A Few Things I Learned This Weekend...

My brother was here this weekend. It was a quick visit, but really a well timed visit in that I needed a few days off and it was good having Kevin around. I did learn a few things this weekend... or at least I was able to reflect on a few things along the way.

The first thing I learned... never see a movie simply because it was filmed in your hometown. Kevin and I went to see "Employee of the Month" on Friday night. It was filmed at a Costco store in Albuquerque and while it wasn't my first choice for a movie, it was the movie Kevin and I could agree on. Now, I don't know who they hired for quality control/editing control for this movie, but there was no continuity and there were many, many things that were a little off kilter. The main thing was that the checkout line numbers were never in order (read 1, 4, 6, 3, 7, 8, 10, 2...) and even varied sometimes between cuts that were seconds apart. They were never in the same order either. The movie had it's funny parts, but by and large it was just a waste of money and time and I wish I would have seen it when it was out on DVD instead of in the theater. But I'm actually ok with that because it got me out to the theater and I'm ok with that in a weird sort of way.

The second thing I learned/observed. The Barenaked Ladies have a lot of fun doing what they do and so should we. Kevin was out here not simply for a visit (who wouldn't want to come to Cleveland where it's 20 degrees colder and a heck of a lot wetter than where you live?), but came out for the Barenaked Ladies concert. It was a really good concert as their concerts always are. I saw them in Albuquerque five years ago and they were good then. But what I noted and had seen before is that they have a lot of fun at their concerts which then means that the people at the concert have fun too. Here's hoping we all have as much fun as they do doing what we do for our jobs.

Additionally, I was struck by how intergenerational the band's audience is too. There were people in their forties and fifties there as well as others my age and then a few kids with their parents. Obviously they appeal to a wide variety of people.


Ok, the last thing I observed/noted... why does "Deal or No Deal" continue to only have women holding the numbered cases? Where are the hot guys for those of us who prefer to look at them rather than women? Isn't this an indication of how far we really are from equality? We have to demean women by having them hold cases and not have any guys in the group? If we are going to pay people because they look good holding a metal case with a shiny, black number, then why can't we be equal opportunity lookers? Why can't we pay men just like we pay women?

So that's it for right now. Expect more later... maybe not observations from this weekend specifically but other observations/reflections.

Kate

Moving along...

Things are moving along fairly rapidly... I realize it's been a while since I last posted, but things seem to be flying by and I've been so busy that it's been difficult for me to find the time/energy to write something. Often times it simply slips my mind until I'm laying in my bed and thinking about the day for the 30 seconds between the time I turn the lights off and the time I fall asleep. But honestly, things are moving right along and I'm almost not sure where the time has gone or is going.

I've been here for two months now and in some ways it seems like I've been here forever and in others it seems like I've just moved in. Both are good things. As far as the first, I'm getting to the point where I'm so comfortable here that it seems like I've been here for a while now. However, time flies when you're having fun (and when you get older I'm learning) and time is certainly flying. With that in mind, it seems like I just moved in last week.

Things are going well. Friday night and most of Saturday was spent at a Confirmation Retreat with our 7th and 8th graders. I planned pretty much the whole retreat so it was a lot of work, but it was worth it. We have some really good kids in confirmation this year and while they can get a little loud at times, we had good conversations on this retreat. One of the girls' parents' told me this morning that her favorite memory was Friday night devotions. We were at a Holiday Inn in Independence (about 25 minutes away) and there was a very happening bar in the lobby of the hotel. It seemed that many of the people arriving there for an evening in the bar were locals. I find it very interesting that a hotel bar would attract such a crowd... but it did. Anyway, we had enough kids that we needed a bigger space to gather for devotions than trying to crowd into one of our rooms. So we went down to the lobby... right outside the bar in fact. There were lots of people milling about, several with a beer or some other beverage in their hands, all the while the kids (and adults) are sharing their highs and lows (one good thing and one not so good thing that happened to them in the past week). Finally, we all held hands and prayed... right in the middle of the bar crowd almost. One of the parents who was dropping off their kid after a football game and arrived right as we started praying, said that we were drawing a lot of attention from the others in the room. I bet we were! Mind you, we weren't actually in the bar, but we were close enough that we may as well have been. When I think about it, I wonder what the other people were thinking. Not that I really care, but do they think we are some fundamentalist group who was praying for their souls because they were out drinking and having fun? Honestly, we weren't praying for the people around us at all (maybe we should have been... but we weren't). I must admit that it is one of my favorite memories of the weekend too. =)

So that's probably a long enough story. I'll post more later when I am better rested. I spent the afternoon and early evening helping Rob (my supervisor) put in a Pergo floor at his house. He and I got really good at while we were in Biloxi (and I found I really liked doing it). Plus, he and his wife Kim had already made a decision to replace the carpeting in their family room with something else before we went to Biloxi. So, it was while we were down south that he decided Pergo was a good idea. I think it was a good choice. It looks good and it wasn't terribly difficult to put down. In fact, it was easier than the floor in Biloxi!

The short story is, I missed my Sunday afternoon nap. So I'm pretty beat. I didn't (obviously) sleep in this morning and I didn't get my nap. I didn't get too much sleep on Friday night either... so I'm ready for bed! With that, I'll say good night and I'll write more later.

Kate

Home

I got home from Biloxi Sunday night at about 5:00. While it is definitely good to be home, I also sort of miss Biloxi. I want to go back. It was definitely a good trip and a really good group. Even at the end of the trip when we had been with each other for a week straight and exhausted (we even slept next to each other in the Sactuary at Bethel... so literally 24 hours/7 days straight), we were still laughing. We definitely had our moments, but nothing bad and it really was good.

We spent most of the week working on Lavurta Hollingsworth's house (I hope I spelled that right... probably not). We came so close to getting her back into her house and while there were two whole rooms we didn't touch, the only room really preventing her from returning was the bathroom. We didn't get nearly as far as we wanted, but we did a lot! I spent a fair amount of time painting, helping to put up molding, and flooring. I also was often another set of hands for people when they needed it.

The week was amazing for several reasons. One was being able to get to know the other members of the group better. I think I have a better relationship with everybody who went, including Pastor Rob (my supervisor). I also valued being able to do the work and give Lavurta a good chunk of her house back. It really did go from nothing (they had gutted the place) to something really beautiful. The other reason it was good for me was to listen to the stories of all the people there. Stories of how they watched their cars wash away while huddling with 19 other people on the second story of a house. Stories of 6 feet of water in a house and hosing the hardwood floors off just to get the gunk out. Stories of giving DNA to identify the body of a son who didn't survive the storm. Stories of people watching their daughter float away in the flood. Incredible stories of what people have lost and yet are so grateful and happy for what they still have. I'll continue to tell the stories because they need to be told and there need to be more volunteers to go to Biloxi and all along the Gulf Coast.

Now for the important part... pictures. Take a look here for some pictures: http://www.loloh.org/monday.html Click on the links toward the top of the page to go to the other days for the rest of the pictures.

Now, most of the pictures on that site are mine, so at this link, you'll see a fair number of repeat pictures, but here's a few more and these have captions. http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ubi1kanobi/album?.dir=/be05re2&.src=ph I also recommend clicking on 'view slideshow' to see the captions and all the pictures.

Let me know what you think.

Kate

More of Biloxi...

I realize it's been a couple of days. But it's definitely been a crazy couple of days. It has also been a really good couple of days.

We've been working for about three and a half days now. The first full day, Tuesday, I started out with a group at The Lutheran Church of the Good Shephard (Missouri Synod) working in their sanctuary and cry room. We sanded down the walls and put some more dry wall and mud up then sanded that down again. It was hard work but good. I met the pastor of the church - he's only been here about three years and is only three years out of seminary. He is only a few years older than I am. As he said, "Talk about baptism by fire!" It is kind of crazy to think that in four and a half years I could be out there some where and have to deal with something like this (not likely, but still kind of crazy). In addition to the pastor we met several congregation members who came in throughout the day. We listened to their stories and I am truly amazed by the people down here. Every single one said thank you and told us how much we were appreciated. It truly is amazing.

Tuesday afternoon my group moved on to join the other three people in our group. We started to work on a woman's home who had flood water at least 6 feet high in her house. Over the past few days we've been working on her home trying to get it to at least the point where she can move in. I spent most of today putting in flooring and putting up molding. Yesterday was spent primarily painting and doing other random jobs around the house. Today I also spent some time with another group member, Tom, and the owner of the house listening to her story. She was here through the entire storm. She eventually went down the street to a neighbor's two story house and when the water started to rise into the first story, they went to the second where she watched her car be submerged under the flood waters. After the rain stopped but the winds continued, her son-in-law went out and found several other people in need of help and at some point they had over 20 people in the second story of that house. I am in awe that these people have gone through this kind of thing. Secondly, the people around here have formed a real community, watching out for one another and definitely willing to help each other out (us included) at a moment's notice. I wonder what it was like down here before Katrina. Was there this kind of community? If not, why does such a tragedy bring people together like this? I have my own answers, but I occasionally like to just pose questions.

Ok, I should probably stop now... need to go lay in my bed soon and I'm assuming shortly after I do that I'll be asleep. We work tomorrow and then leave for Ohio on Saturday morning returning on Sunday some time.

That's what's going on now... more later. I'm sure there will be pictures after I return at some point... some of them are amazing. In the meantime, take a look at http://www.loloh.org for some pictures.

Kate

In Biloxi...

After many, many, many hours in the car, we are finally here in Biloxi. We arrived at some point this afternoon and after only being here for about 45 minutes several of us immediately went to work on the roof of the church. Apparently the roof was really the only part of the church that was damaged (from what I was told) and they did replace it. Well, apparently there was also a leak in the roof and that was what they were working on today when we got here.

Some reflections about the past 10 hours especially... when we got to Biloxi, we traveled along the coast and saw some of the destruction that has happened. It's been over a year and typically around Biloxi some sense of normalcy has returned. However, you drive along the gulf and you see lots and lots of signs where fast food restaurants used to be and where there is a sign, there isn't a restaurant. I think I was particularly struck by a condo building where on the side, somebody painted, "Mom, we're ok." It's still there... images we saw on the news over a year ago... still here, live in person. I reflected a lot on what's left after everything is taken away. When Jesus says, "Do not store up your treasures here on earth, but in heaven," I think of things stripped away. But today, I also talked with a woman who had no physical damage to her house but instead had her son and daughter-in-law killed in the storm. She had to wait two weeks for them to identify the body and she also had to provide DNA for them to identify her son's body. What's left when your family is ripped from you? The only conclusion I can come to is God. I believe that's the reason why so many poor people have such a strong faith. I also believe that is why it is so hard for me and the rest of my middle class peers have such a hard time with faith. We are so used to doing things on our own... to being able to support ourselves, be able to take care of ourselves. It's hard to rely on others, to rely on something or somebody we can't see. What's left after everything is stripped away?

I'm sure I will ponder this more as I journey through this week. Look for more posts, either while I'm here or after I return to Ohio.

Kate