New Orleans--Update

Those of us who went on the New Orleans mission trip had a "reunion" recently. It was fun to get together and reminisce about our experience there in addition to eating some delicious food. We hadn't received any word from the homeowners of the house that we stripped but Barbara Yates said that she had been trying to reach them and would continue to do so.

Yesterday we received an email from Barbara who had spoken to Fred and Fran the previous day. This is what she reported to us:

Unfortunately, there is nothing, NOTHING, new to report about their house that is encouraging. I wish that I could tell you otherwise, but she said that the street is still at the same stage it was when we were there; electricity has not even been restored yet. She said that vandals have broken into the house and stolen copper piping and that their air conditioner compressor had been stolen as well. She sounded very upbeat during the rest of the conversation, but this is clearly a sad situation. She said that neither of the two supermarkets where she used to shop are going to rebuild and her hairdresser is not coming back.

I most confess that I am astonished that the neighborhood still has no electric power and this eighteen months after the hurricane! One of the things that they were concerned about was vandals breaking in and taking whatever they could remove from the house, and sadly, this has happened to them.

I continue to find the whole situation as it continues to unfold completely mystifying. While Fred and Fran seem to be in good spirits in Baton Rouge where they have relocated, please keep them in your prayers.