Patricia Bondor

UNTITLED by Janet Muhm

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 22:52:07 -0600

This was written by one of our volunteers. To me, this best describes serving in New Orleans today:

We never met before today
But when I saw your face
I felt sure that I knew you
In another time and place

Jan 8, 2007 Stuff

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 22:52:07 -0600

Last Friday, we took a trip to the UMCOR warehouse to pick out furniture for the apartment. A bedroom suit, a couch, chair, dining room table and chairs, bookcase, and a futon bed for the “extra” room in the apartment (just in case anyone wants to visit me, I want to have room for them…hint hint!) The furniture I picked out some how all goes together. An eclectic mix from across the United States that works together, kind of like our teams!

December 16, 2006 Visit Home

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 22:52:07 -0600

When I spoke to my mom, she wasn’t making sense, so I called the Brian Center. She’s had a stomach illness all week and isn’t eating and is dehydrated. They can’t get in touch with the doctor that they have on staff. They have finally decided that they should take her to the emergency room at Johnston Memorial Hospital. The good news is the “other” doctor (the one that won’t respond) isn’t on staff there, so our wonderful Dr. Katuru will be mom’s doctor. I called him to let him know that she was on her way, so he could be in on things in the emergency room. I also called my sweet friend, Elizabeth, who graciously donated “buddy passes” when I told her I was going on this mission trip.

November 24, 2006 What is “normal?” …It’s all in how you look at it

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 11:18:04 -0600

I live in a room in the church and sleep on an air mattress with a 4 lb puppy. I have no TV or radio. I shower in a shack out back. But to me, it’s like a 5-star hotel!

Ever since that night I spent with a freezing wind blowing in the broken window and an air mattress on the cold tile floor (see entry dated Friday, Nov. 3rd), things have improved considerably. My air mattress is now up on a cot, the window has been repaired and I have a space heater. The missing wood slats have been replaced in the shower shack, so no more freezing air blowing in there during my 5:30 am shower. The hot water heats the shack up quite nicely. So when Paige, a lady I work with, came upstairs and looked around my room and said, “Wow, this is depressing,” I was surprised! Especially considering that Paige lost everything in Katrina.

November 19, 2006 A Study in Contradiction

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 09:13:28 -0600

I have come to realize what a study in contradictions this area is.

This is a southern state with all the friendliness and warmth one associates with the south. People smile and give you directions, they willingly offer “tour guide” advice so you can enjoy the area, and they chat with me on the street when I am walking Tank. Then the very next minute they are yelling because Tank has “done his business” in public, or angrily blowing their horn, shaking their fist and yelling when I slow down to try to find the name of street because there are few street signs. When I mentioned this to a couple of New Orleans Police they smiled and simply said, “Yeah, it’s like we are a southern Brooklyn”.

November 17, 2006 Burn Out

Sat, 18 Nov 2006 09:10:57 -0600

Today I had the morning off and Lindsay (the 23 year old Oregon student that is housed at Kenner UMC where I’m housed) was quite burned out so we decided to take Tank to the park. Lindsay has spent the last couple of weeks gutting houses. When you go to a house that hasn’t been gutted, here’s a little of what you see…the front door is missing, warped or deceptively looks normal. When you go into the house, black mold covers the walls up to, and on, the ceiling. The smell is overwhelming and hard to describe. People here just call it “the Katrina smell”. The furniture is scattered about the rooms and items from the kitchen are found in the bedrooms, and vice-a-versa. Books, children’s toys, photo albums lay in ruin. They are all the same, yet different. At each new house there is an owner on the verge of tears as they watch volunteers haul their life out to the curb.

November 15, 2006 A Closer Walk

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 08:10:57 -0600

Today is Wednesday and I'm getting ready for an EBSS staff meeting (East Bank Storm Station), so I thought I'd take a minute and get this new entry started. So much is happening so fast, it truly is hard to write it all down. I can say that I see God all over this place. Being this close to Him daily is something I have never experienced. I'll never be far from Him again. Developing this truly "personal" relationship is a growth I had desired, but wasn't sure I could achieve, but when you are almost 1,000 miles from everyone you know with God being the only friend you have - you learn to depend on him like he is "real"....and HE IS! That's the most amazing thing to me, how very real He is to me now. We chat all the time, I see Him all the time.

Friday, Nov. 3, 2006 Finally Here

Mon, 06 Nov 2006 19:33:34 -0600

Fri, 3 Nov 2006

Well, here I am in New Orleans. I got here last Friday and did some sight seeing then moved into the church on Sunday. Tank is doing great - getting spoiled by all the attention. The church congregation is about 73 years old average and he was welcomed into the fellowship dinner by the pastor carrying him around and introducing him to everyone while they were eating!! And not one person minded a dog being in the dining hall!!! LOL ...