Routine? Well, sort of

Hmm, I just realized that I have not updated in a little bit.  I do apologize.  It seems that there is always something happening in this city and I've enjoyed much of it :)

I also realized that I have not shared any photos.  Here are a few pictures of the church/warehouse.  Operation Helping Hands works out of an old Catholic church and school.  They 'borrowed' it right after Katrina and have been there ever since.

You can still see the stained glass window of the Christ, Lamb of God

And over here, some Long Term Volunteers (LTVs) added a bit of art to the storage room.

More storage, supplies, and encouraging art.  Because, who couldn't use some encouragement.

That is the church/warehouse.  Or at least an idea.  It is a neat space.  It definitely provides me with a constant reminder of the 'why' of the work (and a bit of the how, for those of you who know the chaotic-uncertainity that goes with the non-profit world).

Yeah.  My routine is a bit adjusted for early mornings and more consistent hours.  For example, I have three alarms set: 1 = "it would be best if you got up now, Haley" 2 = "you need to get out of bed" and 3 = "GET UP!"  All of these sound before the sun creeps over the horizon.   Which explains the next bit of the routine, tea and/or coffee.  The morning shot of caffeine to get me going.  Usually, I start the water for tea and let the tea steep, while I dash off to morning prayers.  By the time we're done with morning prayers, my tea is ready and we hustle out the door to pick up a co-worker and get to work.  However, by Thursday or Friday, it's usually time to switch to coffee for a little more caffeine...

We get to OHH for morning meeting and load-up. Then off to our respective job sites until 4-4:30.  Back to St. Raymonds, the name of the old church, for un-loading.  Then we return home.  Tired, dirty, and generally happy.  Ready for the fabulous meal that will appear at 6.  The Brothers happen to be excellent cooks.

Um, well friends.   This is a fair chunk of my life.  I promise more pictures and more actual stories will come.  For now, I will leave you with the quote in the picture above, "Aspire not to have more, but to be more." Bishop Oscar Romero (yep, he's a liberation theologian).  

Lovebugs, Drywall, and the Lord's Prayer

My wish was granted.  I've been building for a bit now.  We've built AC platforms to raise units above "regular" rain/flood levels.  (In many places in the city, when it rains the streets and yards and pretty much everything floods.)  We've also hung drywall, ceiling and walls, and begin finishing the drywall.  Generally, I appear to wear more of the joint compound than the walls...oops.  It's been great fun and real work.  I said I wanted to get my hands dirty and boy am I!

The best moment though, was not the time when my corner passed inspection nor was it visiting the taco truck for Taco Thursday.  The best moment was meeting the sweet lady who owns the house we're building, Mrs. R.  Mrs. R came out and thanked us.  She sat on the porch steps chatting with us for a bit as we watched the water-man search for the houses water main.  We laughed as she caught lovebugs and I failed to hold on to them.  It wasn't anything particularly profound but she is closer to coming back home and that made everyone on site happy.


Thy kingdom come...on earth as it is in heaven


I like hanging out with kingdom-builders.  My hands are dirty, my arms are tired, the sun shines, and Mrs. R is a little bit closer to home; it's a good day.

Look at the Happy Nerd!

So, I must preface this blog, I begin today with coffee and added construction.  For this super eager chica, coffee + exciting things like construction = extremely bouncy, exuberant, and somewhat obnoxious Haley.

Now, the day begin early and normal enough.  Molly and I went to prayers with the Brothers and then we headed to OHH for our fist day at the organization.  Yay.  Well, after a lengthy bit of policies and procedures we headed to the worksite.  I could feel joy bubbling forth.  Sure, we weren't building things but...there was osb, and, look - joist hangers.  What a beautiful sight!

So, they opened the home in progress.  The project manager took us in and begin explaining building components, OHH policies, construction steps.  Ahh, the joy.   I, of course, begin asking a billion questions.  If you ever had that really eager, annoying kid who kept asking the professor questions.  You know the one, even though it's time to go, he/she still persists with his/her wide, oh-so-intent eyes.  Yep, that was me.  I was that kid interested and intense and a tiny bit of a pain.  Oh, well.  It was a great joy to me.  And, yes, I bounded home a bit like an over-excited bunny still running on caffeine and construction.

And the best news yet...we start building tomorrow.  

At the Table

Oh my.  To begin with, it is very true that New Orleans is the place to be if you like to eat!  As I type, stuffed from another wonderful meal with the Brothers, I'm thinking a bit about meals and such.  You see, Brother John was quick to reassure us new volunteers that the none of the Christian Brothers have starved to death.  And, he was right, I have eaten quite well since coming down to New Orleans.  Not only have we eaten good food, but we've also eaten well.  What I mean is that dinner at the Brothers house is more like an event.  We eat slowly, and share stories, and generally have a good time.  At the table we've learned that Brother Charles loves the opera, that Molly has the inside connection with Sister Helen Prejean (the real lady behind the movie Dead Man Walking), that the Brothers throw the best parties, that these dear New Englanders need a little help understanding events such as Coronation/Debutante balls, and that even a New Yorker can fall into the habit of using "bless their heart".

So the table unites us.  We come together to eat, to laugh, and to share.  The dinner table is a significant part of this community.  Well, this morning was Sunday morning, meaning that it was church/Mass day.  Brother John came with me for his first Methodist worship experience.  We attended Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church.  It also happened to be Communion Sunday.  And the pastor delivered one of the best children's moments that I've heard.  She spoke about a Gallup poll which found the top 3 things people love to hear: 1) "I love you", 2) "I forgive you", 3) "It's supper time".  This is the meaning of Communion.  God says, "I love you.  I forgive you.  You are welcome at my table, come join me."  Wow.  Talk about simplifying Communion without weakening its meaning.

So, I think it is two tables that unite this community: the dinner table and the Communion table.  We may not hold the exact same theology around the Eucharist but we all believe that the mysterious meal of Communion communicates God's love, God's forgiveness, and God's presence.  We share a table with a crazy awesome God and each other.  Together we laugh, learn, serve, and eat.  May we all remember to "taste and see that the Lord is good." (Psalm 34:8) and that it is indeed a sin to eat a slice of pie without ice cream :)

It's better to light a candle than curse the dark...

It's a little after five in the afternoon and I'm sitting in my new room.  There are boxes scattered about the floor in various stages of unpacked.  The room is coming together quite nicely, although I must admit to much arranging and re-arraging.  Nevertheless, I have a much cherished reading nook and revel in the fact that my room is a bit larger than my Bruno box of the last three years.

I must admit that my head is spinning a little.  So far, the Brothers are delightful.  The Brothers and the volunteers are currently in the middle of orientation.  Monday, we heard from two inspiring individuals: Sister Mary Lou, who manages Cafe Reconcile and Father MichaelJoseph, who resurrected the aptly named Resurrection of Our Lord Parish both pre-Katrina and post-Katrina.  Sister Mary Lou told us the story of the lovely little restaurant over a delicious lunch at Cafe Reconcile.  As I greedily scarfed my bleu cheese-shrimp grits, Sister Mary Lou explained that the restaurant was a classroom.   All of the servers, cooks, busboys, hostesses, etc. were either students or teachers.  Cafe Reconcile trains young adults, ages 16-22, who "have nothing positive happening in their life".  In other words, young adults who have dropped out of school and cannot find a job.  The restaurant/training program has had great success.  It was packed for lunch and you can often find everyone from bank CEOs to monks to friends of students patronizing the spot.  The training program sends graduates to the Ritz Carlton, to local hospitals, and to the Westin.  If you're ever in Central New Orleans from 11-2 and hungry, I highly recommend the shrimp grits at Cafe Reconcile, followed by chocolate bread pudding :)

Father MichaelJoseph graciously showed us his church.  He pointed to the wonderfully painted stations of the Cross and alter.  He then pointed to the water line and told how the parish had renovated the sancturary pre-Katrina.  Then, after Katrina, they rolled up their sleeves and did it again.

Today we met with the other New Orleans Notre Dame Mission Volunteers.  Orientation began and we  underwent hours of policies and procedures.  Not exactly my favorite.  Nevertheless, the people are interesting.  It is going to be quite a year.  Now, for a commissioning service and some crawfish pasta...