Have we forgotten?

Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States almost a year and a half ago. The cost of reconstruction has been enormous. Building and labor costs skyrocketed in the months following the storm. Swindlers and con artists descended on the coast, robbing stricken people of what little money they had. “House rapists” also move in, stripping wiring, copper pipes, wood … anything valuable … from the walls of the exposed homes. Insult was piled upon injury.

But the true tragedy was that so many of the families affected by this storm did not have flood insuance. Their homes had never flooded before, and the insurance had never been required. They were left with devastated homes and no one to turn to for financial and practical assistance in betting their homes rebuilt.

Today, thousands of homes in the New Orleans area remain untouched and uninhabited. After a year and a half, people are still forced to live in FEMA campers and trailers in their front years as they wait for assistance, materials, and labor.

Southern Baptists have an ongoing ministry in the greater New Orleans area called Operation NOAH Rebuild (NOAH stands for “New Orleans Area Homes”). The entire operation was developed by the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans as a mechanism to connect Southern Baptist volunteers with opportunities to serve. The city is divided into 27 zones with a mixture of churches, associations, and state conventions claiming responsibility for various zones.

Needless to say, volunteers are still needed. The work continues. Administrators of this effort are actively seeking volunteers. Church groups (including youth groups), as well as individuals, are welcome to come and serve. The goal for the project is for Southern Baptists to complete work on 1,000 homes and 20 churches by August 2008. Tasks include roofing, drywall, painting, and other construction-related tasks. It is estimated that the effort will require 500 volunteers each week to reach the goal.

Volunteers are housed in “Volunteer Village,” three floors of the World Trade Center in downtown New Orleans. The cost for volunteers is only $20 per person per day. This includes lodging and three meals each day (prepared by Disaster Relief volunteers). All construction materials are provided.

I’ll be the first and loudest to admit, I am not the greatest fan of “construction projects” in missions. I personally believe that we have “hidden behind our hammers” in Southern Baptist life for far too long. We offered construction projects as an “entry level” missions experience, then we sort of just stayed there and failed to take our missions volunteers to deeper, more evangelistically challenging experiences. Think about it … we are always about real estate … building stuff … fixing up buildings. Why is Southern Baptist life so often about buildings?!!!

But this is different. The need is great. I cannot comprehend living in a camper trailer for a year and a half. There are thousands of people in the New orleans area with no money, no help, and no hope. What an opportunity for life-changing, personal ministry! This isn’t just about fixing up houses. It’s about restoring hope.

I have led my church, Crossroads Fellowship, in taking three teams to Pascagoula, Mississippi, in relief and rebuild efforts following Hurricane Katrina. We were “on the gound” within two weeks of landfall, doing mud-out in houses and churches. Last year we sent our youth ministry to New Orleans to assist in the relief and rebuild efforts there. We’ve decided, we’re going to keep going back until the job is done.

Let’s get real here … this isn’t something that we, as Southern Baptists, can just “throw money at.” A couple of extra dollars in the offering plate just won’t cut it. We have to go. But it is so hard to get volunteers now. After all, the “glory days” of the relief effort (you know, lots of yellow shirts and hats!) are long past. Like so many things in our culture, this disaster has become “out of sight, out of mind.”

My church is taking a team to New Orleans in June. We’ll be working in Zone 4, the Kentucky Baptist Convention zone, which is along the southeastern edge of Lake Ponchartrain. Will you join us on this forgotten mission?

For more information on how you can get involved, go to the Operation Noah Rebuild web site and make contact. Don’t wait … there are people still sleeping in camper trailers … waiting for you.