Debriefing and Planning, April 5th

The NYS-FITS+ will gather on Saturday, April 5th, at Debbie and Eric's, beginning at 4 PM, to Debrief their most recent rebuilding trip and to Plan for the next effort(s). All volunteers, spouses, or rebuilding Wannabees are all warmly welcome. Bring a dish to share, too. Hot dogs, hamburgers and rolls will be provided. An email RSVP is requested.

Winter Rebuild '08

This winter 29 NYS-FITS+ who worked in New Orleans helping with the rebuild after hurricane Katrina. We stayed in the First Presbyterian Church of New Orleans for 2 weeks and worked under the direction of Leroy Harbauer, the construction coordinator. Some of our volunteers were only able to stay for one week, many others for both.

Our rebuilding focused on 5 different houses -- finishing one on Mendez, moving another along to near-completion on Arthur, repairing termite damage and extensive renovation on Gardena, preparing the interior for drywall on Willow and beginning the exterior/interior work on N. Tonti. With energy and skill, we rebuilt walls, removed and reinstalled windows, made exterior repairs and did interior finishing work: a variety of tasks.

News and Notes, January 3, 2008

As the weather gets colder, more and more of our NYS-FITS+ are saying that they will head south in February. We now have 19 who have indicated a desire to work with the new team. Two others plan to decide soon, so we may soon be over 20! Our target date for signing folks up is Jan. 15th, which allows the church a little time to welcome other volunteers.

The rebuilding ministry news from FPCNO is that Royden and Lina were supposed to have their gas turned on yesterday, Jan. 2nd, and that Yolanda has still not had her final inspection.

Donations for building materials may be sent to Bethany Presbyterian Church, 21 Lyon Avenue, Menands, NY 12204. Please put "Katrina Rebuilding" on the memo line.

Also, this first week of new year is a busy one with 42 volunteers staying and working out of the church on several sites. They are also having a "cold snap," that is if you can call 30 degrees overnight "cold."

Winter Return to NOLA

We decided to return to NOLA for some mid-winter rebuilding, working from Monday, February 18th to Friday the 29th. George, a.k.a. "The Cook," will be with us again!

The cost of food will be $50 per week. This can be sent directly to JoEllen Parsons, Box 445, Lake Luzerne, NY 12846. Please do this by Jan. 15th to reserve your place.

Those going are asked to donate $100 to $200 each for building materials. This can be sent to the Katrina Rebuilding Fund of the Bethany Presbyterian Church, 21 Lyon Avenue, Menands, NY 12204.

Ideas for Next Rebuilding Trip

1. Take advantage of Jim Lemire's offer to do a presentation on the role of New Orleans in American history before we go.

2.Following up on the educational idea, we could offer one presentation each week in NOLA on various theme, like -- "The Music of NOLA" or "The Plight of NOLA's Poor" or "The Faith Communities' Responses to Katrina" or "The Future of NOLA," .....

3. We could ask Marcia and/or others to create a list of possible weekend activities -- Swamp Tour, musical venues, dancing, etc.

4. Plan a fund-raiser to have money to take with us for building supplies as well as to raise awareness of the need for on-going help for NOLA.

5. Create a sign-up sheet, like we use for devotions, for small jobs to help the team -- setting tables up, daily/weekly clean-up, .....

6. Identify churches at which a group traveling to or from NOLA could stay overnight and/or eat a meal; an "Underground Railroad" idea.

De-Briefing for NOLA Visit

Almost all the drivers and fliers have checked in -- everyone is now safely home.

We will be gathering on the last Friday of November -- the 30th -- at 7 PM at Debbie and Eric's to review our recent three weeks of work and to consider another two week project in February of 2008.

The February dates are from Sunday the 17th through the 1st of March. And the best news is that George Cheatle has again volunteered to be our Chef-in-residence!

Please let us know if you are coming to the Friday gathering. Thanks.

Stretching the Daylight

The ending of Daylight Savings Time has complicated our work schedule. We are awakened earlier than usual by the morning light, and our work days are cut short by the earlier darkness.
Putting our heads together, we think we have solved our problem: we are going to get up earlier, eating earlier, having our devotions earlier, and leaving for our work sites earlier.

Spirits are still high. The laughter and banter go on as you might imagine -- just a step or two away from being totally out of control. And did we mention the "Pitch" card game that Edd Von Seggern hosts in the evening? (He seems to make up the rules as they go along.)

George Cheatle, our cook, continues to feed us in extraordinary fashion, which goes a long way towards keeping us hard at work. He even arranged for muffulettas to be delivered to our work sites one day! The flavors and aromas emanating from the church kitchen are simply wonderful!

Our NYS-FITS+ is quite a singing group. On Sunday when we were introduced in worship we broke out in song, and later, when the church choir assembled, we added 8 persons to their number! The church's yahoo.com network talked about the "fabulous choir" for days.