Katrina stories

It occurred to me yesterday that most people havent joined me on the trip i took last week. It sounds obvious, and it is, but i tend to keep information locked away figuring it doesnt need to be shared because we'll just rehash old news again and again.

But it isnt the case this time. There was a whole world of experiences to share, fortunately for anyone reading i will only relay a few that i know.

My favorite story is one that a work team leader told after the first day of working in the houses, but let me describe the week's setup a little bit first.

i joined about 1000 people (mostly college students) involved in Campus Crusade for Christ down in New Orleans Louisiana to help rebuild the city. The whole lot of us were split up into work teams of 10-15 people each and split up all over the city to gut out houses and elementary schools, clean up city parks, survey neighborhoods to see if anyone is living there or needs work done, and talk to the residents there to see how they are dealing with the crisis.

After the first day of work, all the work team leaders joined together to talk and get the next set of instructions and the trip leaders asked if there were any stories. One girl stands up and says,

Well, i'm pretty sure i have a story.

As soon as her group arrived to their ungutted house, the homeowner mentioned that if they found a blue beanbag chair they shouldnt open it. If that doesnt automatically raise hairs on your neck, well, then, i'm not sure. They took it in stride and got back to work. Soon they found a handgun. Strike one. They called in the handgun and continued working and the homeowner didnt seem to pleased with them about it. Not too much later they found a bag that appeared to be drugs. i'm unclear on this part of the story, but i'm assuming they "forgot" to mention this to the owner. Strike two.

They continued working (i'm pretty sure i would've left by this point) and kicked out the walls and were now ready to work on the ceiling. And lo and behold, there was the blue beanbag chair. So instead of heeding the homeowners advice, whether wise or not, they distracted him by starting a conversation with him in the front yard while sneaking the beanbag out the back. They opened up the beanbag and found a big rifle. And you know what? Strike three. They called the police and booked it out of there.

Good idea i think.

i was in stitches from this, mostly because if no one got hurt, this is hilarious. My friend said,

Well, drug dealers need somewhere to live too.

Not sure if they were dealing, but that wasnt the best situation to be in!

i hope to continue sharing stories. If you want to have some fun, check out my pictures online linked in the post below!