Lost in NOLA, but working toward a goal...

Far left is my new friend Alton LaRaque ,the lead electrician on this project.

Driving in any city you are not familiar with can be a challenge. Driving around New Orleans when you do not know where you are is difficult. It is the city of the divided boulevard and the one way street. We set out Wednesday morning to find a post office and a place for Louis to find a pair of work shoes, we ended up on a slight "tour" of New Orleans and part of the West Bank.

The yard and street in front of Mrs. Holloway's house was full of work trucks and the house was brimming with activity as six electricians and three plumbers were busy with their work. They were all making progress as we drove away to go to Mrs. Phillip's house. After setting up the tools, wet saw and mixing mortar a cabinet subcontractor met Mrs. Phillip's to help her with her cabinets. At around noon I turned the tile project over to Louis while I traveled back to Pauger St to meet Mrs. Holloway, a representative from a Mennonite Disaster Relief organization and the case manager for Elijah Christian Ministries. MDR & ECM will be providing volunteers to insulate and sheet rock the house. ECM is paying for the electrical and HV/AC contractors and building a bedroom on the existing house for Mrs. Holloway's 90 year old mother. The meeting took much longer than I expected. During this time the plumber, electrician and Mrs. Holloway had multiple questions. My new friend Cory from ECM and I planned the room addition and made sure the subs were on task. I then had to locate a kitchen plan for the electrician and plumber. Don Snipes from NOAH Rebuild was gracious enough to bring me the plan and he was a calming voice of reason as the HV/AC contractor planned his part of the project.

One of the three master plumbers working hard.

By the time I finished with all the meetings/conferences it was 3pm. I returned to Law St. to help Louis with the tile and found lunch waiting for me. As soon as Mrs. Phillip realized I am back she warmed the food and demanded I sit down and eat. Roasted pork, fried yams and gumbo were just what I needed to make a slightly frustrating day much better. Mrs. Phillip, Mrs. Phenix and her duaghter Deborah will bring joy and a smile back to anyone who will listen to their stories of trust in God during the last three years.

After my late lunch and conversation I walked next door to find my brother hard at work on the bath room tile. Working alone most of the day did not stop him from moving forward on our goal to complete this house. He has evolved into a pretty good tile setter and might be thinking of a career change;).

We can use your prayers. We need volunteers to help us the next few weeks. If you can contribute to the expenses and home care it would be a great blessing. Any financial gift is tax deductable and will be appreciated. Send funds to the church PayPal account at carpentersshop@gmail.com or drop me an email or blog comment and I send you thee church address.

Six electricians working hard to get Mrs. Holloway's house wired.