Brethren Disaster Ministries

Not Forgotten - Hurricane Katrina Recovery
by Walt Wiltschek, editor of Messenger

Among New Orleans’ many monikers is “The City that Care Forgot,” a testament to its carefree and free-wheeling spirit. These days, many residents of the city and its surrounding regions just hope it doesn’t become “The City that Everyone Forgot.”

Walk through the famous French Quarter or the well-heeled Garden District, and there is no hint that Hurricane Katrina ripped through the area nearly four years ago. The tourist areas bounced back quickly, for the most part, providing a needed boost for the economy.

Elsewhere, though, many individuals and homeowners are still awaiting a much-needed personal boost. The evidence of devastation remains prominent farther off the beaten path: concrete pads where houses used to be, still-standing homes either abandoned or awaiting funds for repair, shuttered businesses, and piles of trash.

That’s where organizations like Brethren Disaster Ministries are trying to fill the gap. It’s unusual for Brethren volunteers to be at work on a single project for such a long span of time, but in this case the work hasn’t gone away not even close.

John and Mary Mueller found that out quickly when they arrived in March 2007 as consultants and coordinators for the Brethren Disaster Ministries work in St. Bernard Parish, southeast of downtown New Orleans.

“It’s a lot more work than I thought it would be,” John Mueller says. “It’s everything. You wake up, you do your work, you go to bed thinking about what you’re doing the next morning.”

“The only morning that’s different is Sunday morning, when we go to church” Mary adds. “Then the (new) volunteers come in at 11 or 12.”

Much of their work in the area has been in partnership with St. Bernard Project, a grassroots, non-profit organization started by Liz McCartney and Zack Rosenburg in 2006. The duo came down from Washington, D.C., for a short-term volunteer recovery project, got hooked, and soon returned for the long haul.

St. Bernard Project has relied heavily on its various partners, and Brethren Disaster Ministries has stepped up as its largest continuous source of skilled volunteers. Many other relief ministries shut down for the steamy Gulf Coast summer, but the Brethren work has been running year-round with one goal: Get people back in their homes.

“We’re so glad that John and Mary are such great partners,” McCartney says. “They’re problem-solvers and innovative thinkers. We’re really lucky to have them.”

The Muellers’ call to the region resulted when it became clear that the Brethren commitment in St. Bernard Parish would be long-term, as well. They had been serving as part-time pastors of Christ the Servant Church of the Brethren in Cape Coral, Fla., near where Hurricane Charley hit hard in 2004.

They saw the relief convoys pour in to nearby Punta Gorda. John, who also worked as a contractor, said he wanted to do something to give back for all the help Florida received if he ever had the chance.

“I said to Mary, ‘What if we did something like this?’” John says. “We decided to put our name in the hat, and it got pulled out.”

The destination for their service shifted a few times until they received word that it would be in Chalmette, La. Mary pulled out some maps and found it was right by New Orleans. Well over two years later they’re still there, and the work keeps coming.

They oversee the house where volunteers stay, coordinate meals, line up new houses to work on and get them ready, and much more. On Tuesdays, for example, they invite all the staff and Americorps workers from the St. Bernard Project over to the volunteer house for popular “Taco Tuesdays,” sometimes feeding as many as 80 people in all.

Roy Winter, executive director of Brethren Disaster Ministries, says such a long-term project is atypical for the organization. Other projects in the region—in Pearl River and Slidell, La., and in Mississippi—ran for a time and then shut down as projects ended, but the work in Chalmette and surrounding areas of St. Bernard Parish has gone on unabated.

“It’s certainly unusual for us to stay so long with one project,” Winter says. “We could stay there probably 10 years and still be working.”

It’s been hard work, but the Muellers say they have enjoyed it, at least most days. They have enjoyed the relationships built, the dedication of volunteers, and the progress being made, albeit gradual. Even on the bad days, they say they have often felt lifted up by prayer or heard from someone who had been deeply affected by the Brethren work.

“This changes you. It changes how you look at things, what’s important,” John says. “There’s nothing I’d rather be doing right now. It’s gotten to the point that this is home. I thought we’d come here two years and go back to ‘real life,’ and now this has become our life.”

“If we weren’t doing this, what would we be doing?” Mary adds. “I can’t think of anything.”

They say they plan to stay at least another year yet, maybe longer.

“We don’t know how long God will keep us here,” Mary says. “We’ll stay as long as we feel this is where we’re supposed to be.”

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