Sunday on the bayou April 29

I woke up to rather dense fog this morning. And I thought "this is just like OR or at home". But within 2 hours it was all gone and this afternoon is hot. 2 - 3 pm is the warm part of the day as the breezes come later and it is pleasant in the shade.

I attended services again at the 1st Presb Church of Bayou Blue. This church reminds me of the small rural type church I grew up in back in SD. They have 7 or 8 in their choir and they sing just a hymn every Sun, nothing fancy. I was the only volunteer there as everyone else in the village left today. There is a small group arriving tonite, however. They do a big spread for fellowship time - have sandwiches; many desserts like brownies, cake, cupcakes, etc; soft drinks; little smokies; etc. 2 or 3 ladies are responsible for the food each Sunday and it rotates but others bring food, too. Years ago they started out with just donuts or cookies but expanded. Then I attended the adult Sunday School class and we talked about the villages, volunteers coming, PDA, etc. I could share information that they weren't aware of. They think our living accomodations are pretty bad but I tried to reassure them that the volunteers thought the villages were great. Clark and family (an older couple) took me to their house afterwards for lunch, then brought me back to the village mid-afternoon.

I got to visit with Rev Chris and her husband (also the pastor) and learned more about what happened after Katrina hit. They were hardly affected here by Katrina but busloads came from New Orleans afterwards. This was the closest operating hospital, had thousands in shelters, people's homes. The dead on the buses (who died on trip down) were dumped in the ditches and someone picked them up and took them to the morgue. Pastor Chris started a pastoral care support system at the morgue as people came to identify the bodies if they could. She thought 35 bodies are still unidentified here. Hurricane Rita hit this area but it was worse farther south in the bayous. This church has done a lot to help others but are still very grateful for volunteers that come. I really enjoyed this church (kinda like HPC).

It's the people you meet that make these trips special. Thur evening Kevin a local homeowner whose mother was helped by PDA volunteers cooked a southern meal and he has been doing this every week for a year now. This time he made chicken and sausage gumbo with rice. We also had a green salad and garlic bread. PDA furnishes the food and he cooks it at the village. Family members or close friends bring desserts so that was a special evening. They shared their story and mingled with the volunteers. Rick and Louise (76 and 71) from AZ were a neat couple who really worked hard and worked well together. They looked out for each other which was special. They mudded and sanded a couple small rooms, painted ceilings and she was on the metal scaffold the last day. Then there was Shirley (77), also from AZ, who painted ceilings 5 days from a scaffold. What energy at their age. They worked on the center being built in the village where Andrea and I helped on some days. I got little jobs as I wasn't always there - like wash the windows, inside and out, plus scrapped the paint globs and mudding globs off the concrete to get it smooth for the floor to be put in.

Raccoons are a nuisance here so everything edible must be locked up. They managed to get a tin with tea bags open and destroy them. Every morning would be a different thing as one morning they managed to get their claws into the plastic tub with cereal and tear a couple bags open. Another day they grabbed 2 loaves of bread from the dining area where we made our lunches and were dragging them off. Andrea found them. But they don't have a problem with ants like I did in MS.

I hope you went to the House of the Lord to worship today. Each day he gives us is special. Take care and lots of love.

Phyllis