Going Home For A Few Days

I will be driving back to New Orleans on tomorrow morning and probably will not return until Monday afternoon. I ask you to keep me in prayer as I make the trip. Pray for my safety in travel.

My former boss there called to ask me to help them with a couple of big projects. I am familiar with the work because that was my job before Hurricane Katrina. Although our organization took a huge hit from Katrina as well as I did personally (our building was totally destroyed and had to be demolished), with a skeleton staff, they were able to reopen in a new building.
(This is my office after Katrina. The building has been demolished)

My boss is THE boss of the organization (the director). And we've remained in contact all of this time. She still has not hired anyone to replace me. In fact, several months ago, she had found someone whom she offered the position to and she called me and asked if I would come and train the lady. Well, at the last minute, after seeing all of the work that goes with the position, the lady chose not to start (although she'd accepted the position).

We'll be working through the weekend and probably some of Monday morning. I pray for the success of the project. It's important for the organization. Though I am no longer there, I do still care about my boss and the mission of the organization. I am happy to help. I worked there for 18 years before Katrina, so we'd grown together like a family.

I plan to attend services on Sunday at my old church. It too was totally destroyed by Katrina. We were happy to return home in October to attend the re-opening and re-dedication. I was so happy that they were able to rebuild. It's the only "live" building in the block. All of the homes surrounding the church are either washed away or demolished, or still waiting to be knocked down. The church looks like a beacon life in a desolate land.

I pray that my spirits remain high. Each time I have gone back home to New Orleans, I've left feeling depressed and the heaviness remains with me for a few days or so! (This is a makeshift memorial that was put up not long after the hurricane in recognition of a family of people and neighbors who died during Katrina. The memorial was set up on St. Claude Avenue, in the 9th ward - my neighborhood)

There is some rebuilding, but the city still has not fully come back. So many people are still struggling - whether in New Orleans, or in the cities that they have relocated to. Some want to return, and cannot for a number of reasons.

Hopefully I'll just be too busy to think about it....

Carla