.

Lunch at the sites are provided by the eventual homeowners of the houses. This is one of the ways they can earn their 200 hours of "sweat equity" toward home ownership.

Trinity Church, where we are staying, cooks breakfast and dinner for us each day. The cooks are volunteers too and they are good cooks! There are several teams from around the U.S. that are staying here. But we are the only group staying here this week that is working with Habitat. The others are going into the city to do gutting and cleaning.

When we signed up for this, we were told how important it was to be flexible...which it is because things can change. But what is amazing to me is how 14 strangers can have so much FUN working together.

I uploaded some more pictures.

That's it for now...

Liz

On-Site Report from Katrina Team VIII

Liz Beachum writes:

"Hi, everyone!

We all arrived in New Orleans safely and ahead of time (yea! Southwest) on Sunday. There are 14 of us. Click here to see a picture of our team. This picture was taken down at the French Quarter on Sunday. That's the Mississippi River behind us. I'll upload more photos as I have time.

The weather is beautiful here, 80s during the day and 60s at night. On Monday we went to Slidell to help frame a house. We actually put hurricane staps on the outside frame and also inside where the roof is going to put on. This is part of a new building code for N.O. After lunch, we went to Lancomb to paint the inside walls with primer.

We are having a blast! We are having alot of fun getting to know each other as most people don't know each other. Everyone on the team is working together very well and everyone is constantly looking to stay busy at the job site. We leave at 6am in the mornings to be at the HFH headqtrs by 6:50 in Slidell. Then we head off for the job site. There are several groups from around the US that are working with the local HFH chapter here and there are several houses that are currently being built. Thankfully all 14 in our group are able to work on
the same house. More later..."

Please pray for KatrinaGrace Team VIII

Our 8th Team took off this morning to Louisiana to work with Katrina relief. This team will be staying at Trinity Church in Covington, LA but will be building houses in Slidell, LA with the East St Tammany Habitat for Humanity! They'll be returning next Saturday. The Team is

• Roger Beachum - Team Leader
• Liz Beachum
  
• Matthew Guy
• Len Thompson (his 2nd trip)
• Jeanne Springer
• Stacey Spione
  
• Tony Kim
• Peter Lee
• Dana Honda
  
• John Albert
• Kerry Rye
• Steven Lilly
• Russ Dickens
• David Kapuscinski
  

Please pray for them this week!

Frequently Answered Questions for KatrinaGrace Trips

can be found here.

2 Books on Katrina

I'm mostly done withTulane professor Douglas Brinkley's massive treatment of Katrina - The Great Deluge. His menu of stories is well-worth reading, if a bit all over the place.











Tim Challies also brings our attention to a new Marvin Olasky work called The Politics of Disaster and provides a fine summary.

"faith in action" - one year later

Nice article in the Philadelphia Inquirer about what faith-based orgs have done and are still doing in areas ravaged by Katrina and Rita.

Katrina Sunday - Aug 27

some pics from Sunday's Katrina Event.

Building 100 Homes in Slidell, LA

The East St Tammany Habitat for Humanity has decided to build 100 homes in 2007 in Slidell, LA, a town on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain that was devastated by flooding after Hurricane Katrina.

KatrinaGrace plans to help by sending down 6 or 7 teams of 20 folks between now and the end of 2007. We are partnering with Trinity Church in Covington, LA in this effort and this is where our folks will be staying when they're in the New Orleans area.

If you are interested in working on one of these teams, please email Beth Shields or Sandra Clabough.

Pictures of Trinity and Compassion Staff in Covington, LA

can be found here!

We've also linked to these under "Links and Information" in the right-hand column of this site for your future reference.

Most of our times have stayed at Trinity Church and worked thru Compassion Ministries as we've worked in the New Orleans Area.

Biloxi 1 Team from November 2005

• Adam Fry
• Craig Wampler
• Sarah Wampler
• Gadget Ambuel
• Chad Manifold
• Jeromy Smith
• Kim Smith
• Karen Royer
• Nicole Ambuel
• Steve Royer

Bilox 2 Team - April 2006

Gadget Ambuel
Larry Ambuel
Margaret Ambuel
Nicole Ambuel
Chad Manifold
Matthis Wecker
Brett Wiuff
Karen Royer
Steve Royer

katrina by the numbers, part 2: 1 year later

USA TODAY poll in today's paper:

• 16% - those who say that their lives are back to normal one year later
• 56% - those with kids under 18 who say that their kids have been negatively affected by the storm
• 25% - those who have not moved back
• 20% - number of those who have moved back but believe they may need to move out again
• 14% - those currently unemployed
  
  
• "those who say they are experiencing a great deal or quite a bit of"
  
  
• anxiety - 27%
• trouble sleeping - 26%
• depression - 23%
• "difficulties in marriage or other family relationships" - 18%
  
  
• Top 5 Most Difficult Things to Deal with Since Katrina:
  
  
1. damaged property
2. financial problems
3. mental or emotional sate
4. "getting our lives back on track"
5. "no longer having a job"
   
   
• Top 5 Types of Help Most Desired to Recover from Katrina
  
  
1. $
2. help with damage or contractors
3. more FEMA help
4. "a place to stay"
5. a job

Recent stats from Compassion Ministries which works thru Trinity Church in Covington, LA. This is where we've sent most of our Work Teams:

• # of volunteers: 5,458
  
• volunteer work hours: 206,350

- USA TODAY related story.

- katrina by the numbers, part 1: the impact of the storm

New KatrinaGrace Resource

The Evangelical Free Church of America Katrina Project has launched a new website in support of their Katrina relief efforts in the New Orleans area. Most of our Teams have been working with this project and Trinity Church, which is an Evangelical Free church.

It features:

• the Latest Stats of the effort (now current thru 7/21/06):

Work Hours: 206,350

Volunteers: 5,458

• a project blog
  
  
• information about sending a team
  
  
• and they'll be adding more features to the site as well in the future.
  

"Churches battling post-Katrina depression"

"But only 22 of the 196 psychiatrists who practiced in New Orleans have returned, according to a report published this month in the
Journal of the American Medical Association.

A state-run psychiatric hospital re-opened last week with 10 adult beds, a fraction of what was available before the storm.

As the city waits for its share of $80 million in federal relief funds allocated for rebuilding the state's mental health care infrastructure, local pastors are being called upon to fill the void."

- link