Great Spirit

Now that I have been in New Orleans for about three days and have done my first day of service here, I cannot help but mention the uncompromisable spirit that the people of this city have in everything they do. They are nothing short of passionate and use spirit to both rally around and have great pride in their city.
This is a perfect week to be in NOLA. Between the Saints playoff win on Saturday and the BSC championship tonight (LSU v Alabama) it is easy to feel the great spirit that the residents of this city have. Whether they are yelling "GEAUX TIGERS" or "ROLL TIDE," the people here definitely love their teams. And the Saints playoff win against Detroit on Saturday was nothing short of exciting.
It is amazing that these people are the same people who survived Hurricane Katrina and all of the disaster that it brought to New Orleans. When walking around the French Quarter, it is easy to forget that parts of this city were drowned in 11+ feet of water just a short 6 years ago due to multiple breaches in the levees. Today I met my first homeowner here and was able to sit down and talk with him after mudding the inside walls of his house all day. Brian, a 76 year old resident of NOLA who had grew up in the house which was flooded with 9 feet of water during Katrina, told us the story of how his weekend trip to see his granddaughter in Florida for her birthday (in late August 2005) turned into a two month stay. After battling with the city while trying to fix the house which had stood there for so long, he decided that it was no longer worth the hassle and started new with the house which I worked on today. Meeting Brian and working on his new house today was an amazing first day of service. I wish Brian, and his New Orleans characteristic high spirits, the best of luck with his new home and look forward to another great work day!