Mennonite Disaster Service

I'm down in New Iberia, Louisiana, working with seven other people from SLMF for Mennonite Disaster Service.

We're all here safely, and have happily finished up our first day on the job.

Its been a learning experience for all of us.
Rich Howard-Willms learned that the pancake platter at Hardies has pancakes.

Most of us learned what alligator meat tastes like for the first time (its good-firm, not fishy at all, and it does not taste like chicken) when we tried some at a cajun restaurant in Lafayette.

This evening, we played a game of Malarky, where Arnie Sprunger taught us such useful information as 'the Arabic numbering system came from India' and 'the phrase 'stealing your thunder' comes from an obscure British playwright.'

And I've learned how to be a construction group leader, because the MDS people decided to make the least experienced person on the trip from SLMF take charge of a bunch of very patient and very polite Canadians who drove three days down from Ontario because they have a sick sense of humor.

New Iberia is an interesting city, its a small town with some extreme differences between the wealthy and the poor. We're helping at a number of different houses around town with some significant interior and exterior maintenance.  We're all pretty exhausted after the first day, and are looking forward to the snoring symphony that is the men's bunkhouse.

I'll have some pictures up tomorrow, which will be more fun-I was unable to get onto the wireless on my own computer, so I am limited to text today.

Good night, and God bless