All our gratitude goes to you, oh city of New Orleans. You loved us with your hope for brighter tomorrows and smiled on us with your joy of God and life. The Greater Little Zion Church of the lower 9th ward of New Orleans invited us to take part in their Sunday worship and share a mutual message of harmony and peace.

Rev. Scie welcomed us with open arms and moved us with his stirring sermon on hope, fortitude, and faith. He prayed for our success and strengthened our resolve and inspiration.

Charles Allen III, President of the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association (left), has worked tirelessly in the effort to rebuild the lower 9th ward. In addition, he helped us tremendously on our visit to New Orleans. He and Rev. Scie awarded Warrenetta Banks with the Torch Bearer Award for her sleepless work for the church and community.

Salil spoke eloquently about the oneness of the world family, and offered our gratitude to the church for their support.

The torch was passed from family to family.

What would a church service be without the organ and choir?

Rev. Scie led the runners and members of his congregation on a walk to the Hurricane Katrina Memorial.

A beautiful and moving ceremony was held at the Katrina Memorial.

Vice-President of the City Council Jacquelyn Clarkson offered the team good wishes and gratitude for coming to New Orleans. It was extremely nice of her to take time out from her busy schedule of public service to welcome the runners. Even on a Sunday these public officials are very busy.

Fox News came to the memorial service to cover the story. We were interviewed by several other media sources as well.

If you like Mediterranean cuisine, you must go to Byblos Restaurant. Regional Manager James Mathes III and his staff treated us to an unbelievably delicious meal. We were blown away by the food and kindness of the entire staff.

Last but not least, our fearless brother Homagni has departed for London to work on a huge concert for Boris Grebenshikov at the Royal Albert Hall. Homagni will be sorely missed and we look forward to his return in Santa Fe.

The Bienville House Hotel is a beautiful hotel in downtown New Orleans which was the womens team's home for the evening. They thoroughly enjoyed their stay and did not want to leave.

Quiznos Sub generously provided us with a delicious lunch for the day. Thank you Quiznos!

The Men's team was fortunate enough to be provided with complementary rooms by the world famous Hilton Hotel directly on the water front in downtown New Orleans. It was our most luxurious hotel thus far on the run and, boy, were we grateful!

Special thanks to our good friend Ashish Vermer for making accommodation arrangements for the team as well as liaising with city officials and media representatives.

– Jitavrata

Team Members:
Salil Wilson (Australia), Homagni Baptista (Australia), Karen Metcalf (Australia), Uddyogini Hall (Australia), Jitavrata Jacobs (USA), Shyamala Scott (Scotland), Bansidhar Medeiros (USA), Dmitry Grigorevskiy (Ukraine), Anne Leinonen (Finland), Vladimir Salnicov (Maldova), Vilupti Barrineau (Canada)

Harmonemail:
You can send a message to the runners or read the messages.

Gallery: See more images!