Day 6 - Sunday in N'Awlins

We got up at a later time today because we had no work assignments. However, we did have to pack up and be ready to leave Chalmette. After making sure all my things were accounted for in my suitcase, I finished packing my duffel bag for the overnight stay we would make in Alabama. The plan was to leave the bigger luggage in the trailer and only unload the smaller items and essentials.

After breakfast, a group of us went to a coffee shop nearby. I got an iced mocha which packed enough of a wallop to get me properly awake after a week of work and fun, and we returned to Hilltop Rescue to finish our preparations. One "preparation" we made was to sing "Happy Birthday" to one of the volunteers from our group. A small prepackaged cake was unwrapped and loaded with enough candles to create a fire hazard when lit. It was a nice touch to end a week of work. We also spent time signing t-shirts that some of the group members passed around. I found out that it is easier to approach this the way a dot matrix printer would print.

At a local church, we all got to write on the walls. The sermon was about a New Year's Restitution, giving our lives back to God. We left scriptures, song lyrics, and other inspirational messages on the walls of the unfinished auditorium. The next day, the church planned to prime and paint the walls, so our messages would be hidden away in the building. One message stood out to me: "I thought I came here with everything, but I'm leaving with so much more."

I felt the same way. Before we left, we were greeted with a familiar song, in a familiar voice: "My father is in heaven above!" The jodel rang through the church auditorium, drawing attention not to the jodeler, but to God: "I cannot praise Him loud enough!" I got to talk to her again after that.

After we left the church, we headed into New Orleans, where traffic had piled up and streets were busy: the Saints were scheduled to play in the Superdome today. We didn't go to the game, we only went to have lunch. At first, we dropped people off at a local restaurant to place our reservation, but they found out that the line went out the door, down the block, and wrapped around the corner!

We picked up the people we dropped off, and headed to a familiar restaurant: Bubba Gump's Shrimp Company. I had eaten there in August. Since our group was so large, we had to be seated separately, and the group I was with got seated at the same table that I'd been at in August. I thought that was an odd coincidence.

After lunch, we headed back to Chalmette, to load up our trailer, and then we hit the road. The sun set as we crossed the I-10 Twin Spans Bridge across Lake Ponchartrain.

The drive to Alabama was uneventful, except for a quick stop for fast food. We listened to music CDs and I remembered my recorded jodel. Once I got home, I planned to get a patch cable so I could play my tape into the computer and burn the jodel and the interview to a CD.

At a church in Alabama, a church member let us into the building around midnight. It turned out he was able to use the audiovisual equipment in the auditorium, and he offered to burn my CD there. That saved me a few steps, and I thanked him for the favor.

As the seconds ticked away and 2006 came to a close, there was no ball to watch, no fireworks, and no loud celebration. We were all very tired. I watched the seconds tick away to midnight, and said "so long 2006" before going to bed. 2006 had ended, and our trip home would end tomorrow, in 2007. I felt that was a fitting end to a good trip helping others and serving God.