My Multigenre Project about my experiences working with Operation Noah Rebuild

1. Operation Noah Rebuild: New
Orleans Mission Trip

2. My Experience in New Orleans
Imagine a city so full to the brim with culture that it is alive on every street corner and
in the hearts and souls of its people. When I think of New Orleans, Louisiana, I can’t help
but think of it this way. Nothing beats the taste of fresh Cajun crawfish or shrimp poboys,
then finishing the day off with a hot beignet at Café du Monde, overlooking the port
while listening to the jazz and blues street musicians nearby. Culture is all around you.
You can’t help but fall in love. That’s how I felt when I saw New Orleans. The very next
day though, I had a rude awakening. We climbed into the big church vans early in the
morning to start on what we had really come to do: Help rebuild New Orleans. I expected
it to be grim, but after almost two years since Hurricane Katrina hit and the levees broke,
I could not possibly prepare myself for what I saw. Whole neighborhoods, with hundreds
of houses, were completely wiped out. They had not even been touched yet. No work had
been done to clean up and rebuild the homes. All of those families were still waiting for a
home again. On the outside of the houses, they were spray painted with a big “X” and
different numbers and letters were in the four spaces. I finally asked about them. The
numbers represented different things depending on where they were located in the “X.”
Usually, the numbers represented how many cats and dogs died in the house, which was
sad enough, but even worse was what the other numbers meant. Those numbers stood for
how many people died in the house. There were so many numbers, so many deaths, it
became too hard to even look at the “Xs,” and I had to look away.

3. Continued...
We finally arrived at the house we were to work on. Outside and to the left of the
house was a FEMA trailer where the owner, Mrs. Thompson, lived. She had been living
in this tiny trailer for almost two years, constantly wondering when she could finally live
in her house again. The organization we were working with was called Operation Noah
Rebuild, or NOAH. NOAH specifically selected Mrs. Thompson out of thousands of
people to give her a house, so you cannot imagine how grateful and excited she was when
we arrived. All houses rebuilt through NOAH are done within six weeks. Each week, a
different group from entirely different places in the US comes in and continues work on
the house until it's completed. Our group just happened to be the last group, so you can
imagine the excitement in Mrs. Thompson’s eyes when she saw us there. She knew that
by the end of the week, she would have her home back.
We took a walk around the house to see what there was left to do, then started
working on the house. The amount of work left to do in just one week was overwhelming.
Some of the walls on the inside were still not up, electrical was only partially done, and
the bathroom was still only a shell of a room. That week flew by, and we weren’t even
sure if we could finish it in time. On the last three days, we had to kick it into hyperdrive
to finish. On the last day we were there, two hours after we were supposed to leave, we
finally finished the house.

4. Continued...
We had a whole ceremony planned to give Mrs. Thompson the keys to her new home.
I can’t possibly explain the emotions I felt during that ceremony. Seeing Mrs.
Thompson’s reaction as she was handed the keys was so powerful. She couldn’t hold back
the tears any longer. As we all hugged her, and then prayed with her, we all started to cry.
This woman had been homeless for almost two years, and now she finally had a place to
call her own again.
A few weeks later, I received a card in the mail. Mrs. Thompson had found out what
all of our addresses were and sent us thank you cards, each with personal messages to
each one of us thanking us by name and explaining how wonderful her life is now that
she’s back home. That card, along with the knowledge that I helped make that happen,
was the best gift I have ever received.
After experiencing what it’s like to give back like that, I can’t help but tell everyone I
know to go do something like it. We are called the United States of America. There’s a
reason for that. If our neighbor falls down, help him up. It does not just benefit that one
person when you do a good deed like that, it benefit’s the whole community, and it warms
your heart. That feeling of accomplishment from finishing a house and giving the keys
over to a woman who so desperately deserved it is something that I think every person
should feel. It gives you a sense purpose, humbles you, and opens your eyes to how lucky
you are. I strongly encourage everyone to go out and do this kind of work at least once in
your lifetime. You will forever be changed by it.

5. New Orleans 2007
Part of my team from New Orleans Mission Trip 2007

6. Why You Should Go On A Mission
Trip
“Why would you spend your spring break in an unfamiliar place, sleeping in bunk
beds in an old abandoned school, only to get up really early in the morning every day to
go do construction work for a person you don’t even know?” my boyfriend asked when I
told him I was going to New Orleans for spring break with my church. He had a point; it
sounded crazy. What perfectly normal 15-year-old would do something like that? Well,
about 20 other teens were going with me, so I guess I’m not entirely alone. After a lot of
thought, I had decided I wanted to do this. I had been to West Virginia before on a
mission trip and had the experience of a lifetime, so I decided I wanted to go somewhere
else, somewhere where my help would be even more beneficial. After Hurricane Katrina
hit and the levees broke, I knew where they needed me: New Orleans, Louisiana. So, I
signed up with my church, we planned the trip, and off I went. The truth is, I have never
felt better in my entire life than when I go on mission trips. There are so many benefits
that come from going on a mission trip. Not only is it beneficial to the people you would
be helping, but it is also beneficial to yourself. Volunteers get to experience so many
things and gain valuable life experiences. I believe everyone should go on at least one
mission trip because it benefits those in need, as well as gives those who volunteer life
experiences that will stay with them forever.

7. Continued... is to help someone.
First of all, the most important reason to go on a mission trip
There are so many places, even in the US, where people are in desperate need of all kinds
of different things. Usually, the people who need the most help need simple things that
most people have, like a home, clothing, or food. Sometimes they might have a home, but
it is in disrepair, and needs to be fixed up so that it is able to be lived in. This is usually
the case for the mission trips I've been on. You may be wondering why these houses can't
be repaired by the people who live in them. There are two reasons: money and health. The
supplies needed to fix up the houses usually cost too much money and they can't afford
the supplies. Also, sometimes the case is that their health is in decline, so they can't
physically do the labor needed to repair their homes. This is why they need volunteers to
come in and help them. My philosophy is that if you have the ability to help those less
fortunate, you should. It improves not only their life, but your world.
Another reason to go on a mission trip is the experiences you will get to have when
visiting places you've never been to before. I had never been to New Orleans before, and
there is no way of knowing if I would have ever made it there if it had not been for the
mission trip. What's great about going to different places is that you have different and
important experiences. I was able to have a first hand account of what happened to New
Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit. I was able to not only see the devastation, but also
talk to the people there and get to know what they were thinking and feeling about what
happened. I had a much deeper understanding of just how much the storm impacted the
city than if I had only watched it from the news.

8. Continued...
Those weren't the only experiences I had while I was in New Orleans though. I also
got to experience the culture in New Orleans, which is so entirely different from
Charlotte, NC. I tried all different kinds of food I have never even heard of, like cajun
crawfish and French beignets. In New Orleans, the culture is all around. Jazz and blues
musicians play on every other corner and voodoo shops are all over the place. It was an
amazing cultural experience for me, and I would have never experienced it if I had not
gone on the mission trip with my church.
Another important life experience I received by going on mission trips was what I
learned about rebuilding homes. I learned how to build different parts of a house,
including putting up drywall and installing floors and windows. I can say without a
shadow of a doubt that I would have never learned how to do any of that if I had not gone
on a mission trip. Back home, if there had been a problem with my house, I would have
been useless. Now, I can pride myself on being able to fix certain things around the house
that typical 21-year-old girls do not know how to fix. Those experiences will stay with me
for a long time.

9. Continued...
Finally, my favorite life experience from going on mission trips is the experience of
giving a person who lost everything a key to her new home. We had a whole ceremony
where we presented Mrs. Thompson with the key to her home we had just completed.
After almost 2 years of living in a FEMA trailer because her home was destroyed when
the levees broke, she was finally able to move back into her home. Knowing that I had
been one of the many people that made that possible for her was a wonderful feeling. To
this day, I still get tears in my eyes when I think about that moment because it was such a
powerful ceremony. After experiencing something like that, it changed me. I felt like I
had finally made a difference. You can't put a price on something like that.
For all of these reasons, I truly believe everyone should go on at least one mission trip
in their lifetime if they have the ability to help. There are other mission trips that don't
involve building houses, so if someone wants to make an impact but can not do that kind
of physical labor, they can still go on mission trips. I want everyone to experience
something like what I experienced because it helped me to grow as an individual and it
also improved the life of someone else. There really is nothing to lose and everything to
gain by going on a mission trip. As John Holmes once said, “There is no exercise better
for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”

10. Operation Noah Rebuild
Almost two years later, and still looks
practically untouched

11. Operation Noah Rebuild
In late August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the southeastern coast of the United States.
Of all the hurricanes to ever hit the US, Katrina was the second strongest recorded in
history. New Orleans, Louisiana was the most badly hit area. The US knew it would cause
damage, but there was no way of knowing just how bad it was going to be. A few months
after the devastation, Operation Noah Rebuild came to New Orleans to help rebuild this
historic city. In the spring of 2007, then again in 2008, I was able to experience the
devastation first hand by working with Operation Noah Rebuild.
New Orleans is a port city that is located below sea level, and so there is a levee
system set up around the city to keep it from flooding. The levees were only designed to
handle up to a category 3 hurricane, but Katrina, a category 4 hurricane, hit the city with
incredible speeds of 140 miles per hour. Since the levees were not designed to protect the
city against that kind of power, they broke, giving way to a surge of water flooding into
the city. It is estimated that eighty percent of New Orleans was under water after the
levees broke, sometimes as deep as twenty feet in certain places. Due to the flooding, the
death toll for this hurricane was a horrific 1,577 for Louisiana alone, with a grand total of
1,836. Thousands upon thousands of families were left homeless.

12. Continued... in New Orleans.
In the beginning of May 2006, Operation Noah Rebuild was launched
According to www.thebridge.namb.net, Operation NOAH is “a three-year partnership
project (through August 2009) between New Orleans area churches and associations, the
Louisiana Baptist Convention, and the North American Mission Board to help New
Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Volunteers rebuild homes; start, restart, or
strengthen churches; and reach people with the good news of Jesus Christ.” It's main
purpose was to rebuild New Orleans, one home (or church) at a time. The whole program
consisted of volunteers from all across the country, dedicating their time and energy into
rebuilding a community completely destroyed by the storm.
In 2007, I joined my church's youth group on a trip to New Orleans to work with
Operation Noah Rebuild. While there, I finally saw the true devastation of the city. It was
heartbreaking, but I knew I was there to make an impact, so I kept my eyes focused on
what mattered: Rebuilding New Orleans. After my first experience there, I knew I had to
go back, so I returned the following year and helped out again.
In August of 2009, Operation Noah Rebuild ended, however New Orleans is still working
on rebuilding the city. It has made huge strides, but it is still in disrepair in places.
Volunteers are still needed to help rebuild the city, but there aren't as many programs to
work with now. Overall, the disaster relief was quite successful, and many people have
their lives back to normal.
Resources: http://www.thebridge.namb.net/aboutus.aspx, http://www.livescience.com/22522-hurricane-katrina-facts.html, ht
ttp://www.dosomething.org/actnow/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-hurricane-katrina

13. A Letter to Home
Dear Dad,
It’s day four here in New Orleans. I can’t believe how beautiful historic New Orleans
is! We visited the French Quarter last night, and all I can say is “Wow!” It’s such a cool
place! You would love it. There are jazz musicians on practically every corner, and since
you introduced me to jazz music, it made me think of you. I tried this weird food call
crawfish, which looks sort of like shrimp, but they’re cooked with their bodies still intact.
Oh boy, did they look gross, and they were covered with all these spices, but they were so
delicious! You have got to get here sometime and take a week off from work to experience
New Orleans.
Hayley, Robert, Krystal, and I ventured onto the “world famous” Bourbon Street and
made it about one block before we had to go to a different street. That street was insane!
There were drunks all over the place, and so many tourist shops. That is obviously
overrun with drunk tourists who want the “New Orleans experience.” So not for me. I’d
much rather head back to Café du Monde, my official favorite place to be in New
Orleans. They are known for their amazing beignets (which are basically fried dough
covered in powdered sugar). You know how I love all desserts? Well these beignets are
phenomenal! They cook them to a perfect texture. They are soft pillows of friend dough
and the powdered sugar add just the right touch. I could eat those all day!

14. Letter Continued...
As for the rebuilding part, it’s exhausting. I find myself able to easily fall asleep every
night because there’s always so much work to be done. My group is rebuilding a house for
this sweet lady, Mrs. Thompson. She’s been living in a small FEMA trailer for so long,
and our goal is to finish her house so she can finally move back into her home when we’re
through in a few days. I really hope we finish. I feel like there’s still so much to be done
though. We have started working on sanding down the walls in a couple of rooms, so
maybe it’s possible. She deserves this house though. There’s not doubt about that. She has
been nothing but an extremely grateful, loving woman to all of us, and her neighbors
seem to feel the same way about her. Almost daily, she has neighbors come over to say
hello and see her. They always stop in and say hi to us as well, which is super sweet since
they don’t even know us.
Anyways, I just wanted to update you on the trip. I know you wonder how it’s going,
and since I get terrible phone service, I really can’t get through on my phone. I miss you
and I can’t wait to see you on Sunday! I love you!
Love,
Chloe

15. Jazz musician playing his
trumpet. He was quite good.
Two of my friends and I in front of
The French Quarter

16. New Orleans
I arrive in New Orleans
And see the dancing lights
Of nearby voodoo shops and casinos
I smell the fresh Cajun Jambalaya,
And taste the perfect spicy crawfish
I watch the night lights,
Reflecting off the Mississippi river The sun rises,
While enjoying a fresh French beignet Opening my eyes up to reality
From the famous Café du Monde We take a drive,
All the while, smooth jazz And see the devastation
Floats up from street musicians Houses torn to shreds
Illuminated by soft moon rays Whole Neighborhoods gone
And families still unable to return home
It sets in,
My purpose is clear
To bring hope to my compatriot
To rebuild a historic city
And revitalize the culture
Of a city demolished and broken
And that’s what I plan to do

17. The view of the Mississippi New Orleans French Quarter
River from Cafe du Monde

18. Spicy Cajun Crawfish
Beignets at Cafe du Monde

19. About the Author
My name is Chloe Wishart, and I am
currently a student at UNC Charlotte
working on becoming a future elementary
school teacher. The reason I decided to
choose the topic of mission trips (more
specifically my experiences helping out in
New Orleans) is because it is a topic that is
very close to my heart, and influenced me
greatly while growing up.
My target audience has been basically
everyone, but focusing mainly on those
who live in the US. My goal for this
multigenre project was to show the world
just how wonderful mission trips can be
and try to convince everyone out there to
go on at least one mission trip in their
lifetime. Thank you for taking the time to
read about my experience. I hope you get
the chance to experience a mission trip one
day too.