I figured i'd post some photos from around Port Mercy after the hurricane. We didn't really do to bad after Rita hit, but we did lose a few buildings, especially the vinyl stuff. It was really interesting for me to see after Rita that the nature around us had new growth almost instantly. It was cool to see trees budding and flowering in November. In the face of disaster there was new life.
This is a building that was the made the month the hurricane hit. We didn't have enough time to completely reinforce it. That's why it was completely blown down. It was made with pallet racks along the sides and was open at either end. It had a 50' span, i believe, and had a vinyl roof.
This is a quonsat hut which had two walls completely blown out by the storm. One wall actually floated off and the other wall can still be seen laying on top of the desk, couch, etc. Since this picture was taken, we've completely torn out all the walls and rebuilt two new ones on either end.
The force of the wind caused a lot of damage to trees as well as the buildings. We took tons of downed trees and limbs out to the street corner for burning. It's pretty amazing to see how the trees would get twisted and then bent over.
Rita even took it's toll on the water. It's not quite clear why it happened, but after the storm, there were many fish that washed up dead on the shored of the river. It was really stinky and unfortuneate. Some people speculate that it was the sea water being brought so far up river which caused the fresh water fish to die.
I didn't feel right about taking pictures of other people's tragedies after the storm. I had opportunity to when I evacuated from the ships during Rita to go to Gretna (across the Mississippi from New Orleans). While there, i was able to go door to door and help out people who'd been affected by Hurricane Katrina. It was really tragic to see people who'd lost everything and had no hope. One woman really impacted me. She was elderly and widowed. When she got back to her home, it'd been flooded with about 6 inches of water. The water had seeped up her walls and mold had taken over for about the lower 3 feet of her walls. She didn't have much income and didn't know what to do. She felt completely lost and like giving up. I was able to encourage her and let her know that her home could be repaired and restored. The team i was with was able to pray with this lady and we left her feeling that she had more stregnth to go on.
It was a blessing to be hands on with people and just to let them know that God loves them. The team i was with would knock on each door on a street block and ask the people if they had any needs. We would drive in a pick up truck and have it loaded with food, water, personal care items, paper goods, baby needs, bibles, and much, much more. If the people needed something that we didn't have in our truck, but we knew was at the warehouse where our ministry was staged out of, we'd bring them back their needs. We delivered a dining table, crib, specific clothes, whatever they asked for, if we had it, we'd give it. After meeting their physical needs, we'd ask if they wanted us to pray with them. Before leaving, we'd also offer them a Bible if they needed or wanted one. The goods we delivered were received with joy. People's hearts were touched. It was just so cool to be involved in something so big. There are too many stories to tell, but it's just so nice to know that we were able to help.
That's all for now.
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