Hi everyone! Hope this blog finds you all doing very well! I have been pretty busy this past week getting more in depth into school work and extracurriculars that make college…college. I will be updating you with some more info from this past week very shortly, but for now I thought I would leave you with some thoughts that I had just put into words that I have had on my mind since my trip to New Orleans.

These thoughts all came back to me when I was asked by my good friend Sarah Reed for some memorable thoughts and quotes to include in an article that she was writing about our trip. This was a great opportunity to get these thoughts down on paper so that I could share them with you all! Here they are, perhaps this will be more of an impact than my last blog about the trip in general. As these thoughts are straight from my personal experiences and right from the heart.

NOLA Thoughts:

“One of the things that stood out most from the NOLA Trip was the sincere appreciation that all of the New Orleans people had for any help that we could provide them. No matter what task we were performing, from gutting a house, to putting a coat of paint on a wall, they were truly grateful for our presence, and willing to help us in any way possible.”

“At first arrival I was in total shock, as if I didn’t know so much destruction still existed—the news barely scratches the surface to what needs to be done still—after 3+ years, it’s hard to believe it until you see brand new re-built homes, and then right next to them a row of destroyed houses that still need to be demolished.”

“The overall atmosphere of a city that has been through so much is surprisingly upbeat and optimistic! The people have a great mindset in the sense that the most important things to them are their lives, their families, and the memories they hold so dear. They are so fortunate to still have those—everything else can be replaced. Can we say this–would we be able to live without our car? or better yet our Ipod for that matter?”

“Ms. Lydia (owner of a newly rebuilt home from Habitat, with assistant of last year’s Walsh students), was a true inspiration to all of us, explaining how this was time of great destruction and chaos was a true test of faith for herself and her family—she remained so strong and opened her home to all 30+ of us for dinner—she truly was a role model to all of us!”

 “The feeling that your helping someone get their life back was priceless—and to do this with great friends around you, working together to reach a goal—felt more like fun, instead of hard work—the results however were amazing!”

“I admired how much patience the Habitat crew had for us—they would simply explain a task that they needed done, instruct us on being safe, and allowed us to get right to work—learning as we went along.”

“Never again will I look at a simple piece of trim or a door jamb in my house the same since NOLA. I gained a deeper appreciation for every little detail of a home—once I found out just how much work went into every aspect to allow it to pass inspection.”

“Going to NOLA right before Christmas could not have been a better time for me to realize just how fortunate I am—while these families are wishing for their lives back and a simple roof over their heads, any materialistic gift that I could wish for quickly fails in comparison to what a house could mean for the families of New Orleans.”

I’ll be back tomorrow to fill you in on my busy week! Stay tuned!

Take care,

Chris Burr