Contact email: downsouth@joyfuljourneys.org

At long last! Staci and Kristi arrived safely home. Very glad to be at her own home (and own shower!), Staci has taken this evening to rest. I'm sure we'll have more updates later. Stay tuned!

I suppose I should update y'all, since I haven't done an update in two days. :)

Staci and Kristi are still on the road. They made it to Santa Fe tonight, grabbing one of the few remaining hotel rooms there. Last night they stayed in a little place called Junction, Texas. That's right -- it took two days to get through Texas. Unfortunately for them, they entered Texas from Louisiana just at the time when the first evacuation orders for Hurricane Rita were coming out. So they were on the move through Texas at the same time as half the residents of Texas. They sat through 8 hours of gridlocked traffic outside Houston, in 106 degree weather. Not fun! They were amused at some of the people calling in to the radio, though. Apparently some people just aren't taking the mandatory evacuation of southeastern Texas seriously. Like the woman who called in and asked, "Just exactly what is this hurricane supposed to do?" and wondered if she would be likely to be affected. She lives in a low-lying area outside Houston. Or the man from the Corpus Christi area who said that he planned to go fishing tomorrow morning for a few hours before leaving, because the fishing is always really good just before a storm.

So, they're on their way back, ETA late Friday. (Assuming no more delays.) They're tired, sick, and just ready to be back home.

I did talk to Staci much earlier today, but she didn't want me to update the site until she had more details. So here are some (not all).

Staci got a call from Kristi's aunt that Kristi was in jail. Always good to hear when you're in a strange town with your friend that your friend's in jail! Kristi had to spend the night in jail but Staci went today to get her out. The story goes like this: Yesterday evening, Kristi was with a crew rescuing animals from the city. They were on their way back and were in radio contact with their base in Gonzales. The radio operator told them to come on in. They did so, but when they arrived at the gates they were told by MP's that they were violating curfew. Well, they had their arms full of animals that they needed to get inside so they argued the point. The other two Kristi was with were allowed to take the dogs in, but the MP's wouldn't allow the cats in for some reason. The other two took the dogs in and planned to return with crates for the cats. Kristi was prepared at this point to set up a cot and wait outside the gate with the cats in crates until morning. I don't have the full story of what happened next, but apparently Kristi turned away from the gate and the MP's took that as a sign that she was trying to leave with the cats, and accused her of that. Kristi at that point was becoming annoyed with the territorial nonsense and made a few remarks to that effect. The net result of that was that she was handcuffed and taken away. Don't know what became of the cats. She was told at the jail (police station?) that she could get bailed out or the magistrate would see her in the morning and he would likely wave her out. So she elected to stay with the understanding that she'd be seen first thing in the morning. She wasn't, and finally waited long enough that Staci came to get her at midday. They wouldn't allow Staci to talk to Kristi, and would only relay messages. Staci told them to ask Kristi if she wanted Staci to use Kristi's credit card to bail her out. Kristi said yes. They relayed this message to Staci: "She said to use your own credit card." Well, Staci didn't have one of her own to use, so they went back and forth and finally they made Kristi give them all her cash, and gave her a check or voucher of some sort. Then they let her out. Okay, anyone smelling something here?

So, Kristi was out. Staci returned to the shelter to find that the shelter director she knew was on his way out, and a new shelter director was in place who was requiring all volunteers to have picture IDs. Which, as was previously discussed, Staci could not do, at least not without great effort. (She would have had to drive quite a ways, spend half the day filling out forms and talking to people to get a picture ID. On top of wasting a day getting Kristi out.) He was being inflexible on that point so he effectively forced Staci and her entire team to leave. (At least those who didn't want to spend the time to get the picture ID.) As Staci was planning to leave tomorrow anyway, she elected to pack up today and depart a day early.

It was really hard for Staci to leave, and especially on such a sour note. But she at least was able to say goodbye to some of her friends (among the refugees and volunteers both) before she left.

At this point Staci and Kristi are on their way back, ETA Thursday. (They're not hurrying this time.) Let's pray for their safe travel! Hopefully she will be able to write more here when she returns.

I called Staci while she was sitting in the hallways at the shelter eating watermelon. She sounded pretty exhausted, both physically and emotionally. The drive into the city today had really taken its toll on her. She told me some about it:

They were able to basically bluff their way in thanks to Maisy's very pregnant state. (As Staci said, it's amazing what the words "she's going to have a baby very soon now" can do to soldier boys. Their eyes get wide and they pretty much scramble to get you through.) Most of the part of the city they drove through had been eight feet under water, but now was mostly dry. There was one spot where the water was about two feet deep and they scooted on through it. At one point she turned a corner and there were boats all over the road. There's so much debris everywhere, still, even though it's obvious that bulldozers have been through clearing it away. Power lines down all over. Houses burned. She was repeatedly warned to be careful of the debris, because so many people have been getting flat tires. They went by everything we've all been seeing on the TV and live Internet feeds... even drove by the now-famous convention center. There's evidence of looting everywhere. Now, the middle of the streets are full of RV's, TV network trailers, military humvees.

Maisy's aunt lived "downtown" (where the high water had been) so they drove there first. Not much left. They drove next to Maisy's house, which is between the dome and the garden district. It was much dryer there. They received a nasty shock when they got there -- Maisy's door, and in fact all the front doors on the houses on her street, had been smashed in. Upon reflection, the authorities had of course had to smash each door down looking for survivors, but it was hard to tell whether it had been the authorities or looters who'd done that. Either way, their house had been looted, although it had taken in no water. "It was really, really hard to walk alongside her for that," Staci said.

Her brother-in-law lives next door, and she went to look for his cat. They didn't find the cat but left food and water out for it. On the sidewalks as they drive through, they see spray painted: "SPCA: 2 dogs". It's the SPCA, marking where they found animals so they can return them to their owners more easily.

As they were making their way out of the neighborhood, they saw a police car that had pulled over a family in a SUV. Turns out the driver is Maisy's uncle, who was the one family member they didn't know how to locate. The policeman said he couldn't believe Staci & Maisy had been let in -- he says the area's only safe for FEMA and residents shouldn't be here. He says it won't be safe for another month and he can't believe people are being let in.

On the way out they find a landmark. The body that was on the news, the body of the woman that was left out in the open for days, that someone put a plastic tarp over and put stones around to make a cairn. Unreal. The body's gone, the tarp thrown to the side. They made it back home (through two roadblocks) safely after that.

Later, Maisy tries again to call the phone number for her Red Cross-issued debit card. It was issued to her days ago but hasn't been activated, she can't get it to activate. She's tried every day to call, and gets the runaround after waiting on hold. Is given two different numbers to call. Hours on the phone, arguing that no, she hasn't been to Georgia, no, she hasn't used the card, why does it have a zero balance? She's borrowing Staci's cell phone, but not everyone who gets these cards has such access to a phone for hours.

Earlier, Staci tells me, she'd been at the welcome table at the shelter and two guys came up asking if the Housing Authority is in. They're survivors of the hurricane asking about housing. Turns out they're a gay couple, both HIV positive, and one's due to get his HIV drugs, but he's out of work and thus has no insurance, no documents. Won't get the drugs. They're planning to go back in to the city to salvage what they can from their apartment, and ask what special precautions they should take, due to their impaired immune systems. "I'd not even thought of that," Staci said. "It's a whole other aspect I wouldn't have thought of, that complicates things." She suggested they get hold of the AIDS support group down here.

Just got a quick call from Staci. She told me only that they were on the highway heading out of New Orleans, and that everyone's okay, but couldn't say more.

Staci just called and when I answered she said, "I'm in downtown New Orleans". I think she did that just for effect.

She reports that it's slow going -- all the direct streets are flooded out and they're having a bit of trouble finding a route through to Maisy's house. They've been stopped a couple of times and asked their business. Lots of military, lots of guns, and Staci doesn't feel the least bit unsafe.

She just passed Poydras Street, where the camera from the "Survival of New Orleans Blog" that we've been reading.

Another text message: "New O is huge. Still driving, no road blocks yet but lots of traffic"

Just got a text message: "heading to ground zero within the hour. Maisy will then go to texas"

I caught up with Staci this morning since I didn't get to talk to her last night. Staci was working too hard last night and missed the dinner bell. Fortunately, someone told her about a Red Cross BBQ, so she went to that. Of that experience, she had this to say: "Really bad country music and goofy MP's".

Just heard from Kristi -- Kristi is loading up now, preparing to go into an area of New Orleans where n oother animal rescuers have gone yet. Apparently it's a big beaurocratic mess now. Some say it's okay for volunteers to go in, some say not.

The midwives & Staci distributed their shopping load yesterday to great thanks. Staci's team was able to find enough supplies in the clinic to create three emergency birth kit, and several prenatal kits. They are going to send two teams out to the area shelters, to seek out pregnant women who need them. There are five different clinics/shelters in town that they will be visiting.

The infirmary that was supposed to be closed down yesterday? Still up.

One of the many people whose lives Staci touches is a woman named Marjorie. She's in the infirmary with early Alzheimers. She worked in real estate then retired, moved to the south, and renovated an old house which she planned to enjoy to the end of her years. It's been destroyed by the hurricane, of course. Yesterday Staci passed by the hall and saw Marjorie hooked up to an EKG machine, suffering a heart attack. Staci jumped in and helped her to get calmed down. The medics pushed IV medecine that stopped her heart and reset her heart's rhythm. Then she was whisked away in an ambulance. Staci was afraid she wouldn't see Marjorie again. Then today, who should be sitting casually having breakfast in the infirmary, but Marjorie! "I ain't dead yet," she said.

Seemed to be Staci's day to encounter people being treated by medics. She stumbled over a guy on a stretcher being treated... three police officers and four MP's were attempting to hold him down and restrain him. Not sure what was wrong with him, but it was the day the methodone clinic was closed...

Staci managed to get a church service in, towards evening. Outside, not far from the shelter, she found a good ol' southern gospel service. Stayed there for quite a while, praying and singing, and when she quietly turned to leave, was startled to realize that all the front porches of the buildings across the street were full of people participating.

Maisy, one of Staci's newfound friends, just told her sadly that she may not ever be able to go back home to New Orleans. She keeps getting told that she might be let back in, but it's confusing. The mayor says he wants 180,000 people back in by the end of the week. But there's still no water, no traffic lights, no power in some places, and certainly no hospitals. (Apparently she was told earlier that the hospital close to her house was operating, but that turned out to be wrong.) Meanwhile, FEMA, the DCD, and the Army Corps of Engineers are saying: no way. People shouldn't be going in for at least another month. But people are going back in.

Beaurocratic confusion does seem to reign over this part of the country. Staci almost wasn't able to go back in the troublesome back door, because the MP's stationed there checking peoples' IDs told her that she had to have a picture Red Cross ID. When Staci explained that she'd just been issued this one without a picture, and had been in and out so many times before, they reluctantly let her through but told her to get a picture ID. She can't get one -- the picture IDs are only issued at the Red Cross volunteers' home base, not at the shelter itself, and she's not a Red Cross volunteer. The next time she went through that door she was waved in, because the MPs there knew her.

Staci was feeling very emotional & weepy as I spoke with her. It's been a draining experience for her and she's still not yet done. But she insists she's okay, and wants everyone to know she's okay.

Staci's on a shopping trip. She's with three midwives who decided to go out and buy some clothing necessities for many of the refugees. Apparently they've received some clothing donations but are chronically short on underwear, so that's what they got. About $1000 worth. Staci's van is now full of that, plus a few other necessities like chocolate. (It's actually for the people attending a local methodone clinic there... which is closed today.)

She had a chat with the director of the convention center side (there are two directors, one for the "arena side" and one for the "convention center" side). He mentioned that although he's been involved in more refugee situations like this, he's never before seen one with this kind of military presence. The words "police state" kept entering the conversation. Although we haven't heard of any violent crime in the military-patrolled areas of the refugee centers, it also tends to make some people frustrated. Like the locked doors I mentioned yesterday. Neither director was consulted, it was a military decision to lock the doors. (Oh, those doors are unlocked now. No announcement on that given. Or reason. But now they're searching everyone who goes in or out those entrances -- they have handheld metal detectors.)

Flu shots are being recommended for anyone who's been involved in the shelters, refugee or volunteer.

The emotional toll on the volunteers is high. There are lots of tears, lots of breakdowns. "I can't put into words what it's like to be down here", Staci says. "I don't know how to process everything -- and I don't even know if I want to process things while I'm in the midst of it. It's a desperate, destitute situation and place." Staci and I talked about becoming more involved with the Red Cross and taking disaster preparedness or even response training. (I've already volunteered locally but am still waiting for them to get back to me to tell me what I can do.) The respiratory therapist that shares Staci's shelter sleeping quarters is going into New Orleans for some disaster rescue operations.

There seems to be an interesting paradox from spokespeople down there. The mayor and other officials keep saying that they want to get businesses opened up and commerce going as soon as possible. FEMA is saying that much of the area is still toxic and there's no way people should be trying to go back in and reside there, yet. There's still stuff in the air, spores from the massive growths of mold. People just want to go back to their homes so they're generally not heeding the FEMA warnings. But Staci has seen people who had been in floodwaters for a while who now have bandages on their arms -- bandages masking chemical burns on their skin.

Oh, and Ricky should be on CNN on Wednesday night. (Not sure what time.)

When Staci called, she noted with some amusement that she was looking at this website with her new midwife friends -- they've gone back to the host home where 3 of them are staying, and had taken a few moments out to look up this site. Oh, and eat pie. Hi, girls!

Earlier today, Staci traveled with Jewel Maeda (a CNM from the Chicago area) back to Gonzales. They had some leads on where to go to find pregnant woman. (I swear, Staci's like a bloodhound when she gets on that path!) A tip led them to a church (Judson Baptist) in another nearby town. (Did see more evidence of storm damage further out -- downed trees and such.) This church has been taking in woman after they've delivered their babies. In fact, they've gone farther than that -- they've essentially surrendered one whole side of their church for the new mothers and their families. The Sunday school rooms have been converted to totally furnished apartments, basically. This church is take care of people.

One woman was there -- her name is Rosina and she was on CNN earlier. She was in early labor when the flooding happened, and she had to swim out because she knew the baby was coming. She got out safely but left her 5 year old son behind, in someone else's care. She ended up at the hospital having her baby, while her son ended up being evacuated to Houston. He just happened to be on CNN, which she saw, and the pastor's wife at this church drove all the way to get him and bring him back, so that they could be reunited when she got out of the hospital.

Otherwise, Staci has met with a couple of other families, and even done some short-distance reuniting efforts of her own. She feels that she's part of a good team of midwives, who are all becoming good friends. DeeAnn is back at the main shelter and is taking charge more, which gives Staci some more freedom to roam. Staci feels that it's good to be out of the shelter for a while. She's noticing that it really takes a toll on people to be there for days at a time, and most especially the 4th day seems to be the breaking point for some. (Staci's been there since Wednesday night.)

There have been increased problems with security at the shelter. There's a back door which opens on to M.P. parking, which many volunteers (and Staci herself) and even some few residents have been regularly using as a smoke break area or to make phone calls from. "Someone" made the decision to chain & padlock those doors in the name of security. Unfortunately it doesn't do much for fire code, as that's the only exit in that area of the building. People are still frustrated i the shelter. It seems that the power that be are attempting to "downsize" the shelter's accomodations, and even consciously try to make it less hospitable so as to encourage refugees to move on.

The upstairs "infirmary" she talked about earlier is actually more like a nursing home or extended care home -- people who need extra help like stroke victims, disabled people confined to wheelchairs, and the like. It's to be officially closed tonight. Not sure where the people who have been taken care of there will be going. The clinic Staci and the midwives have been operating out of has been a 24-hour shop, but will close at 9 p.m. tonight and opens tomorrow at noon. Staci's people weren't given any warning about this, and they're afraid that since they're wearing scrubs and will be walking through the building, people will seek them out for more and more medical needs after hours.

Aside from that -- Staci was in high spirits (must be the pie, although she did mention a glass of wine as well).

Staci wants us to watch CNN. Apparently they've done a whole series on her shelter, mostly interviewing Ricky. On Tuesday or Wednesday he's going to do a live performance (he's a musician, after all) at the shelter which will be covered by CNN. Ricky's managed to get a few keyboards donated, and he's giving lessons to some of the refugee kids.

Apparently, ex-cons that have just been released from a local prison are being sent to this shelter and are merging with the general population, because there's no where else to send them at this time.

Upstairs, in the volunteer dorm area, about 4 rooms down from Staci's room is an infirmary where a few refugees stay who can't mingle with the general population -- a couple of mentally ill patients, and several disabled people who would have a real hard time negotiating the bathrooms and common areas. About 35-40 in all. Well, the higher-ups decided yesterday that they were closing this infirmary and moving everyone there out to a new location at a local community college. It was abrupt, and everyone was highly irritated about the move. (The patients and nurses too.) Apparently this was being done without regard for breaking up families -- they wouldn't allow the families of the disabled patients to come with. All their belongings and equipment were packed up, everyone was shipped out to the community college... and they were turned away at the door. So they came back.

Maisy is the name of the pregnant woman whom Staci thinks she may end up driving back to her home in New Orleans. Maisy's at the shelter now with her two kids, husband, and disabled mom. If all goes well, they will be allowed back to their home on Monday! Maisy's very sweet and Staci's quite taken to her.

Staci reports that she had the best shower in her life last night.

The Mayor of Baton Rouge was at the shelter last night; he arrived by motorcade and had a little tour. Several celebrities have been visiting as well: Will Smith, Tommy Lasorda, the cast of Desperate Housewives, and others. The people at the shelter were at first starstruck and happy to get the attention, but now are starting to say, "Why are you here?", as all the celebrities ever do is swoop in, do a photo shoot, and leave. They don't mingle with the refugees, they don't do anything but show that they're there.

Staci encountered a group of soldiers going off-duty last night. They were decorated with mardi gras beads and were in very high spirits, wooping it up and laughing. Staci asked where they were heading, and they replied with two words: "Midget Wrestling!"

It's been a good afternoon! Staci spent the afternoon working her way through the other arena, talking to people. Several other midwives arrived today: 3 Christian Canadian midwives, 3 nurse midwives, and 2 local midwives. Staci spent some time orienting the newcomers, then they all sat down and starting getting organized, so that they can more seamlessly hand over things to the next group that comes in (Staci's "inheritance" was less than smoothly organized). They decided that Staci would be in charge of doing "recon" -- researching other shelters in the area and assessing their midwife needs.

Staci has located a shower and is eagerly going to it. More tomorrow!

Staci worked the floor last night, mostly handing out Emergen'C to people. She's doing good today, or at least so she tells me. She says it's such a shock at first, but she's evening out and keeping it together to help people. She's well taken care of. All the volunteers are so supportive of each other. She's made several friends there among the volunteers and they tend to stick together. One's a woman who runs a radio station in Oregon. Another is Ricky, the musician who runs "movie night". There's a small group of people who sleep in Ricky's movie room: Staci, Ricky, Ricky's friend who just got a job doing overnight security somewhere, a respiratory therapist, a nurse, and a midwife. Ricky's great. He's a man who's turned his grief and pain into something very positive. Staci says he's the "#1 volunteer", always helping out everywhere he can. He managed to cobble together a couple of TV's and convinced some local video stores to drop off movies so he can do his movie night. Ricky was interviewed by CNN last night. Ricky was one of the people you hear about who climbed into his attic to escape the floodwaters, then waited until the water went down enough that he could wade through chest deep water and make his way to his roof, where he was eventually plucked off by a helicopter.

Oh, and Staci says to watch CNN -- they did a feature on the shelter she's in (the Baton Rouge River Center) and will probably be back.

The tents are a problem. She mentioned earlier that the tents were taken down. That was a decision made by the higher-ups, because a very few people were using them inappropriately. Well, now things are tense. She thinks things may come to a head soon. People are very upset about the loss of their tents. With the tents, it gave people a sense of separation and identity -- different family and social groups would cluster around different tents, and so on. Now those are gone, and there's no division or privacy -- you can see down rows and rows of people without a break. And the bathrooms. Staci hasn't been to the refugee bathrooms, but she's been told that they are just toxic and filthy. People are becoming very divided.

Adding to the tension are the checks that people have been told they're getting from the Red Cross. (She said Red Cross, but I thought FEMA handled this? Not sure.) Apparently people aren't getting them, but there's a hotline which you can call, and it takes 5 hours to get through. Another problem -- some of the people who have received their checks are just going out and blowing it. Getting microwaves to sit by their bedroll, that sort of thing. As Staci put it, many of these people have never been handed that much money at once (she thinks the checks are $2000 to start) and at the moment, they can't really spend it on living expenses so they blow it. Oh, not everyone is doing that -- there are lots of responsible people holding on to the money.

And of course, the goal is to get everyone moved from this place -- it's supposed to be only a temporary shelter, after all. They want to get everyone moved by next week. Not going to happen. People are feeling very uprooted and very frustrated. The Red Cross and FEMA are feeling some pressure to get people out, from the owners of the convention center because of course they're losing all sorts of revenue while it's being used as a shelter.

More military here today. Their presence has increased noticeably.

Staci visited another volunteer up in a different sleeping room than the one she's sleeping in, and discovered that most of the upper rooms have glass windows that look out onto the arena. The view of that sea of humanity out there is staggering.

There's an elderly couple Staci's been visiting frequently in the arena. He had triple bypass surgery recently and he doesn't seem too well. She seems to have a touch of dementia. He doesn't want to go back to the clinic. In his words, "I just think if anything happens, it'll be better, I'll just die." She was having trouble sorting out his meds, and Staci realized she has several different meds in one container, so she went to the pharmacy and asked for those individual daily pillboxes. She got a bunch of those so she's going to distribute them to people who need them.

Another family Staci talked to was stranded in a hotel for four days when the waters flooded the lower level of the hotel. The hotel employees broke into the hotel restaurant's frozen food freezer and cooked food over a grill for everyone until it ran out. They said the worst moment was when the kids were out of food and they didn't know when they would be rescued.

A pregnant women Staci's been seeing in the clinic has found out that the part of the city she lives in has been reopened. But her house doesn't yet have water or electricity (though should soon). The hospital in her area is open too, so she could go home next week. She explained to Staci that she wanted to, but she and her family didn't know how they'd get home. Staci said she'd get them there if she had to drive her own van in. So Staci may be heading into New Orleans next week!

Staci did sample some crawdads. They were pretty good.

Just got a message from Staci on my phone, which didn't ring and I can't call her back. So I'm just transcribing it here:

"Well, hello honey. Well golly, I just really wanted to debrief to you! It's been a really... interesting adventure. I'm okay. I just... this is going to be really hard! I can't do everything for everybody!

I'm going to be heading in soon. Apparently they had set up an OB room for us to use but didn't tell us. So I need to check back down and get my stuff in there. Carrie's a midwife who's here and already been here at the shelter, I think she's been burnt out emotionally and been very sick, she had stomach flu and she had a really bad headache last night, and she's not getting up this morning and I think she's flying out today instead of this weekend. So... I'm taking charge! Because that's what I do.

I just had breakfast with the shelter manager on the other side, over on the arena side. There's twice as many people here than I realized, because there's a whole arena full, and a whole convention center full! Apparently people have been doing illegal activities in the tents that they have set up on the floor, so all the tents have to be down by noon today, which is going to make some people angry, and it's the same type of thing that's happened in New Orleans, a few bad people totally messing it up for everybody.

Golly, there's just so much to tell you! I just spent last evening on the floor, just going from sad looking person to sad looking person and cried a lot of tears with people, and everybody needs something and there's nothing I can do! It's a lot! I can't walk across the floor without people asking me for things, and I just need to learn to say 'I'm sorry, I can't help you', because I want to help everybody.

I will try to get outside and call you later, I don't have good service in the building, so I have to come out. But, I am going to get in the trenches!"

In our last episode, Staci was heading over to another refugee center for 3000 people, in Gonzales. As it turns out, this one holds only 2000. Only! Staci stopped in and checked in with the clinic there. She was told that there were 3 pregnant women in residence, and oh by the way -- there's one right there, and she was having contractions! So Staci checked her out and did a prenatal visit with her. (She's not in labor.) Found out a little bit later that of the 2 others, one had been induced at a local hospital earlier that day and one had left to go to a house.

Staci managed to get from that shelter an updated list of shelters in the area. She plans to go with a partner within the next couple of days and make "house calls" to those shelters, as they are likely lacking any midwifery/prenatal care. Tomorrow, though, she'll be at the original shelter in Baton Rouge.

Just got Kristi settled in the animal shelter workers' camp. She set up camp next to a man with his 23 year old daughter (who is a veterinary tech). Just like Kristi, they heard the call for help and simply came to do what they could. Kristi should be safe but very busy in the next few days.

Spoke with lots of people, animal rescue workers coming back from New Orleans proper. There are lots of stories, some sad. Like the one worker who found a pit bull trapped in water up to his belly -- who knows how long he'd been there -- and his face was "melting" from the chemicals in the water. The dog was almost too aggressive to approach. It seems that the chemicals in the water are a big problem. Now every animal that comes out is thoroughly washed.

When they left to visit the people shelter, there was a convoy of trucks pulling in with fencing. When they returned, the barn area where some of the dogs are kept had new tall chain link around it. It's to keep out the people -- people have been sneaking in at night and stealing the pit bulls. Apparently pit bull fighting is quite popular thereabouts. Now there's fence.

On the other hand... "It's so hard to convey it all," Staci said. "People are just amazing." She told me, as an example, that back in the animal rescue workers' camp, there's a man (probably a local resident) who drives a truck around with a huge cooler of ice and hands it out to the workers. No payment asked for or taken. Three times a day, every day.

When I talked to Staci around lunchtime today, she was driving from the outskirts of Baton Rouge to Gonzales, about 15-20 miles. It took her about 15 minutes on the freeway. On the way back this afternoon, it took 1.5 hours with gridlocked traffic most of the way. As the news is reporting, the influx of people has dramatically affected traffic, especially rush hour traffic. They frequently see convoys of police cars, fire trucks, rescue vehicles and equipment trucks heading to New Orleans (that highway being the major route in to the city). As I spoke to her, a convoy of four police cars tailgating each other with lights flashing swooped by, bypassing the gridlocked traffic.

I mentioned phone reception being bad -- still true. While I was talking to her as she was driving on the highway, the signal faded out five times in one conversation. Still can't place calls to her but she can call me. Some of my text messages get through.

We heard lots of dire warnings before we left about filling your gas tank before entering the New Orleans / Baton Rouge area. Interestingly, gas is cheaper there than here in Greeley. ($2.85 here as of today, $2.58 there.) There does seem to be some prudence if not outright rationing, however -- at one gas station she noted a sign that announced "50 gallon limit unless rescue or police vehicle". That same gas station had one whole island cordoned off with signs that said "rescue vehicles only" and a line of rescue & police vehicles waiting.

Back to Baton Rouge. It is this odd estrangement, this city's two lives. Baton Rouge is a fully functional city. People are going to work and school, going shopping, taking walks in the park, going about their normal lives. At the same time, rescue vehicles are caravaning through the streets, sweaty and exhausted people shamble out of them into makeshift shelters and camp tents serve out food. It's not as if the two lives are unaware of each other, they just coexist.

Staci will be staying at the Baton Rouge shelter for sure tonight. She managed to talk her way into the room that shows movies. All of the upper rooms in the convention center are for the volunteer workers. Each room is nothing but rows and rows of cots, 40-50 per room. Except this room. This is the one in which the guy shows a nightly movie to the teens from 7-9, then promptly ushers them out at 9 p.m. so the few workers staying in that room can sleep. Then this man -- a musician from the French Quarter -- plays quiet guitar to get everyone to sleep.

I think Staci is looking forward to sleep tonight.

Kristi has a place! They arrived in Gonzales to find a field of tents and hundreds of people. There's a whole settlement here, and the hugest animal shelter you have ever seen! There are thousands of animals here. The sky is abuzz with helicopter transports, mostly military. (A military helicopter was landing nearby as I was talking to her.) It's massive. Kristi just got set up here -- we pitched her tent and hooked her up with some other people that are helping.

There is no one in charge. This is just happening. No one is coordinating this, there's no one to call. People are just pitching in. It's the same way in the human shelters. FEMA's there (they've seen many FEMA trucks and RVs, and there's a FEMA table full of computers at the other shelter) but not running things. FEMA doesn't run the Red Cross, the Red Cross doesn't run Barefoot Doctors', and so on. The various agencies and individuals helping are just pitching in where they are needed and doing what needs done. Communication is very disorganized. The different Red Cross chapters at different shelters don't even coordinate with each other.

Word is that the National Guard is coming in force within 24-48 hours to set up a huge air conditioned tent and bathrooms.

Near to the massive animal shelter is another convention center acting as a temporary shelter for 3000 people. Staci's going over there next to check things out and see if they need any medical expertise.

Any animal rescue professionals out there, your help is needed. They're saying they could use another 400 people to help feed, wash and take care of animals. Vets are especially needed, but even anyone who can help with basic care. (Staci says don't ask who to call, just come to Gonzales.)

Whew! A whirlwind of a phone call from Staci as she was driving -- she was trying to update me with as much information as she could in a short time. She's currently driving Kristi to Gonzales to meet up with an animal shelter there that serves as the main animal triage shelter for New Orleans, then will return to the people shelter. She experienced great sleep (as I mentioned earlier) and even greater southern hospitality at her hosts' home. Staci's decided that she will probably sleep at the shelter even though she could stay in the host home, just because she's closer to everything at the shelter and can be available at a moment's notice.

It's quite interesting at the shelter. First they went to the main Red Cross welcome area to find out where they should go. The Red Cross people hadn't heard of Staci's people, but said to just go to the medical clinic and dive in. They were given name badges which serve as security badges and interestingly enough, seem to grant them full security clearance and complete authority. The staff at the medical clinic were ecstatic about the medical supplies but didn't want the water -- apparently there's a major surplus of bottled water. Staci insisted she wasn't hauling it back to Colorado so they reluctantly took it.

The medical clinic at the convention center (which has been converted into the semi-temporary shelter) is staffed with doctors, nurses, and midwives. It's thrilling for Staci to see doctors and midwives working alongside each other (because that's so rare in Colorado). Apparently if a woman comes in to the clinic for care and is pregnant, the doctors take care of any immediate medical needs then send them right over to the midwives for prenatal care. There was an incident where a woman came into the clinic with nausea, and the triage doctor said to the midwife there, "I'll take care of the nausea, you take care of all the prenatal care." Just like that.

Staci estimates there are well upwards of 4000 people in the shelter. She hasn't even seen all of it yet so that number might be conservative. Only a few of those are pregnant, of course, but apparently the medical clinic there is serving refugees from all over the city, so there are plenty of pregnant women coming in. There are family groups and individuals. No idea how many children. Up to now, Staci's been mostly walking around talking to families, when no patients are at the clinic. She says that much of her role at this point will probably be counseling by listening; that's a big need right now. One volunteer has claimed a meeting room on the upper level of the convention center and has set up a screen and projector, from which he shows movies every night from 7-9 pm. The teens know about it and congregate there.

No Amtrak traveling for Staci. She originally thought she would be doing a lot of shepherding of pregnant women to host homes in Illinois via Amtrak. But as she's found out, no one wants to leave. The people that have already left are the people that wanted to leave, and now those that remain feel like there's no where for them to go. They have no homes, no money, no jobs. The shelter is the only home they have now -- it's at least something that's a little bit familiar, and there are familiar faces and people taking care of them. The shelter looks to become a long-term residence for some.

No one's in a hurry. Staci remarked on this phenomenon. It may be in part the more comfortable, slow Southern lifestyle, but especially in the shelters, no one is hurrying. Where's there to hurry to? It's like a time bubble. Staci remembers this, having been housed in a temporary shelter when she lost her home in the Fort Collins flood of 1997. She remembers the feeling of being paralyzed, of not being able to do anything but wait.

The shelter is cold. It's especially a shock because the air outside is so warm (90's) and then you walk inside, and it's 70 or lower. Staci remarked on this several times to co-volunteers, and was passed on some interesting information. They purposely keep the indoor temperature between 62-64 degrees... to keep people mellow. Apparently it's when the temperature gets to 70 or higher that arguments start to break out. Keeping it cooler keeps the people from getting restless.

A word about security. There are soldiers everywhere armed with M16's, at the entrances and roaming among the people. Security seems to be pretty tight. One midwife noticed that up until yesterday, the soldiers were carrying M16's but no clips. As of yesterday, they've been carrying clips. Staci doesn't feel at all concerned for her safety there.

I'm up and ready to go! I stayed in a gorgeous home last night and had the best sleep I've had in days. I don't know if I'll be here tomorrow. This city is incredibly lush and green, I feel like the goofy girl from Colorado pointing out all the local varieties!

Vicky showed me around yesterday. She's a lawyer working at the circuit court in the French Quarter of New Orleans -- obviously she's out of work at the moment, but she's volunteering with this effort because she's friends with one of the other midwives. Today I'll be going into the shelters.

Kristi is taking my van and heading out to meet up with her people -- apparently Shelley (the vet she's meeting, from Fort Collins) just got in and said that everything's incredibly unorganized. All the rescue workers who've been there for the past week or so are bleary-eyed and exhausted, and no one seems to know what to do with the new volunteers.

Just talked to Staci for a quick minute -- she's getting an orientation tour of the part of the city she'll be working in. She will be staying in a house tonight because there's a stomach flu outbreak in the shelter. We had a difficult time communicating -- my calls to her wouldn't go through but a text message did. Staci's been told that several of the cell phone towers are down locally, so communication can be spotty. I hope this doesn't mean I won't be updating as often!

We just pulled in to Baton Rouge! We're trying to traverse the city (which is HUGE) and we'll be meeting with DeeAnn and some midwives at a cafe for a strategy meeting. More later!

Just talked to Staci, and they are on their way again after staying overnight in Ardmore, OK, just near the Texas border. Staci related to me how stunned and amazed she was at how gargantuan Dallas/Fort Worth is. It seems they've been skirting it for hours!

Staci mentioned that they had passed several (five in the last half hour) FEMA semi trucks pulling modular houses. Heavy truck traffic along this route, though whether that's normal commerce resuming or part of relief efforts is unclear.

Staci talked to DeeAnn, her contact at Barefoot Doctors', and learned that she will be staying in a convention center that's been converted into a shelter. The convention center is housing both relief workers and evacuees at this time.

I received a text message from the girls about an hour ago that said "In Kansas". Nothing else. Nuff said, I suppose.

Just talked to Staci. She called wanting directions to the Little House on the Prairie, and was disappointed when she realized she wouldn't be traveling near enough. She says they are about halfway to today's destination (Houston). They're in good spirits and have lots of classic rock tunes. She wanted me to point out that they've used 1.5 tanks of gas. For those of you interested in such details, I'll be sure to get the mileage next time. Ha!

Well, here I am at just before 4 am, with only a few hours of restless sleep under my belt, but I feel invigorated. I have been ready to move since last Thursday, so it is almost a relief to be in true forward motion.

It was a late night with packing and some unforeseen and very glamorous complications. Kristi had picked up a rubbermaid tote at the humane society full of canned cat food, but something had ruptured, and it was truly a terrifying scent. While I tried to figure out just how to get her pet carriers and leashes and such into the van, she sat and cleaned each can, and eventually tore off all the labels. It shall be chef's surprise for kitties!

We also realized we were incredibly overfull. There just seemed no way for my van to manage to carry all that weight to our destination, so I made the hard but right decision to pull out many of the miscellaneous linens from the van top carrier, and then shift some of the leashes and such up. I still have a good deal of linens, but it felt like a less ominous load. I still feel as if angels will be pushing along from behind. We will donate the blankets left behind to Greeley For God, as the weather will turn soon.

I did feel my heart string ache last night, laying in bed with Dan, Josh asleep between us. I realized that it will be painfully hard to be apart from my wonderful husband and amazing children for this long. I treasure my role as a wife and mother so much, and even sitting here now, I am weepy. Pulling away will be hard,,,but God will be right here with them even when I can't be. I told Joshua yesterday when we were looking over my route ahead on the atlas that a piece of him will be going in my heart with me, but this morning it doesn't feel like nearly a big enough piece..Rebecca is so incredibly excited for me to be making this journey, she was giddy beyond words last night, great entertainment in the driveway dancing about holding the light up for us! Aaron is with his father in Ft Collins this week, and I didn't get him called last night, so I will this morning before he goes to school..he wants to collect more donations from his classmates this week!

I just want to say thank you so very much to each of you who heard God tell you to be a part of this too. It is only because so many people were immediately 100% behind me that I am leaving today. I am amazed at the familiar faces at church who embraced me in a hug and promised to pray or pressed a donation into my hand. I was so blessed to get to the church office and find a pile of things, all a bit of effort on the part of someone else. I was just so thrilled to have a co-worker who I barely know, be so excited about this that she even recruited her CNM mother in law to be cheering me on. She sent informational items and prenatal vitamin samples from her office, while my co-worker went to great lengths to get it all to me. The calls kept coming in last night, at one point I was on Dan's cell phone, Dan was on the home phone, Rebecca was on my cell phone with a second call coming in. Open the floodgates of support! So many little stories I will probably never tell..thanks to each of you. The friends of my mother and stepfather in law who had donations at two drop points in Ft Collins, my mom who never said I was crazy, my Grandma who said "that sound's like Staci"..it is all just so much!

So, it is time to go load up the last of the things, and kiss my family goodbye as they sleep..I know I can get through that part...can't I? I think Kristi and I will be singing "On the Road Again" as we pull away, that song has history for us, as we go to make more.. :) OK prayer warriors, you are now on duty! Keep me covered!

Love to all~ Staci

Thanks for the donations of items, everyone! We have all the items we need and our little minivan is full, so no more donations of items, please! (We're still accepting donations of funds... this trip does have some expenses.) A big thank you to Deborah, Michael, and Cheryl for being willing to be donor dropoff points with such short notice. It really made things easier and is very much appreciated.

Today's been a good day so far. Staci's running around trying to get herself and everything else ready for the trip. Just a few minutes ago, she told me that she was able to get Joshua's daycare covered -- for cheap! This relieves so many worries of hers, worries that Rebecca would be stuck babysitting Josh all week instead of doing her homeschool, worries that Josh couldn't get to preschool. It's perfect! And she just went in to get her vaccinations (which she was told were being required for all rescue workers going down to the area). That took some fast talking!

The outpouring of support from our church, family, friends and community has been awesome. Thank you all so much for the blessings of donated items & funds. It's such a huge blessing, and will be put to such good use.

The more this comes together, the more I see that God is directly at work here. It is He who has made all this come together, working through your hearts & figuring out all the details. Way to go, Lord!

I've had some questions from nice Fort Collins folks who'd like to drop off donated items. Deborah & Michael Arloski have graciously allowed us to receive donated items at their home in NE FtC. Also, Cheryl Beckett of A Place For Peace has been kind enough to allow us to receive donations in central FtC. Look at the bottom of the page for their addresses, as well as other drop off points in Greeley & Evans. Since Staci's leaving before the crack of dawn Tuesday, we really need these by 5 pm Monday so we can have time to pack them. Bless you all for being so eager to help!

Yes, this is happening, and I am leaving Tuesday morning before the birds are singing. My friend Kristi who is making the drive with me will be connecting with the SPCA on Wednesday, between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. They are letting the group into New Orleans next week for the first time, to help pull out the large number of abandoned pets. Keep her safety in your prayers. We are both in fear of what she might see, what illness and chemicals she might be exposed too, so on. I will try to keep bits of information about her in the updates on the webpage too..
Be Blessed!

Taking & making lots of phone calls today -- trying to get everything in place!

Just got word from Barefoot that they are especially in need of air mattresses, cots, and sheets & blankets. Apparently they're running out of beds in the shelters for folks. Hopefully we can collect a few before we go. Also they can use a couple of computers, so I'm sending some from Geeks4God.

I probably should have mentioned that we only have a small cargo space for all these items, which is why most of the items on the list are small. Staci has a minivan which has to accomodate two people, their traveling bags, and the rest is devoted to this particular relief mission's supplies. Staci does not have room for bags of clothing, etc. Sorry! We suggest you contact the Red Cross or the Salvation Army for help getting donations of general supplies to folks in need of them.

Just got this added to the joyfuljourneys.org website.

What an eventful day! Plans are fast coming together. Our church has agreed to sponsor Staci to get her down there. Still coordinating with Barefoot Doctors' Academy, but Staci is going to be leaving early Tuesday morning. Her friend Kristi will ride down with her.

...and Staci too! I also covet your prayers, I am so excited to be the hands and feet (and smile) for Christ right now, and need all the prayer coverage I can get. I am in awe of how God really has made this happen, it was almost as if the earth shook when he plopped this in my lap less than 24 hours ago..I am scared, eager, willing and able to serve..but have said "Here am I Lord, send me"....

Many of you may remember that I was impacted by the Fort Collins flood in 1998. As a disaster survivor, who has spent time in a Red Cross shelter, who had a hand up from FEMA, I really understand some of what these families are facing. What a blessing to have an opportunity to give back..

Much love to everyone~
Staci

Dear friends and family,

As many of you know, my wife Staci is a doula (a childbirth professional), a professional childbirth educator, and a midwife's assistant. Staci has been asked to come to Baton Rouge to help in shelters with those displaced by Hurricane Katrina and the floods. As you might imagine, when you have over a million people displaced, there are many pregnant women in shelters with little or no medical care available. Staci will aid in transporting pregnant women to shelters or birthing centers (hospitals included) and will work with pregnant and newborn mothers already in shelters. She will be driving down there, so she will also try to bring donated medical & other critical supplies.

She is leaving next Tuesday, September 13 and will be gone for approximately one week. That's what we know. We're still working on the rest of the details (she was just invited and agreed to go yesterday!). Our home church, Journey Christian Church, has agreed to help finance this mission and is working to raise funds. We can use all sorts of help. If you have considered making a donation to the Red Cross or other organization and haven't yet, please consider helping finance this mission. If you are or know of a medical professional and can donate medical supplies, please get in touch with us (we need it by Monday). If you live in Greeley and can help our family with childcare for our 4-year-old, please let me know.

The organization that Staci is working with is called the Barefoot Doctors' Academy. This non-profit organization is normally focused on health awareness and education (including childbirth education), but in this time of crisis is managing a relief effort aimed at arranging for medical assistance and relocation for families containing pregnant women, infants and small children.

Please spread this message, and help us if you can!

Thanks,
Dan