We are here for a reason-- the chronicles of Tuesday

Today was... full. In the morning, I weeded school vegetable gardens and I experienced the burn of a fire ant bite. In the afternoon I interacted with residents at the mental disabilities center. I had a lot of fun playing an expert version of the Memory Toy Story 3 game. I and other members of my group were the recipients of many loving affectionate hugs, kisses, and marriage proposals from members of all ages. After dinner we went on a really moving "prayer tour." We took our giant tour bus through impossibly narrow streets looking at the different areas affected by the storm. Later, we went to see the "Murder Wall" in the city which listed all the victims of killings in the area since 2007. This was heartbreaking in so many ways. At the bottom of the list, there was a listing of a 23 year old woman and her unborn child who were killed only 2 days ago. New Orleans and the surrounding area has one of the highest murder rates in the country. I am sure other people will talk more in depth about the staggering facts on the wall so I will move on. I talked for a long time with Tom about why we were here and what we were actually accomplishing. Sometimes being here feels useless but it never is. We might not do much while we are here and it might not last long or make a difference but it's important and I am lucky to have the opportunity to come. We learn if nothing else. We hear peoples' stories and we tell those stories and we spread the things we learn while being here. The truth is, there is still massive work to be done to restore the city to the way it was. And we can tell people about it, we can remind them of this disaster and maybe keep the support alive for a little bit longer and a little bit longer. Seeing the damage of both the city and the community is really powerful for me because it helps me connect the dots from what I am doing and what is being done. It helps me feel like I am helping. Even small and potentially insignificantly, I am helping. And this will hopefully help me make these connections between awareness and action in other parts of my life and changes that I choose to fight for. If I can learn to see as well as make real changes, I will be able to make a difference that is perhaps not so small someday.

Goodnight and sweet dreams!

--Daniela Tiedemann