New Orleans, LA >> Brian MacKay, an intern at Sovereign Grace Church of Gilbert, Arizona, traveled to New Orleans in September with a cleanup and demolition crew of men from Sovereign Grace Churches. Serving the members of Lakeview Christian Center, the team cleaned flooded homes, removed garbage and damaged furniture, painted homes, and more. Read his daily account and see photos of the team at work.
Sep. 19, 2005 5:16 PM
We just got into New Orleans after about six hours in transit. We are staying in a suburb about 20 minutes from the city. Had three people pick us up (we had a hard time finding them). The town we are in has had a lot of wind damage. We are staying in a house that is someone's from the church. Lloyd and Ben got on the roof and put a tarp over the roof where a large branch fell onto the roof leaving a very large hole. We have two single ladies who are cooking for us. We have plenty of food, which is a relief because we didn't bring that much.
We have heard that another hurricane is on the way. Every one here is very nervous about about this second hurricane, with good reason. I am so impressed with the faith of Erik and Erin, Lindsay, Lauren, Pete Schefferstein and Carrie. They have a peace that only can come from Christ. It is easy for someone in Phoenix to talk about the sovereignty of God, but when someone going through losing homes, jobs, and possessions talks about the goodness of God it is a true testimony about the teaching of a church. On the plane ride over I was very scared as the man next to me who spent two weeks here shared all the horror of what is going on in the city disease, looting, no fresh water or food. That coupled with reading the New York Times I was scared to death. I didn't know what I had brought these guys into. God was so good in getting us hooked up with the above people from the church. I saw a lot of wind damage; it looks like a war zone. Whole billboards are bent to the ground. We are waiting for the Orlando team to arrive.
Sep. 19, 2005 8:14 PM
Just met with Pete Schefferstein, who is the administrator. He expressed gratitude for our coming. I was struck at dinner as Lauren, Lindsay, Erik and Erin all shared about how God is sovereign and the faith these folks have is humbling. Pete shared about his struggle of not really knowing how it is best to serve his folks. He also shared how when people are calling and asking how they can help, he said, "We really don't know what we need at this point." They visited the church for the first time today and some of the pastors could not even go in and see the damage. They were just overwhelmed by the destruction.
I am taken aback by all the hospitality. We had a meal that was a pasta dish, salad and cornbread casserole (I feel bad eating these great meals when some in the church are only eating MREs given out by the army). When I asked Pete about what we would be doing tomorrow he thought we would be doing some painting getting the new temporary office ready. It seems that we will still need to get bodies out here to do basic grunt work.
They are losing people to relocation due to the storm. There is a steady flow of people moving out of the area.
Sep. 20, 2005 4:49 PM
Spent the day working on the new church office. It is behind the house of Pastor Keith Collins and his wife Gina. We painted, put on a new deck and new electrical. The Orlando team came in the evening. They drove all night and are led by Chip. It is great to get know these new guys. Met tonight with Pete and organized into two groups. We got a lot done today. It was a very hot and humid day. The people in the church are so grateful. Met Jeff the youth pastor. All the pastors are such quality people.
Sep. 21, 2005 8:12 PM
Got up at 7:00 a.m. We went to Pastor Matt's house. We went and tore out a lot of dry wall. We saw a lot of damage in this neighborhood. A lot of cars crushed by trees. The other team went to a house that was covered in mold. They seemed to be a little discouraged. It was Pete's 25th anniversary. He and his wife Carrie spent the evening with us. I am amazed at how much God has allowed us to get done today. I am amazed at how we have come to serve a church and how much we are served in return.
We got lost today made a wrong turn. Once you get on the freeway you can not get off. So much work to be done.
Sep. 22, 2005 7:33 PM
It is Thursday night, a lot going on with Hurricane Rita. They have evacuated some of New Orleans. We saw a very large group of military heading out of town; it was a little unsettling. All the evacuation routes are very busy. It looks like we could get some very strong winds tomorrow night.
We went to Pastor Matt's house to finish up today, it only took about 2 hours. We then went to the home of a 70-year-old gentleman who is in the church. He worked for the Army Corps of Engineers and built the levies back in the 50's and 60's. He lost his wife about four years ago. We went to his house and I gave him a call. He was five minutes from the house so I asked him if he could stop by and help us decide what to throw out. When he came he was overwhelmed and broke down because of the care he has felt from Sovereign Grace. We spent all day at his house and at the house of his daughter. Several times through out the day he was overcome with emotion. What I found out at the end of the day is that this elderly gentleman had just became a Christian a year and a half ago.
It was hard to hear Ben and Lloyd will be heading back to Phoenix tomorrow. Lloyd worked on the roof of the house we are staying in today and at the new office installing the flooring.
We are running out of steam today. The weather was rainy off and on today. Hard working people. Had a great dinner of Popeye's chicken; Ben was very excited.
Sep. 23, 2005 8:27 PM
Between the two construction teams we managed to get three houses done. The Orlando team will be leaving tomorrow and a new group of guys from the Phoenix church are supposed to be arriving. These two teams have served immeasurably. As I am writing this Hurricane Rita has begun to hit. Despite all the news we are all doing well.
Ben and Lloyd got to the church today and said the damage to Lakeview church is beyond fixing. The whole area is completely ruined. If weather allows we will try to get one more day of work in. The church here is meeting on Saturday mornings.
Sep. 24, 2005 7:18 PM
We survived Rita! I actually slept very well. We lost power for a short while in the middle of the night. The wind blew all night. I must admit I was a little nervous because everyone around me seemed to be very scared.
It is the last day for this team today. It was hard to see this group go. We got 10 guys from Arizona. They are so excited to serve. We worked at Joe's house. Hard to watch a man throw his whole life out. This storm has affected so many peoples jobs, family lives and marriages. I spent some time praying with him. It was very hard on him. We finished most of his house. This particular house had raw sewage that came up through the toilets. The smell was overpowering.
Sep. 25, 2005 6:21 PM
Got up at 7:00 a.m. My throat and back hurt. The five guys in my room all seemed to have slept good. We have one room designated for snorers and I am not in it. I had devotions for the first time in two days; it was good. The guys are in a great mood and having a great time. We finished Joe's house (cut trees and finished garage), they were so grateful. We got a Suburban from one of the church members and Dave spent most of the morning putting a tarp over the seats to keep them clean. I have gotten tired of the sandwiches every day so I talked the guys into fast food today.
While we were there we saw a police officer siphoning gas out of a abandoned car. As we drove away this same police officer stopped us and asked us for some gas. I asked him what he was doing and he explained he is from the Chicago area and is here for two weeks. The generator he was using ran out of gas. So we gave him some gas.
We then went to Dennis's mother-in-law's house to tear out his drywall. Dennis goes to the church and has let the church use office space temporarily. Dennis's brother in-law has the largest pit bull I have ever seen. This dog didn't like brooms because his owner uses that to "correct" him. So anyone using a broom the dog would bark at.
It has been very stressful on everyone trying to throw out all their possessions. We finished around 5pm and headed home.
Dennis has three boys ranging from 21 to 19. They were fun to spend time working with. I spent some time talking to the 21 year old about the church. He had such a great understanding of the body of Christ. He ended the conversation talking about how life-changing the church has been in his life. On the way home we saw some homes in the middle of swamps. I still have not seen one stinking gator.
We had a good day of work and the guys are tired. Erik gave us a demonstration of how to prepare and eat a MRE. The military have been passing them out. They really are not that bad. It is fun to hear all the guys talking to their wives and all the stories that people are sharing.
Sep. 26, 2005 8:08 PM
The guys had a hard time waking up (I had a hard time waking up, I am so sore). They seem to have a harder time going to bed - so much good fellowship. There is something about these guys working, sweating and bleeding together that brings such good friendships.
Worked today at the home of Shannon's mother's home from the church. She is a single mom with two children. She became a Christian about 4 years ago. She had a great testimony about how God has used Lakeview Christian center. So many people like her. The roof on this home was torn off by Rita and all the damage was rain damage. She had mold climbing all the way up the wall.
This was the worst home we have done so far. The mold had completely taken over the house. We completely gutted the whole house out. We didn't have a key so I had to climb a piece of roof that had fallen off and got on the roof. I was sure I was going to fall. We ended up tearing out a window on the second floor and throwing everything including all the dressers and even the fridge.
I went to Winn-Dixie and had to stand in line a very long line. I was told people at Walmart had to stand in line just to get into the building. They have lines even just to go into the store. I saw my first alligator behind Erik's parents' home.
Sep. 27, 2005 9:38 PM
I slept in today. Everybody seems to be dragging. However I am always encouraged how the guys get up early and are in the Word of God.
We pulled out today in one of the work trucks and heard a annoying noise that seemed to come from inside the truck. It turned out to be a smoke alarm that the other team put in under the seat. It took a good 5 minutes to find it. We went back to the same house and decided to name the house (like they do for hurricanes) "Sara." This is only a little 900-square-foot condo that lost its roof during Katrina. We had to throw everything out of the bedroom window because we can't get it down the stairs. We made a very large but, I must emphasize, neat pile of rubble.
The guys are really worn out. We made a very large pile of debris outside the building. We tried to pull the garbage away from the building using a rope and a truck. It didn't work. So we had to move it by hand. This took another good hour to do.
We went to a second home that the team from last week worked at. The people finally decided to let us pull out the sheet rock. This house actually had the air conditioner on which made the work a little more bearable. The daughter was in tears saying the house seemed peaceful and clean. That had to be God!
About 3pm Erik and Matt picked me up and we went to the church to video. Along the way we got some shots of the garbage being removed. The streets had garbage from end to end and piled about six feet tall. I was told that a backhoe worked in front of six houses all morning, just filling truck after truck with all that was piled in front of the houses. What a mess - the smells could choke a donkey. I saw so much destruction on this trip that I have become numb to it all. I am amazed that I can drive around now and not seem as affected as I was my first day.
I finally got a look at the church and the 17th Street Levee. As we drove into the neighborhood we saw jet skis and boats all over (the ground is now dry). The church had at least nine feet of water and was completely covered in mold. It was very strange because not many people were on the street. All the doors had marking to indicate whether any bodies were found. The church office was completely destroyed and very smelly. I helped Pete get something out of the closet and when they got the box to the church office it stunk so bad they had to put it in the garage.
I went to the 17th Street Levee and stood right where the breach broke. It was the span of about five houses. The five houses are completely gone; only a few bricks are left.
Sep. 29, 2005 9:45 PM
Went to Keith's house for dinner. This was a big encouragement to all the guys. We had fried chicken and ice cream. It was a great dinner. After dinner Keith took time to answer questions that the guys might have. He told the story of the friendship over the last seven years with Sovereign Grace Ministries. He has done so well in leading this church. Anyone who talks to with the pastors of this church can see the genuine love they have for the church.
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