From Paul T

It’s a great scene from the passenger seat of one of the minivans, where I’m finally getting to my blog entry: four of our team are on the front porch of “our” house, rolling a coat of tan onto the wood siding or a second layer of burgundy trim onto the pillar. Jane [Stalhut] is making everyone laugh, and conversations cover a variety of topics, both serious and casual. A beautiful breeze tempers the heat and mild humidity. The weather has been beautiful on this trip.

I’m enjoying watching everyone learning about Southern culture, food and hospitality, and I’m learning a lot as well. Some of the team had to take pictures of the plates of food at the restaurant where we ate lunch today—plates of all-fried food, side orders of lasagna, and a trio of senior ladies, each of whom had four pieces of fried chicken on the side of whatever was on their main plate. One of our vegetarians managed to sneak in some baby carrots in a plastic baggie. I thought they were going to be confiscated and fried. The accents, which are stronger in this parish, are not like any Southern accents I’ve heard. Some sound like Boston transplants who have lived in the South for many years. And there were plenty of “God Bless You”s today from residents who aren’t too proud to let us know they sincerely appreciate our being here.

Midweek is a great part of the trip. At this point everyone is getting to know each other on a personal level, the work-site activities have gained momentum. [Olfactory note: someone just clapped and exclaimed, “I smell sewage!”] It’s great to hear from locals and community organizers that churches and volunteer groups are driving the recovery effort, and that the number of volunteer groups has been strong and steady. As it was last year, endless questions remain unanswered, but we try to focus on our service during the day and talk to each other about how to comprehend the situation here over an evening jog or coffee.

Thanks to everyone for participating with us by reading the blog and keeping our team and the Gulf Coast in your thoughts and prayers.

-Paul T