We've continued to closely monitor the flooding situation. The Corps of Engineers has now formally announced the decision to open the Morganza spillway. That's a big safety valve for many and disaster for those in the flood plains. The fact that this spillway hasn't been opened in 38 years puts the whole disaster in perspective.
I’m used to the new birth and life of spring gently reminding me that Easter is approaching. In Plaquemines, we’ve been in spring for some time. In fact, the blackberries are almost done. The result is that Easter has snuck up on us here! Thank goodness we had Palm Sunday for early warning. Recently, a
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans [NAS JRB] in Belle Chasse, Committee for Plaquemines Recovery, United Way of Greater New Orleans and The Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders are partnering to rebuild the home of Peter Bay Le. Read more about the build here.
Peter Salemme and Bart Tucker working together again in Plaquemines Parish for Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders We’re making grand progress in Plaquemines Parish! Don’t get me wrong, we still need you to come for a day, a week or a month to keep our momentum! But the two complete rehabs we’re doing are
Hopefully, today we put the first piling in the ground for the four houses we're building under the United Way grant. That's the exciting news! The "not so exciting news" is that we've been notified this week that we no longer have 200 days to complete these houses. We now have to have them done
It’s easy for us on site here in Plaquemines Parish to get “lost in the weeds” (I probably should have used “swamp” instead of “weeds”) of what we’re doing and accomplishing each week. Periodically God gives us a strong refresher of what we’re about. This past week we were blessed to have our many-times volunteer
This has been an exciting week here in Plaquemines Parish! We had teams from another Fuller Center—Jersey Pines—and St John Lutheran Church, Charles City, Iowa. Both are special—St John is associated with Joining Hands, the Iowa arm of Peg Sennett’s group, and has been to the Gulf Coast many times. You’ll recognize other names from
We’re having a great week here in Plaquemines loaded with boomerangers. One of Heather’s favorite memories of the week is seeing Pastor Melissa, California Lutheran University, come into the Fellowship Hall on Sunday night and recognizing at least five of the St John’s team from previous visits. With all the hugging, the orientation was delayed
In June 2009, we “declared victory” over Hurricane Katrina and moved our mission to Hurricane Ike country in East Texas. As you know by now, I’ve admitted to a premature declaration of victory (I’m in good company anyway). We might have been correct in assessing a greater need in East Texas than the Mississippi Gulf
Homeowners and volunteers express deep gratitude (See a Disaster ReBuilders volunteer video at the bottom of the story.) In June 2009, Fuller Center Disaster ReBuilders (FCDR) arrived in Orange, Tex., with a crew of four construction leaders and several years of experience repairing hurricane damaged homes in Mississippi. While many had already forgotten or moved