We went to the main New Orleans post office today, and the signs in the lobby said that there is only one daily pickup, at 6:00 pm. I asked a woman who was also mailing something why only once a day. “Oh, that was right after Katrina,” she said. “They’re back now to every hour.”
Our next stop was a grocery store, where in one aisle we saw a large pile of vegetables we did not recognize, so we asked another shopper about it. “That’s Mirliton,” he responded. “They didn’t know about it in Texas either, when I was there after Katrina. I cooked up a batch for folks there, and they loved it!”
At the checkout station in the same store, the woman ahead of us almost left an item behind. “Did you mean to leave that for me?” I asked kiddingly. She gave me a big grin: “You can have it,” she said. “After Katrina we all share!”
Phyllis and I were amazed at how “Katrina” comes up so frequently in very brief and ordinary exchanges. A few evenings ago we spent time with a small group of local Fuller alums. Katrina was much on their minds also as they discussed the challenges of their ministries. We were impressed by their creative struggles to be Christ’s servants to people for whom Katrina was a life-changing event. New Orleans needs our prayers. It also needs our theological attention.
