Miss Lisa

Back in St. Bernard during first round, many of us led volunteers in rebuilding houses. A big part of that project was getting to know the homeowners and hearing their story and watching the the progress of their houses. Well, this past week, we were able to visit Miss Lisa's house, the house that Chris had worked on earlier this year.

Miss Lisa and Chris had been in touch since arriving in New Orleans, and she invited the team over for some homemade jumbalaya. It was a surreal experience, walking into the home that last we saw it was in the final stages of mudding. The house was fully rebuilt and being lived in. The TV was on, her grandson was running around intermittently watching cartoons and playing with action figures around the new couch, and dinner was simmering in the fully functional kitchen. This was no longer just a house; it was a home.

As great as it was for us to be able to join Chris in meeting her homeowner and see the house fully rebuilt, we could tell it was that much more meaningful for Chris, having been the primary site supervisor during the rebuilding process, and getting to see the final product and homeowner back where she began. It was a great night, the food was delicious, and we got to hear all about Miss Lisa's life in the New Orleans area. I look forward to meeting up with my homeowner hopefully at some point in the next couple of weeks.