Hurricane Katrina & Me

So much has happened in the past three weeks. There is much to tell, but here are some of the highlights of my experience since Hurricane Katrina changed the landscape of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.





We left town the Saturday before Katrina hit and headed up to northeast Louisiana and stayed with some people we know there. As things progressed that first week, we realized that other living arrangements would have to be made. We weren't sure where we were going, but we called a bunch of hotels and found that most had only a single night available. We drove around and settled on one, figuring we might end up in the shelter the following night. The next morning at the free continental breakfast, we learned that space had opened up for us for a few more nights' stay, and within the same ten minutes we learned that FEMA was going to start paying for TWO WEEKS' hotel stay for evacuees!! We were the very first to sign up at our hotel. Some families who had been staying at the shelter were sent over to stay as part of this program. But get this... by that same evening, the hotel decided not to participate in the program any further and limited it to only those who had already signed up that day. Wow!





The hotel staff was wonderful. They were kind and helpful and the place just felt like home. Among the many perks was high-speed Internet access, which was our link to the outside world. I even spent some time at the pool and got a decent suntan. Hadn't done that in years. We became acquainted with other evacuees who are now like family to us. So that has been our home for the past couple of weeks. The Red Cross came daily bringing military MRE meals, snacks, and water. This made a huge difference, as the expense of eating out daily was not an option for us. Seeing that truck pull up with supplies was like Christmas every day! :) The local shelter was relocated from the civic center to a building one block from us, which gave us ready access to Red Cross registration and free hot meals there.





Once we got word that Algiers was being opened up for residents to return, we made plans to drive down. We left Monday morning and headed toward Lafayette, where my friend Michelle was prepared to host us for the night. We stopped in Alexandria to have lunch, a "last supper" of sorts, as we figured we might be living off of MRE's for a while. I saw an Outback Steakhouse sign and pulled up there, but it looked closed. So we went next door to a family Italian restaurant that looked like it would be a decent alternative. The place was mostly empty, but the staff was friendly and the chef even came out to check on things. When we were ready to leave, the waitress told us that our bill had been paid! The person did not want to be identified, but sent a message to us saying that "The Lord is taking care of you." I was pleasantly *not* surprised, as I already knew in my spirit that this was going to happen (although it never has happened to us before).





Our short stop in Lafayette was a treat. Michelle & Michael have two adorable girls, Havilah & Simka, who I think are the cutest kids around! The dinner conversation along with Havilah's animated contributions made for a fun night. Sorry that it was such a short visit, but we had to leave early the next morning.





So at 4 am we were up and packing the vehicles. We were out of Lafayette by 5 am and made it to Morgan City by sunrise. We didn't run into traffic until Luling and even that was limited. The signs of wind damage were as far west as Des Allemands, where trees were down all along Hwy. 90. When we started getting into the affected area, I turned off my music and just focused on what I was seeing. As we drove further into the westbank, I could just feel such a heaviness in my heart, just the grief of what has happened to our city. I didn't see as much damage as I expected to, but I think that's only because we were moving quickly. At the one checkpoint we encountered, at Terry Parkway and the expressway, there was a huge steel billboard with multiple support posts that was just twisted and bent in half. Trees are one thing, but steel?!!





As we drove down DeGaulle, I could see how the landscape has changed. Maybe it wouldn't be apparent to a visitor, but with so many trees down it looked desolate. When we got to Woodland, signs of life appeared in abundance -- the fire dept., police, military, etc. have taken over the nursing home, Catholic retirement community and Holy Cross college. There were trucks and tents everywhere! Electric crews were working at the intersection, which was a good sign, although we knew that earlier in the week our apartment had power.





Pulling in to Maple Leaf was shocking. No one was there. (It's normally bustling with activity.) Trees down all over the place, siding and shingles strewn in the street. A mess. Corners of buildings damaged, some roofs gone. It was hard to even recognize our apartment building. When I finally found it and pulled over, I broke down and cried. It was so overwhelming, the reality of it all. Believe me, watching it on TV is so different from being there. Video does not convey the heat, the eerie silence and the stillness.





When we left before the storm, there was very little time to prepare. Many things were left undone. So my prayer throughout the storm was that God would put a supernatural protection over our apartment and my car. It was all I could think to pray. There are old evergreen bushes/trees in our courtyard. They were twisted and snapped in half. Huge trees had been broken in many places. And these were the healthy ones, not the termite-rotten ones with hollow trunks. We walked around the back and checked on my car. Not a scratch. Not even water inside. The back fence was intact. The windows were not broken. We walked to the front and opened the door. Dry and hot and smelling of two rotten refrigerators, but otherwise ok. Amazing. Upstairs... not even a sign of a leak from the roof. On the back patio, there were wicker baskets on top of a small storage cabinet. They had not even moved!! All I could say is "Thank you, Jesus!"





But no electricity. :( So we began the grueling work of unloading the van and gearing up for cleaning the refrigerators, not knowing if we would have to leave again in a few hours. We shortly learned that we had *just* made it in to the city before they closed the re-entry and turned people away!! Again, "Thank you, Lord." Had we left any later, we most likely would not have been allowed in. A couple of hours into the work, we noticed that our maintenance supervisor was home. The power came back on in our grid, and he was able to switch the breaker to get our apartment back on! Yay! Air conditioning! And he later helped us get the refrigerators out of the house. YUCK!!! But again, so glad it is done and we had help.





The Red Cross came through for the first time in our complex and delivered sandwiches, MRE's, water, and ice! YAY! I'm beginning to love the Red Cross. So now we have electricity, safe running water, cleaned/removed refrigerators and air conditioning. And I am writing you this email from my home computer. But we might have to evacuate again tomorrow due to Hurricane Rita. We don't know what tomorrow holds, but I am so glad that I know Who holds tomorrow. It is clear that staying here is not a realistic option for now. We don't have jobs, we don't have income, we don't even have mail. We've been using credit cards to pay for everything, so as not to deplete what we still have in the bank since we don't know how long that will have to last us. (Which for me isn't much in the first place.) The existence is at a bare minimum standard. We are still under dusk to dawn curfew and there is a LOT of work to be done before normal life can be resumed. For now we are asking God for direction on what to do next, where to go next. There are many things yet unknown.





Inside our apartment, it is as though everything is the same as one month ago, before Katrina. But stepping outside it looks like the end of the world has come. It is a very strange and somewhat unsettling contrast. While all this devastation has been happening, I know that God has been taking care of me. Yet while I know that God has been taking care of me, the reality is that New Orleans for the most part has been destroyed. And I suppose that's my point in sharing all of this with you, to try to paint a true picture...





If you have read this far, thank you. I'll try to keep this updated as it is relevant and as I have access to the Internet. In the meantime, thank you to those who have prayed and to all who have been so kind - friends and strangers alike - and wanted to be sure that I am doing ok. I am living day by day, hour by hour really, curious to see what the future holds.