Today we visited the home of Herbert Gettridge who will turn 85 years old on August 31st. This spry man and his bride of 68 years greeted us warmly in their restored home. Mr. Gettridge, a natural story-teller told us of his Katrina experience AND his experience of Hurricane Betsey in 1965 in the same home. This was the house he built for himself and his wife from 1949 to 1952.During Hurricane Betsey he was able to provide shelter to 31 of his family and neighbors in his attic. They had 6 feet of water during that flood and the house stood. Katrina was a different story. He and his wife left New Orleans for Madison, WI while the flood waters rose to 19 feet, at least a foot above the roof of his house. He told us that one day he saw his house on a TV news broadcast while in Madison, and told his wife, “that’s our house” and decided then to return to rebuild. Three years later they have their home back, redeemed.
The first person that showed up to help him was Dr. Simmons. Mr. Gettridge is a man of deep roots, a sign outside his home proclaims that to the world. This is a man of wisdom, who choose to build his home against conventional methods and use 4×4’s instead of 2×4’s like most. That is why his house, unlike many others, withstood Katrina’s flood. Like the wise man in Luke 6:48 he digged deep and laid the foundation on a rock. This is a man of faith and meeting him and hearing his story had a major impact on our team.
We worked today at Deborah’s house, pulling more electrical wiring, pulling old floor tiles, salvaging more bricks and prepping for tomorrow’s work on insulation and dry wall. Some sightseeing in the French Quarter, dinner and the last night of the revival rounded out the evening.
