Last week, twelve of us journeyed to the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance camp in Houma, Louisiana to help the residents continue their recovery from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. We called ourselves "The Dirty Dozen," which after five days of work was an apt description of us, at least on the outside. Inside, I dare say, we had been washed clean by faith and hope: faith in a God who welcomed us, strengthened us, inspired us, and changed us through the disciples we met, and hope created by the God who out of chaos makes everything new, time and time again. Houma is on the mend, and its economic future looks better than its past.

The highlight of our week was experienced at the outset, when we met and worshipped with the members of the First Presbyterian Church of Bayou Blue. They treated us like royalty, like beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, and like manna sent from heaven to help their community recover. Their worship service was nothing but joyful praise of God, and their concern for one another and for those who lived on the bayous was palpable. After greeting us in a coffee/breakfast hour, they invited us back into the sanctuary where they held hands with us and prayed for us. From that moment on, we knew that we belonged in Houma, that God had called us there, and that we were needed to fulfill God's work. Later in the week, they brought dessert to our camp, and it was a sumptuous feast for eye, mouth, heart, and spirit.

We worked on repairing a home only tangentially affected by the hurricanes. The owner is a Methodist minister and native Houma Indian, who is devoting his time to helping those in greater need than himself, while renting his home to a handicapped couple for $135 a month. If we repaired the home, he would continue to rent it for the same low rate. The roof was leaking badly, the master bath needed a new tub surround, portions of the ceiling in the kitchen, bedroom and bath had collapsed, and ceiling fans were hanging by their wires. It was a daunting task, but we rolled up our sleeves and went at it to accomplish as much as we could in the few days that we were there. We stripped the roof and applied the felt, repairing holes and rotted timbers as we went. We demolished the bathroom, repaired the plumbing, and installed a new fiberglass tub surround. We pulled down and replaced the ceilings and installed new ceiling fans. We pulled down the gutters, painted the soffits, and cleared away debris. And each part of that was ten times more difficult than it sounds. Though work remains, what we aimed to get done, got done.