Marks on the outside wall of the Temple showing how high the water came.
The Temple president shared a photo of Temple members removing the ruined Torahs, guarded by the National Guard.
A typical sight in the lower Ninth Ward, the area worst hit by Katrina. It's hard to believe that it is almost three years after Katrina, and there is still so much more to be done to bring back the neighborhoods.
A roof showing where the residents chopped a hole to escape the flood water in their attic and climb out. The hole in the roof has not yet been repaired.
Another house covered with messages of hope and reality. Many houses still have the notices of the federal troops that came through checking for survivors.
The rebult Levee near the Lower Ninth Ward, where we were rebuilding. Note the scattered remaining houses in what used to be a very crowded working class neighborhood.
Unbarring the Jackson house so the group can work inside it.
Barry Glass, group leader, reads "Dreams" by Langston Hughes, and we divide up in teams to build. Photo by Jean Musiker.
Sawing boards on the porch of the Jackson house. 
Bringing in the floor joists that will fit in the slots in the cement wall.
A local resident is collecting some of the metal debris we removed from the Jackson house.
Sign on a pole near the Jackson House. Residents want to rebuild their homes, many of which have been bulldozed. Note the cement steps leading to nothing, and the cement pads with missing houses.
A city cement truck came by to patch the sidewalk and gave us cement to use for a pad under the main beams in the house. The "field" across the street used to be houses. The low gray wall on the horizon is the rebuilt Levee, just a few blocks away.
Re-cementing the threshold. The lower cement walls have been sealed with water sealant by our group.
Scraping the walls so we can seal them. Installing wallboard in the Hamilton house.
We had fun at night with Cajun dining and dancing.
We took a ride on a riverboat one evening and even saw a lunar eclipse through the clouds.
More nightlife in New Orleans. In the French quarter and tourist areas, life has returned to normal.
The Hamilton house is almost done. The group hung wallboard on the ceiling, spackled, and sanded it.
Sawing boards at the Hamilton house.
Measuring wallboard before cutting it. Recording our group's activities for a video of the trip.
Cutting the wallboard in the Hamilton house.
The new wallboard ceiling in the Hamilton house is almost complete. Photo by Jean Musiker.
We had no electricity or running water in the Jackson house. Luckily we had a tarp to cover our generator when it rained. The cement pad it is sitting on is from the missing house next door.
Scraping the soffits at the Jackson house, some of which we painted until it rained too heavily to finish. 
We framed out all the windows and doors at the Jackson house and installed all new windows.
Improvised raincoats enabled us to keep working despite the rain. 
We installed the beams for the subfloor, tacked down plywood so the plumber can install pipes for the bathroom and kitchen, and sealed all the walls. The windows are framed, sealed, and installed. We boarded up the house for security and left supplies for the next group of workers.
So many tour buses went by looking for the house sites that Brad Pitt is going to rebuild that we thought we could raise some money for the neighborhood. Unfortunately it rained too hard so no one stopped.
We signed our names under the new floor beams we installed.
The field across the street from the Hamilton house used to be houses. Now egrets forage, and one day a heron appeared. In the background, a family has settled in a FEMA trailer complete with cross and American flag. Behind the trailer looms the ever present Levee.
A monument someone erected next to houses and FEMA trailers. The blue poles represent how high the water rose during the floods. The sign reads, "I AM COMING HOME! I WILL REBUILD! I AM NEW ORLEANS."