I forgot to mention yesterday that some doctors had set up a free medical clinic here at the church. The picture is kind of grainy, but you get the point. They had donated medical supplies etc. I tossed and turned last night as usual due to the humidity. I was expecting it, so it didn’t seem so dramatic. The helicopters kept me awake. A side note: it’s hard to do what you gotta do in the middle of the night, while you are doing the mosquito dance!
This morning the pastor had made coffee! Dave led the devotion time this morning. The theme was faith with/without works. Quite inspirational considering the circumstances. James 2:14-18.
We got over to the site around 8:15. Scrambled eggs with leftover brats in them! And milk! Milk! Amazing the little things that you miss. I don’t even know how it arrived there but it was awesome! It was ice cold, because it sat in a cooler full of ice.
I started out in station #3. This time my job was to help direct the vehicles into position. I was unusually smiley this morning, and I used it to help others. I began to notice that with a great big genuine, heartfelt smile for each vehicle, along with some dramatic arm movements, people comming down the line began to smile. Worn out people began to smile. Yes! Dave (another volunteer) said it was the goofiest thing he’d seen in a long time, but it was working. It was giving people a break from the turmoil. I wanted to be careful that I wasn’t making a mockery of the situation either.
I found a bag of candy and stuffed handfuls of it in my pocket. When vehicles came by that had children in them, I gave a handful to them. It truly lit up their faces like it was Christmas. See, adults know they can rebuild, or have hopes of rebuilding. Children have no idea. They just see their parents awestruck, the military, no school, most likely no friends or even a playground to play on. I can’t imagine what it must look like through their eyes. The day played out much like the others. The usual tear jerkers. The new mother looking for baby formula or diapers. People looking for dog or cat food.
 (National Guard Units loading a vehicle) |
Around 11am I looked down the line at the other stations and noticed that 75% of the people working it - were the National Guard! They were helping us! They were using their giant troop carriers to bring in skids of ice, and skids of diapers and such. I’m not quite sure where the stuff was comming from. Were they returning the favor? Were the goods comming from their base? Did they grab some goods from another charity and bring it here? Were they under orders to return the favor? Who knows! It was unbelievable!
We were told that the count of vehicles we served over the past few days had been between 1,480-1,500 vehicles each day. |
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Towards the end of the day I tired out. But it wasn’t so shocking because I was expecting it. The last hour I went to the back entrance to help guard it, and explain to people that they need to use the front entrance. There was a shaded area and a folding chair.
For dinner Gilbert whipped us up some hamburgers! I have no idea where this stuff was comming from. I did hear that local restaurants freezers were obviously out. So instead of throwing the food away they donated it. Gilbert went out and grabbed the crew of National Guard that was still there, and escorted them right into or mess hall. They walked with him in formation. The soldiers were very friendly and polite. (I can’t imagine what it’s like wearing BDU’s in this heat!)
We were in for a surprise when we got back to the church. Lights! This particular church’s parking lot lights were a green. Almost like a christmas tree. They illuminated the outside of the building. They had got a generator. We decided to have a meeting inside the church this tme to avoid the mosquitos. Just before the meeting someone whipped out a hackey sack. Haven’t seen one of them in a long time! So Mike, Dave, Rebecca, Lori, Kathy and myself played a round. I can’t tell you how those 5 minutes of recreation really was a pleasant escape. Of course we were all novices, and wiped out so it kind of turned in to a giggle-rama. I can’t remember all the stories. In our meeting we all shared stories we heard directly from the people. Hopefully I can get some more accounts from members of our group to share via comments. A- Hem.
I can’t begin to tell you how strange it seemed to shower with lights vs. flashlight. In a strange way - I kind of missed it. Still no warm water. Do they really need warm water down here? A thought did pass through my mind about the purity of the water we were all using to shower. In denial, I just let it pass. The evening cooled to I think was about 70. The police had helped us out with a special favor by guarding our area overnight. They did it with a great big appreciative smile. It was a favor in return for helping them out. I fell asleep looking out my window at the greenly lit church, and the thumping helicopters…
Technorati Tags: hurricane, katrina, rita, relief, hurricane blog, national guard
October 13th, 2005 at 8:29 am
Hurrican Relief Experience Day 6
Hurrican Relief Experience Day 6
October 13th, 2005 at 9:33 pm
thank you for your write up. very interesting.thanks again
October 14th, 2005 at 6:54 am
Thanks!
October 20th, 2005 at 8:24 am
Report From The Front Lines
Great narrative on Hurricane Rita relief, first hand….