I had the opportunity to take a trip to New Orleans from Houston with the choir and orchestra of my church. About 40-50 of us stayed the weekend (The Weekenders, as we were called), while the rest of the 133 people on the trip stayed to help rebuild two houses that were destroyed from Katrina, two years ago. I think it would have been neat to help build the houses, but I don't think I can do it physically. So, I opted for the weekender deal. The goal for the weekend for the choir and orchestra was to sing/play for two churches: Franklin Ave. Baptist Church and First Baptist Church New Orleans, of which they both meet at FBC New Orleans. After the weekenders left, the goal became to help rebuild the two houses from members of Franklin Ave.
7:45 a.m.
Well, I woke up at 5:00 a.m. to get ready. Needless to say, I didn't roll out of bed until 5:15 a.m. Fortunately, I had everything packed from the night before. Mary (my cat) went through all of my luggage (just to make sure I didn't forget anything, ha!) I told my "doll" (my daughter, Corinne) goodbye, and headed out the door at 6:05 a.m.
This is the first time that I have left my daughter by herself. She is 17 years old, and has proven to be responsible with this task, however, as a single mom, I worry. I made sure that she had phone numbers that she can call in case that she gets scared or needs someone immediately to come over and help with something. I will still worry throughout the trip. The only thing I can do is PRAY. God has given me this child to raise, but I know that my job is raise her so that one day she will become a young lady and eventually leave me and start her own life. This is just one of those steps in becoming a young lady. I still worry. I'm still her mom.
At 6 a.m. on Saturday morning, there is no one out on the road. I ran through McDonald's and the bank and thought I was running late. I got on the freeway and expected delays because they had said there were freeway closures, but was surprised that I got through O.K. I ended up getting to the church at 6:45 a.m.
After we got our van/bus assignments (I'm on the big bus!) we
gathered in the main church lobby. Tom M. put us in our bus/van groups, then we all held hands and prayed. It was an awesome sight, seeing everyone from all of the music groups hold hands and pray together. Then we loaded up.They wanted us to leave in groups and not caravan 10 vans and a big bus together. They said it was easier and safer. So the bus actually pulled out about 7:45 a.m.
Right now, we are listening to our practice CD, which only has two songs: Everlasting God and He Never Failed Me Yet. (We are singing more songs, but that's all that's on that CD!). Anyway, some of the people in the front of the bus are telling the bus driver how to get on I-10 from the church. (Not an easy task!). But we finally made it and we're on our way!
We are now on the outskirts of Houston. I can't believe we are on our way!
9:30 a.m.
We just crossed the state line. Alvin, our bus driver, announced that we were about to go into Louisiana. As we crossed the Sabine River, I felt this sense of "We're almost there!"
Around 9 a.m. I noticed we were passing through a large city. Then I found out that we were passing through Beaumont. I figured it out from the signs around town. Then we passed through Orange. I kept thinking, "Texas is so big. Are we ever going to get out?" Well, we finally did, and our next stop is Beaux Bridge right before Lafayette. We're supposed to be there around 11 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
We made a 10-15 minute pit stop somewhere between Lake Charles and Alexandria at a Love's Truck Stop. I had been debating on whether I should use the bus restroom when the driver announced he had to go. About 10 of us took the opportunity to go. Just when I was going into the bathroom, Corinne called me and asked me if I fed Mary. Ooops! It was too early in the morning! Mary kept bothering Corinne until she
got up.Louisiana is a little different from Texas: Different signs, names of cities, etc. But there's still trees, and cows, and country.
We are still looking for Beaux Bridge!
11:15 a.m.
We made it to Beaux Bridge. Well, kind of. I had imagined it to be a big city. I think we stopped at the edge of Beaux Bridge at a truck stop. It was a truck stop with a lot of fast food places to eat. I guess that was good because we didn't invade one place with a zillion people. We ate at different places. There was an Arby's, Whataburger, McDonald's, Burger King, Waffle House, and a restaurant in the truck stop. I ended up at Whataburger and found out that that I really wasn't that hungry. I've been really thirsty, so I've been drinking a lot of water. Anyway, we got back on the bus at noon.
12:00 noon
We headed out, and George B. put on the movie "From the Gates of Splendor". Wow! What a good movie! Just as we were finishing the movie (about 12:50 p.m.), we got into Baton Rouge.
This is the bridge over the mighty Mississippi River at Baton Rouge.
And this is the Mississippi River...
1:50 p.m. We just got to Lake Pontchatrain. Wow! We're coming into New Orleans on the west end, so we're not going over the long bridge. :( New Orleans, here we come!
1:50 p.m. We just got to Lake Pontchatrain. Wow! We're coming into New Orleans on the west end, so we're not going over the long bridge. :( New Orleans, here we come!
2:00 p.m.We approach New Orleans. We begin to see signs of devastation STILL in NOLA: Trees that had been stripped of their leaves and is just now beginning to grow new leaves, FEMA trailers in front of houses that are still being worked on, businesses boarded up and windows broken, flood lines on buildings. We ended up seeing this because we took a wrong turn and got into a neighborhood that had this. It was sobering! I think God allowed us to see this so that can be aware and understand.
Tom had asked every van and bus to play our practice CD when we approached NOLA. He especially wanted us to sing "Everlasting God". After we saw the devastation in NOLA, that song really hit home:
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Our God You reign forever
Our hope our strong Deliverer
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint
You won't grow weary
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles
God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He was there when Katrina hit, and He is there now. If the people of New Orleans will wait upon the Lord, He will give them strength. And He will give them strength to continue to rebuild their homes.
Two years ago, when Katrina hit New Orleans, and we saw the influx of people making their way to us in Houston, the recurring phrase I heard from everyone in Houston was "It could have been us." WE could have had Katrina hit Houston, and we would have been the ones rebuilding. Would we have been as devastated as New Orleans? I don't know. All I know is that the people of New Orleans STILL need our help, and we're here to help. Today, as we saw those houses, that reccuring phrase popped up: "It could have been us..."
2:30 p.m.
We got to the hotel, but we had to circle the block about three times because the policeman kept telling our BIG bus that it was in the way. The streets in NOLA are small, so when you have an 18-wheeler unloading in the right lane and our vans unloading in the left lane, the only way down the street is right down the middle, which is where we were at. Needless to say, we blocked traffic! The cop told Alvin to turn right down the next street, then park on the left side of street. Well, there was no way our bus could turn right, so Alvin went around the corner to the next block (on the third time around), then backed the bus a whole block to the place the cop told him to park! It was amazing! He had to also avoid an 18-wheeler sticking out in the street on the right lane (which we were about 6-8 inches away when we passed by) and a trash dumpter in the left lane. This street only had two lanes. How he managed to wiggle that bus through all that was amazing! He is the best bus driver!
I took this picture as we were leaving NOLA, but this is the same street we had to keep circling around (Magazine St). Where that silver truck is, is where our vans were unloading. The bus is in the right lane, where the 18-wheeler was unloading. As you can see, there is not much room down this street. The street where the red car is going down is the two-lane street where we had to park the bus to unload.
3:15 p.m. I'm finally in my room, Room 909. After Alvin wiggled the bus to its final resting spot, we quickly got off of the bus and grabbed our bags. We were afraid they were going to tell him to move the bus again! Anyway, I was told I was rooming with Marcia K. She was coming later and was expected in around midnight.While exploring my room, I scared myself. I saw the brick wall, and saw a window w/curtains. I went over to the window and thought, "Hmm. I wonder if this overlooks a courtyard?" So, I opened the window and screamed. I was looking at a reflection of myself in a mirror! The window was a fake! After the initial shock, I was disappointed. I forgot that there was another room next door!
4:30 p.m.
I met Jackie M. downstairs. We thought that since Mulate's (the restaurant we were going to at 5:30 p.m.) is a VERY LONG walk, (Tom had said it was a 4 1/2 block walk, but it was more like 11 - 12 blocks!) we decided to get a head start and head that way, and at the same time we can look at shops and things along the way. We started walking, and looking for Julia street. We kept walking, and walking, and walking. Soon, I recognized the Riverwalk and realized we went in the opposite direction! The one place I've been wanting to go, Cafe du Monde, was 2 blocks away! I could see it, but it was already 5:00 p.m. and we didn't have enough time to go there, then come back, so we headed back to the hotel to meet the group that was leaving (walking) at 5:30 p.m. Just as we were approaching the hotel, we got a return call from Raluca and Eldad, who were still at the hotel. We told them we would meet them in the lobby and we could all go walking together to the restaurant. Just as we entered the lobby, Tom told us that he now realized that it was too far to walk, so he was taking a van there and we could ride along. I just looked at him and said, "Thank you, Jesus!" He just looked at me like I was crazy! We loaded up in a van and headed to the restaurant, picking up people along the way. I'm not sure how many people we crammed in that 15 passenger van, but we kept picking up people along the way.
5:50 p.m.We made it to Mulate's in one piece. As we entered the restaurant, I noticed that they had reserved four long tables for us. We took up the middle of the restaurant, all the way across. We ordered our drinks, then we ordered our entrees. At first, things moved along smoothly. We all got our drinks, and the people that ordered salads and soups got those quickly. But the main entrees were taking a long time. At first, we entertained ourselves by taking pictures of ourselves. It was kind of funny, trying to get the funny shots, etc.
We finally got our food, and it wasn't exactly what I ordered. I had ordered a cup of Crawfish Etoufee, which was around $7.00. They brought me out a platter, which had a BOWL of etoufee and a bowl of vegetables and was about $15.00. By the time they brought our food, I was starving, so I didn't care. I was willing to pay the extra just so that I can eat and not wait anymore. I ended up paying around $20.00 for the food, bottled water, and tip.
Eldad and Raluca, Jackie and I were paying by credit card, so we had to wait for the waiter to process our cards. I asked Jackie if she can hold on to my camera while I pull out my credit card. (Remember this because this is important later). Tom kept coming in the restaurant and telling us to hurry up because we had to be at the church, but we couldn't leave until we got our credit cards back. While we were waiting, the live music started up, and we heard a little Cajun music and saw some dancing going on. There was also this guy that was going around from table to table "playing" his tie. It was a tie that had that washboard material where you can make music. Seeing is believing, so here is the picture:
When we finally got our cards back, we left the restaurant and noticed that our bus left us. We were supposed to ride the same bus that we came to NOLA on, and IT LEFT US! Tom told us to get in his van, so we rode to the church in his van.
7:30 p.m.
We couldn't figure out how to get into the church. First Baptist New Orleans is located near a cemetery, and everywhere we tried to get into the church, we kept running into cemetery. As a result, we ended up going through the neighborhood. We saw more houses that still needed to be rebuilt, and the X markings on the houses, indicating if there were any bodies, victims, etc. Those houses had the FEMA trailers in front of them as well.
We finally got in the church and started to line up according to height. I thought it would make a good picture, with all of us lined up like that, so I started to pull out my camera. It was gone! I started to panic! I remember that I handed the camera to Jackie at Mulate's, so I asked her, and she said she gave it back. I remembered that. I was hoping that I didn't leave it on the table somewhere at Mulate's in the hubbub of trying to get credit cards back. I also remembered that I put my credit card away in my wallet in the van. Maybe I put my camera down on the seat in the van. I kept worrying about it, so Monica said, "Let's go out to the van and see if it's in there. If it's not, then it's at the restaurant." So, we went out and sure enough, it was there, right there on the seat! I was so relieved! I would not have rested if I didn't know for sure where my camera was at.
We did sound check and ran through every song on the program. It was good to see our orchestra and a good number of people from our choir there in New Orleans. We had a soloist for one of our songs, who was a member of FBC New Orleans. And we had a bagpipe player that was from Metairie, who was dressed in his Scottish clothes (you know, with the kilt, etc). At one point, he sat down on the front row of the church, but as a typical man, he sat with his legs open. Even though you couldn't see anything, some of the ladies around me in the choir started to tease the fact that he was sitting like that. "Someone needs to tell him that when he sits down in a skirt, he needs to cross his legs." They started discussing who was going to tell him. That became our joke for the evening. I just sat there, laughing. Who else, but ladies in the choir, would talk about crossing your legs in a skirt.
We finished rehearsal around 9:30 - 9:45 p.m. We started to load up in the vans/bus when I remembered my camera in the van. Since they wanted us to go in the same vehicle as we came, I had to go on the bus, and it was leaving. The van wasn't leaving yet because Tom was driving it, and he was still inside the church and the van was still locked. So I asked Ruthie if she can get my camera for me. I explained the situation, and she was more than willing to grabbed my camera for me.
On the way home, Jackie, who was sitting next to me, started talking about Starbucks. Tom had just went over this spiel about breakfast tomorrow. We can either eat downstairs in the small dinning area, or if we wanted, we can go to Starbucks around the corner. Just be sure to come back in time to load up on the bus/vans. So, because he mentioned "Starbucks", she wanted to go to Starbucks. When we got back to the hotel, she had convinced me, Raluca, and Eldad to go with her to get some tea. Raluca and Eldad were willing to go because of the possibility of getting some coffee. I wanted to go to get some tea. But we were tired, so we agreed to get something to drink, and come back. So, we headed across the street to the hotel next door to us, and went around to Canal street to the entrance to the hotel. On the way, we had to step over a drunk man laying on the sidewalk. I was convinced he was just drunk and homeless and sleeping it off. Eldad and Raluca were concerned that he was sick. But we kept going. We finally got to the front door to the hotel, and we walked in, and the Starbucks inside was closed! It was already 10:30 p.m. and they closed at 10:00 p.m. We were too late. We were going to go when Raluca and Eldad saw a pretty canopy and wanted a picture in front of that. So, I took a picture of them in front of this canopy. As we started to leave, a group of about 6 ladies walked out with us. You can tell they were drunk as a skunk. They threw up in front of the hotel, and laughed. Then they followed us down the street and almost stepped on the drunk man. (I just wanted to get past the drunk man before he woke up!) We quickly went back around the corner to our hotel and the ladies continued straight down Canal street.
As we were approaching the front doors of the hotel, some more of our group had just arrived from the church and were standing around by the front door. They asked where were we at. We told them that we attempted to go to Starbucks, but it was closed. Someone said that there was a coffee house at the corner that was open 24 hours. I said that it wasn't the same, and was ready to go to bed at that point. It had been a long day, and I was ready for a shower and bed. I told the group, "Sorry, but I think I'll just go to bed. I'm really tired." I really wanted some black lemonade iced tea from Starbucks, but seeing I wasn't going to get that, bed was the next option.
10:45
I made my way to my hotel room and called Ruthie to get my camera. She was right next door, so I came over and got my camera. I thanked her and hugged my camera hard! I would just die if I lost my camera! I came back to the room and sat for a few minutes. I turned the TV on and discovered even with cable, THERE WAS NOTHING ON TV! I found an interesting local channel, which talked about the sights and sounds of NOLA. I started getting my stuff together to take a shower because I knew that once Marcia came in, she would need the bathroom.
After I took my shower, I got ready for bed. I took my medicine, and just started getting ready for bed. The shower felt so good! It was nice and hot and relaxed me. I got under the covers, but couldn't sleep right away. It was already after 11 p.m., so I decided to watch some TV and wait for Marcia. She came in right before midnight.
She told me that right before they got into New Orleans, they got a flat tire. Just when they pulled over, another car stopped in front of them. They kind of kept an eye on that car, but no one came out. The driver of Marcia's car called the music team at the hotel to let them know what was going on, and her roadside assistance to come and help with the flat tire, and they told her that it would be about 45 minutes. So, basically, they were sitting ducks until they got help. After awhile, Marcia got really concerned about the car sitting in front of them, so she asked everyone to pray. They prayed for safety and asked God if He will send the roadside assistance quickly. Just as they finished praying, the car in front of them pulled away, and the roadside assistance pulled in behind them! And they came in less time than they said they would come. Praise God!
Marcia unpacked and got ready for bed. We finally hit the pillow at 1 a.m. It has been a LONG DAY!
1 comment:
YAY! Lizzy's blogging again!
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