DBU students clean homes in New Orleans

Posted: 3/31/06

DBU students clean homes in New Orleans

By Tim Gingrich

Dallas Baptist University

NEW ORLEANS—Thirty-nine Dallas Baptist University students celebrated spring break by tearing down debris from Hurricane Katrina and helping New Orleans residents mend their lives.

“It was like a ghost town,” said Angela Sacco, DBU director of student life and a New Orleans native, as vans filled with students and supplies rolled into the Crescent City.

DBU students take a break after working on clearing a house in the 9th Ward of New Orleans. Pictured are (left to right, back row) Chip Luter, Chris Hendricks, (front row) Zach Mehlhaff, Kristi Jarvis, Jamie Simmons, Audrey Cholla, Lyndsey Wharton and John Merrill.

Yuta Motegi, a business major from Japan, brought a unique perspective to the team.

“It was similar to the earthquakes in Japan—but worse,” Motegi said. “Some earthquakes shake the land and cause other problems like fire, but I’ve never seen such a mess like in New Orleans.”

DBU volunteers found the terrain challenging. “It was frustrating getting around, because everything was in shambles,” said Jason Hatch, director of the DBU Baptist Student Ministry. “You’re looking for a street sign and it’s down.”

DBU students worked in New Orleans’ 9th Ward, one of the sections hardest hit last August and home to student volunteer Chip Luter. His father, Fred Luter, is pastor at New Orleans’ Franklin Avenue Baptist Church.

Floods severely damaged the church’s sanctuary and many of the congregation’s homes. Many of the church’s members continue to be scattered throughout Texas and Louisiana. Before they return home, houses must be cleared of dangerous debris and readied for repair.

Wearing white hazardous-material suits, DBU student volunteers began the grueling task of gutting homes.

“It’s hot in those suits,” Hatch commented. Damaged home appliances had leaked hazardous chemicals during the flood, and water damage had molded much of the wood and drywall. Breathing through ventilation masks only added to the painstaking task of ripping up floors, tearing down walls and clearing out wreckage. But DBU students persevered, salvaging 14 homes in five days.

Getting down to the foundation helped the team find hope. In one house, Hatch’s team was busy piling old furniture and mildewed carpet on the curb. But in the last room, one piece of paper on the floor would not come off. Looking closer, Hatch realized it was a page from the New Testament book of Galatians. Chemicals in the water and the forces of nature had melded it to the hardwood floor.