Day 4 in New Orleans (Jacob Gebhart and Mason Bernard)

So today was our third day working on the two houses. My group which includes Mr. B, Mason, Drew, Gabby, Kristen, Jacob and myself (jake). We continued our work on the Anita's house on Apricot St. We were almost done with the siding one side of the house, when the painters came in and invaded our 4ft space to work in. Now we had barely any space to set up our ladders to side the house. So, we migrated to the other side of the house and attempted to finish the siding on that side. As we got close to the end, we realized that the roof was slanted, making it very difficult to finish the siding at the top of the wall. Jacob, Mr. B, and myself who were siding the house weren't the only one working hard, Drew, Mason, Kristen and Gabby were working very hard on painting all sides of the house. In the process, somehow painting their entire faces, arms and clothes. Our relationships with our co-workers from Project Homecoming and Americore have grown. The first few days we worked with them, all we did was exchange tools, but today we engaged in conversations, laughed at jokes and passed on the message "lots of energy, lots of focus". This is a line from a movie, but it has turned into something we say every hour, on the hour to motivate all of the workers. So today was a great day, although Mr. B said to today would be the hardest day. I think we could say the work day was a success and we all took something from it. Hopefully, tomorrow will be the same way and we will end our work week out strong. 

- Jake Gebhart

After dinner, we walked down a few doors, accompanied by Sister Anne and Sister Shelly, to the workshop of Mr. David Montana. Mr. Montana is a Mardi Gras Indian, or as he called it, a Carnival Indian. He is the head chief of the Washitaw Tribe and is in charge of all costume creation. When we arrived we were quickly directed to the beautiful suits with thousands of individually hand sewn beads and jewels. One's theme was hummingbirds, covered with hand beaded birds and lights to draw attention to the staff. My personal favorite was one focused on a buffalo that symbolized a sign of peace on the front while on the back there was a different message. It emphasized the chaos and violence that will come if the tribe is crossed. David then performed for us, teaching us a number of common Carnival Indian folk songs. These mostly consisted of calling and answering accompanied by the tambourine. His next performance really impressed and inspired me. Mr. Montana recited a poem he wrote for volunteers like us who are not connected to the city or Katrina but genuinely cared for the people of New Orleans. The poem was titled a "A Change of Heart Man" and spoke about his experience with Katrina and his thankfulness for people who helped him and helped the city rebuild after the storm. This poem truly touched me and made me realize that the citizens of New Orleans truly appreciate the work we are doing on this trip. Beginning the trip I thought our efforts would be so minimal and that we couldn't make a difference but now I realize that even our small contribution to these homes change the lives of those who live there. 

-Mason Bernard 

P. S. Brother Fred, I have been acknowledge as the group moral for my work force. 

P. P. S I wanted to say how awesome our car rides are. They are great ways for us to let loose and for us to have fun with a different group of kids aside from the ones we work with. We sing songs, shout out the windows and just have a great time. It is something I look forward to everyday. 

-Jake and Mason