Getting to know you...

Well it has been quite an adventure since we last posted! After we helped out at the animal shelter all day Monday (ran the pups, helped the staff), we came back and went straight to Freedom Elementary School where we were greeted by 20-30 energetic and adorable children.


They taught us their songs and chants, shared their stories.
We read to them aloud, and helped make holiday decorations for their school. So much fun!
Some of them were Katrina survivors and we talked a bit about that. The energy was admirable.

Tuesday we rose bright and early and headed for the Helping Hands construction site at 8am. We were set to do demolition work and gut out a house that had extreme mold and water damage. The house was pretty nice, brick and 2 stories, but sadly it was owned by a man that was left bound to a wheelchair after Katrina.

We were determined to help out, especially after finding out he was in a home that had depleted all of his funds. We were also told he had been ripped off by the workers he originally hired for $1000/wk, which is apparently common post-Katrina.

We picked up our tools and started demolishing inside the house, it was an eerie experience to say the least, and quite exhausting. Midday the home owner's brother came by to thank us, and we got to talk with him a bit and reinforce why we were there.

Gale, the owner of the house we were painting, also came by to express her gratitude, it was amazing! Here is a picture of the group with Gale, she was an incredible lady.
We got dusty, dirty, sweaty, and loved every minute!

Later that night we were able to get out and explore the area.
We went straight to the famous Cafe du Monde
where we ordered coffee and their renowned
Beignets (amazing powdered sugar doughnut snacks).

DEEE licious...no wonder they are famous.

After that we walked along the river bank,
enjoyed the scenery, and had time to reflect about the days happenings.