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...